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2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | prince | How many times the word 'prince' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | depended | How many times the word 'depended' appears in the text? | 0 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | setting | How many times the word 'setting' appears in the text? | 2 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | hallway | How many times the word 'hallway' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | makeshift | How many times the word 'makeshift' appears in the text? | 0 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | institute | How many times the word 'institute' appears in the text? | 1 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | frame | How many times the word 'frame' appears in the text? | 2 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | mine | How many times the word 'mine' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | subject | How many times the word 'subject' appears in the text? | 0 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | storm | How many times the word 'storm' appears in the text? | 3 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | gospels | How many times the word 'gospels' appears in the text? | 0 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | school | How many times the word 'school' appears in the text? | 3 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | natured | How many times the word 'natured' appears in the text? | 0 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | explosions | How many times the word 'explosions' appears in the text? | 1 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | boy | How many times the word 'boy' appears in the text? | 2 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | tiptoe | How many times the word 'tiptoe' appears in the text? | 0 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | declare | How many times the word 'declare' appears in the text? | 0 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | hotel | How many times the word 'hotel' appears in the text? | 2 |
2012 Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | wars | How many times the word 'wars' appears in the text? | 2 |
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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS 2012 Written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser Second Draft February 19th, 2008 OVER BLACK We listen to the immortal music of Mozart's Adagio of the Clarinet Concerto in A. FADE UP EXT. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space, infinite and empty. But then, slowly all nine planets of our Solar System move into frame and align. The last of them is the giant, burning sphere of the sun. Just as the sun enters frame, a solar storm of gigantic proportion unfolds. The eruptions shoot thousands of miles into the blackness of space. FADE TO BLACK 2009 FADE UP EXT. COUNTRY SIDE/INDIA - SUNSET Mozart's concerto filters from a jeep's stereo, fighting the drumming sounds of the monsoon rain. PROF. FREDERIC WEST, 66, listens to the music. An Indian BOY playing by the roadside steers his wooden toy ship across a puddle. The Professor turns to his driver, pointing to the boy. PROF. WEST Watch out! But it's too late. The jeep drives straight through the puddle at full speed, sinking the boy's toy ship. In the background, the jeep stops in front of a building. The driver jumps out, leading the Professor towards its entrance. The sign at the door reads: `Institute for Astrophysics - University of New Delhi'. 2. INT. NAGA-DENG MINE/INDIA - SUNSET An endless mine shaft. An old elevator cage comes to a grinding halt. When Prof. West steps out we see that he is accompanied now by a nervous DR. SATNAM TSURUTANI, 32. PROF. WEST How deep are we? SATNAM 8200 feet. Used to be an old copper mine, Professor, sir. As Prof. West follows Satnam, he takes in the unusual setting for this science lab. PROF. WEST Helmsley told me that the neutrino count doubled during the last sun eruptions. SATNAM Correct, sir. But that is not what worries me... They enter a large room with low hanging ceilings. A small group of WHITE COATS look up from their computers, which all show images of the solar storm we witnessed earlier. SATNAM (CONT'D) There was a new solar storm, so strong that the physical reaction got even more severe. PROF. WEST How can that be? SATNAM We don't know, Professor, sir. Satnam walks over into another room. There he opens a hatch on the floor and hot steam rises. SATNAM (CONT'D) The neutrinos suddenly act like... microwaves. Prof. West slowly steps closer. When he discovers that the water in the tank below is boiling, his face goes pale. CUT TO: 3. EXT. LARGE TERRACE/WASHINGTON D.C. - EVENING A major fund raising party is under way. The setting is spectacular. A terrace overlooking the Washington Mall and the Capitol Building. ADRIAN HELMSLEY, 32, stands with a group of young POLITICAL AIDES. He is the only African-American among them. One of the aides spots CARL ANHEUSER, 58, White House Chief of Staff, working the crowd. POLITICAL AID #1 Look at Anheuser. Anyone would think he was President. Did you hear, he wants us to sign in and out like school boys? ADRIAN I still can't believe that Wilson chose him of all people to run the White House. POLITICAL AID #2 Why not? Anheuser owns the Senate and the Congress. ADRIAN Shame he's such a pompous ass. ANHEUSER (O.S.) Somebody mention my name? Adrian turns to see Anheuser smiling. ADRIAN (SHOCKED) Yes sir... No, sir. ANHEUSER Which one is it? ADRIAN We were talking about what a great speech you gave tonight. Well done, sir. ANHEUSER It's Helmsley, right? I'll remember that. Anheuser walks away with a dangerous smile. POLITICAL AID #2 That guy scares the shit out of me. At that moment Adrian's cell phone rings. (CONTINUED) 4. ADRIAN (into the phone) Professor West? PROF. WEST (O.S.) I've been trying to reach you! INT. LIVING ROOM/SATNAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Prof. West is on the phone. In the background we make out Satnam's family around the dining room table. PROF. WEST Listen, Adrian. The situation is much worse than we thought... Satnam quiets his little son. It is the boy we saw earlier with his toy ship. INT. HALLWAY/WHITE HOUSE - DAY Adrian follows Anheuser through a hallway of the White House, papers in hand. ADRIAN Sir, the President needs to know this. ANHEUSER Helmsley, how long have you been on the job as science advisor? ADRIAN Four months this week. ANHEUSER I would say that's enough time to learn that we have rules here. You'll just have to wait until the quarterly science briefing. ADRIAN If this is about what I said last night, I am truly sorry, sir. ANHEUSER So you didn't like my speech? Exasperated, Adrian holds out the papers to him. ADRIAN Can you please have a look at this, sir? It's really important. (CONTINUED) 5. Finally, Anheuser rips the papers out of his hands and starts to walk away, reading. Suddenly he slows down. ANHEUSER Who wrote this? ADRIAN An Indian astrophysicist I graduated with from Harvard and Prof. West, the preeminent geologist in the US. ANHEUSER Who else knows about it? ADRIAN No one, sir. ANHEUSER Let's keep it that way, Helmsley. Anheuser walks away. FADE TO BLACK 2010 FADE UP EXT. SEVILLE/SPAIN - DAY G8 Summit. Riot police control the unruly crowd with water cannons. We see PROTESTERS with Anti Globalization signs behind a fence. A convoy of limousines is approaching a historic building. INT. BIG HALL/ALHAMBRA - DAY We follow the American delegation into the conference room, where the other G8 delegations are seated around an enormous table. The President of the United States, THOMAS F. WILSON, 56, doesn't sit down. He addresses the room and everybody goes quiet. PRESIDENT WILSON (O.S.) Good Morning... For the first time we see the President's face. He is African- American. (CONTINUED) 6. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) I hereby present a motion to meet privately with my seven fellow Heads of State, kindly excluding the rest of the delegates. A murmur erupts. The Russian President SERGEY MAKARENKO, 62, whispers to one of his interpreters. RUSSIAN INTERPRETER Mr. Makarenko wishes to have his interpreters present. President Wilson looks over to the Russian Colleague. PRESIDENT WILSON Mr. President, judging from the conversations we've had in the past, I can assure you, your English is absolutely fine, for what I have to say. As the Russian President waves his interpreter away, all the international delegates leave as well. The huge doors of the hall close. A secret service officer in the sound booth switches off the recording equipment to the chamber. The President gathers himself. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) Six months ago I was made aware of a situation so devastating, that at first, I refused to believe it. (PAUSE) However through the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations, we have now confirmed its validity. Dead silence. PRESIDENT WILSON (CONT'D) The world as we know it, will soon come to an end. CUT TO: EXT. CHO MING VALLEY/TIBET - DAWN A huge Chinese military helicopter blasts through a majestic mountain valley in Tibet. We are at the top of the world. (CONTINUED) 7. A Chinese COLONEL, wearing dark sun glasses, watches from the chopper as the army forces the evacuation of the villages and monasteries. VOICE (O.S.) (in Chinese) You will have new houses, electricity and running water... EXT. VILLAGE/TIBET - DAY Someone speaks on a megaphone in the village square as villagers are evicted by soldiers and herded into trucks. VOICE (O.S.) ... Some among you will even have the chance to work for the glorious People's Republic of China building the biggest dam project in the world... NENG PANG, a young monk, 18, is loaded into a truck together with his PARENTS, both in their 60's. EXT. SCHOOL/TIBET - DAY Neng's older brother, LIN PANG, 25, is part of a huge crowd of young men and women staying behind by a Tibetan school building. He turns and yells after the truck. LIN I will send you money mother. The Colonel with the dark glasses steps up, addressing the masses. COLONEL Who can read and write? Eager hands fly up in the air. An official makes notes. COLONEL (CONT'D) Who can weld? Lin's hand shoots up in the air. We hear a siren echoing through the mountains and suddenly an explosion. Lin turns. In the BACKGROUND, a series of explosions punch enormous holes into the side of the mountain, showering rock everywhere. FADE TO BLACK (CONTINUED) 8. 2011 FADE UP INT. DORCHESTER HOTEL/LONDON - DAY A MAN in a dark suit walks through a hallway of the Dorchester looking like your typical MI-6 agent. The decor is plush and luxurious. He's stopped by two security men who frisk him. INT. PRESIDENTIAL SUITE/DORCHESTER HOTEL - DAY Heavily ringed fingers flip through a folder. MI-6 OFFICER (O.S.) Has his Highness had the opportunity to study the dossier? A SAUDI PRINCE looks up and nods without expression. SAUDI PRINCE You must understand I have a very big family. Mister... MI-6 OFFICER Isaacs. SAUDI PRINCE Mister Isaacs, one billion dollars is a lot of money. MI-6 OFFICER I'm afraid the amount is in Euros, your Highness. CUT TO: INT. LOUVRE/PARIS - NIGHT A group of dark figures in overalls walk past famous Renaissance paintings. They stop at the Mona Lisa. MANFRED PICARD, 63, head of the French National Museums, stands by LAURA, a young African-American woman in her late 20's. They observe the specialists opening the case of the famous painting. A whoosh of air as the vacuum seal breaks. MANFRED PICARD Laura, I'm putting a lot of trust in your people. (CONTINUED) 9. Laura answers in almost perfect French. LAURA There are too many crazy people who could hurt her, Manfred. The World Heritage Foundation has done this all over the world. In the BACKGROUND the Mona Lisa is taken off the wall and replaced with a perfect replica. Picard still looks uneasy. He watches as the real Mona Lisa is sealed into an airtight case. MANFRED PICARD And she'll be safe now? Tucked away in the Swiss Alps? LAURA Perfectly safe. Picard looks suspicious but says nothing. The CAMERA MOVES IN on the face of the fake Mona Lisa until all we see is her mysterious smile. FADE TO BLACK 2012 FADE UP FUZZY TV IMAGES: Lifeless bodies encircle a huge fire pit. They resemble the rays of the sun. In the background we see the famous step pyramids of Tikal. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... The mass suicide was discovered by a BBC documentary crew in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal... Many of the dead are women and children looking peaceful and are surrounded by colorful flowers. NEWSCASTER (CONT'D) ... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calender which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun's destructive forces... The CAMERA slowly pulls out and we are in-- 10. INT. JACKSON'S APARTMENT/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING A shabby apartment in Silverlake. The TV is on. NEWSCASTER (O.S.) ... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history... A small tremor rocks the apartment and the dishevelled face of JACKSON CURTIS, 33, pops up from behind the couch. He fell asleep at his laptop last night. JACKSON Oh no. Not again. One look at his watch and he is off running. He throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. His cell phone rings. JACKSON (CONT'D) Hello?... What do you mean? I'm not late. It's not even 10:30... Jackson turns off the TV and darts towards the door, stopping only to slide his laptop into a knapsack. As he turns, he stumbles over a stack of books, all shrink-wrapped and identically titled: `Farewell Atlantis'. JACKSON (CONT'D) Damn it! (into the phone) Kate, I'm on my way... For god's sake... Frustrated, he kicks them out of his way and exits. We hold on the books and realize that Jackson's photograph is on their back covers. EXT. JACKSON'S GARAGE/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING The phone call continues as Jackson opens the garage door, struggling to pack his old SUV with camping equipment. JACKSON They're kids, Kate, going on vacation. It's not a doctor's appointment... it's supposed to be fun. You remember that, right? Fun? He tries to start the engine, but the battery is dead. Frustrated, he hits the steering wheel. 11. EXT. JACKSON'S STREET/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson runs across the street with his camping equipment, throwing it into the trunk of a stretch limo parked by the curb. JACKSON ... I know it's mosquito season at Yellowstone, Kate. I'll pick some up on the way. He notices a deep crack in the asphalt. His neighbors, an elderly couple, stand there and stare at it. NEIGHBOR Merrill, we should move back to Wisconsin. Jackson gets into the limo and speeds off. INT. STREETS/LOS ANGELES - EARLY MORNING Jackson drives through LA with the radio on. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... Those shake-proof coffee mugs are a genius idea, and they just show the true nature of us Californians. We pass a family frantically loading boxes into a van. RADIO HOST (O.S.) (CONT'D) We'll not bow to little inconveniences like these so called `mini-quakes'... Jackson passes a man in a wheelchair. He's holding up a cardboard sign: `Repent - The End is Near'. EXT. KATE'S HOUSE/LOS ANGELES - MORNING Jackson stops and honks in front of an upscale Westwood home. RADIO HOST (O.S.) ... If you have a funny `mini-quake' story you wanna share, call Lisa & Randy at 1-800... Jackson switches the radio off. Two kids NOAH, 10, and LILLY, 7, come running down the driveway. They slow down, as they see the limo. NOAH Jackson, what is this? (CONTINUED) 12. JACKSON Don't call me Jackson, Noah, I'm your father. Lilly yells from inside the limo. LILLY (O.S.) Noah! Look! Daddy's got Space-Busters in the car... and Space-Busters 2. Awesome! Their mother, KATE CURTIS, 32, a beautiful woman appears. KATE So what, you're a chauffeur now? What happened to the temp work? JACKSON This is better hours for me. Means I can still write. KATE Of course. Kate's new boyfriend, GORDON SILBERMAN, 43, pulls out of the garage in his Porsche wearing his Bluetooth. GORDON (on the phone) Simone, how many times have I told you, we don't do Lipo on Fridays. It's too messy. Jackson smiles bitterly. Gordon waves at the kids. GORDON (CONT'D) Have fun guys. And watch out for those bears. (to Jackson) Nice car. Jackson waves grudgingly as Gordon pulls away. KATE Noah needs to read twenty pages from his book each day... She follows Jackson to the car with a bag of pull-up diapers. KATE (CONT'D) ... and Lilly has to put these on, before she goes to sleep. JACKSON Still? (CONTINUED) 13. He shuts the trunk and gets back behind the wheel. She looks at him seriously. KATE Jackson, they've been really looking forward to this you know. Don't let them down. He nods as the car pulls away. CUT TO: EXT. SHIP DECK/SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR - DAY HARRY HELMSLEY, 73, and his partner TONY DELGADO, 68, board an enormous cruise ship, the `Freedom of the Seas'. Harry is African-American, Tony is Italian. He carries a large case. They pass a poster: `Jazz Night with Harry Helmsley & Tony Delgado'. HARRY So this time we'll hit the Japs. TONY So what? HARRY Well Tony, electronics are cheap there and... you could visit your boy Will. TONY Afternoon ladies... TONY shoots a charmers smile at a couple of older single ladies on sun loungers. They smile back coyly. HARRY Are you even listening to me? TONY Yes unfortunately I am Harry. HARRY I heard from Audrey you're a grandpa now. TONY Why don't you keep your nose out of my family. You're cramping my style. HARRY He married a Japanese girl - how is that the end of the world? You should at least go see him. (CONTINUED) 14. TONY Why? Do you see your boy? HARRY Not as much as I'd like. DC is a long way. But at least we talk. TONY What about? HARRY Life, how short it is... Suddenly they're thrown off balance by a large swell that pulls the massive `Freedom of the Seas' away from the landing, about ten yards. The next moment, the ship slams back against the dock with an earthshaking BOOM. TONY What the hell was that? A murmur goes through the crowd. Luckily nobody is injured. CUT TO: INT. LAURA'S BEDROOM/D.C. - EARLY MORNING The phone rings twice before Laura switches on a light. We catch a glimpse of a framed photo of her and Adrian. She answers the phone. MANFRED PICARD (O.S.) Laura? They lied to us. LAURA Manfred is that you? EXT. STREETS/PARIS - NIGHT Picard is speeding in his Peugeot, anxiously checking his rear view mirror. MANFRED PICARD I had my suspicions. I should have said something. They are following me. LAURA (O.S.) Who is? MANFRED PICARD They may be listening to us too. Laura the Heritage Foundation is a sham. (CONTINUED) 15. Picard's car approaches a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) What? MANFRED The art you collected, it's not in the Alps. The Peugeot enters a tunnel. LAURA (O.S.) Then where is it? A huge blast rips through the tunnel as his car explodes. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. ROAD/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY JACKSON AND LILLY (singing along to the RADIO) `We all live in a Yellow Submarine...' They're driving through the glorious landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Noah sits in the back with headphones on playing Space-Busters 2. As they pass over a ridge, the music station is overpowered by a talk show filtering through. We hear a raspy and excitable voice. RADIO HOST ... After what is going on in La-La- land with all those surface cracks, I told myself: Get your stupid ass to Yellowstone. I don't want to miss all the great fun, when it finally blows... Lilly reaches for the dial of the radio. LILLY What happened to the music? JACKSON Hang on, sweet pea, let daddy listen to this for a moment... Jackson corrects the dial to get better reception. RADIO HOST ... There's been government people flying in and out all morning. And trust me, they did not look happy... (CONTINUED) 16. A huge black helicopter brushes over the limo. RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ... Folks, always remember, you heard it first from Charlie. They watch in awe as the chopper disappears behind a ridge. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE/WHITE HOUSE - MORNING Laura bursts in and heads straight for the TV. The President looks up from his desk. LAURA You have to see this. Sally the President's Secretary enters, flustered. PRESIDENT WILSON It's alright Sally. Sally closes the door as Laura turns up the TV. CNN ANCHOR ... Mr. Picard had been the director of the French National Museums for 24 years. As fate would have it his assassination took place in the same Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died in 1997. The President comes around his desk. Laura looks at him distraught. LAURA I just talked to him, Dad. He told me the world Heritage Foundation is a sham. Is that true? The President shoots an anxious look across the room. Laura turns and suddenly realizes that Adrian is standing in the corner. LAURA (CONT'D) You knew too? You sleep with me and you didn't say anything? Adrian looks ashamed. LAURA (CONT'D) I can't even look at you. Either of you! (CONTINUED) 17. PRESIDENT WILSON Honey, calm down. LAURA A man was killed! I want the truth Dad. Right now. CUT TO: EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A dense forest trail. We hear Lilly before we see her. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy, where are we going? JACKSON To a very special place, Lil'bee. It's a lake. A place where mommy and daddy fell in love. (winking to Noah) Remember the book I gave you? NOAH I don't want to know where you and mom had sex. I'm not ready for that, Jackson. JACKSON I'm your dad, Noah. LILLY (O.S.) Daddy! Jackson runs to catch up with Lilly who has reached a fence with a `keep out' sign posted. JACKSON This wasn't here before. Jackson starts to climb the fence. NOAH Don't you see the signs? JACKSON It's fine guys. EXT. RIDGE/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Jackson and his kids crest a ridge. They look down on a parched basin with cracked terrain. (CONTINUED) 18. JACKSON It's gone. The whole darn lake is gone. I swear you guys there was a lake here. The kids roll their eyes. EXT. EMPTY LAKE BED/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY A puddle of water is all that remains of the lake. Jackson and the kids walk into the basin, unaware of being watched THROUGH BINOCULARS. Jackson spots an electronic measuring device and crouches to have a closer look. Elsewhere in the lake bed, we see sand seeping through CRACKS in the ground. NOAH (O.S.) Jackson! When he looks up, he sees heavily armed soldiers coming towards them from all sides. JACKSON It's okay, Noh'. Through the BINOCULARS, we see Jackson and his kids arrested and led over a ridge. With this we reveal an ENORMOUS RESEARCH FACILITY with hundreds of tents and vehicles surrounding a massive drilling tower. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DAY Adrian Helmsley and Prof. West exit the drilling tower, both studying papers. Adrian notices Jackson and his kids nearby, being interrogated by an OFFICER. ADRIAN I'll be with you in a second, Professor. Adrian walks towards them. Jackson stares at the officer with defiance. OFFICER ... And then you climbed over a posted fence? Just like that? NOAH I told you. (CONTINUED) 19. JACKSON Isn't this supposed to be a National Park? There shouldn't be fences. What are you guys doing around here anyway? ADRIAN (O.S.) We're geologists... Jackson turns and sees Adrian standing there. ADRIAN (CONT'D) I'll handle this officer. Thank you. The officer reluctantly hands him Jackson's license. JACKSON So, where did the lake go? ADRIAN That's what we're trying to find out. We think this whole area has become potentially unstable. I would advise you to take your kids and leave, Mr... He throws a look at Jackson's drivers license. ADRIAN (CONT'D) ... Curtis. He looks up at Jackson with renewed interest. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Are you by any chance the Jackson Curtis, the author of `Farewell Atlantis'? JACKSON (SURPRISED) Yeah, that's me. Jackson straightens up proudly. Lilly smiles. ADRIAN What a coincidence. I'm reading your book, as we speak... first third, around day 300, when the shuttle loses communication with earth and drifts off into space. JACKSON You're one of lucky 422 who bought it. ADRIAN Actually I didn't buy it. My father gave it to me. (CONTINUED) 20. JACKSON Oh, I see. Prof. West waves at Adrian from one of the container labs. Adrian hands back Jackson his drivers license. ADRIAN Officer, can you return them to the campgrounds, please. (to Jackson) Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis. Jackson and his kids look after Adrian hurrying away. LILLY He was very nice. JACKSON Yes he was, Lil'bee. EXT. FOREST TRAIL/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - LATER Jackson and the kids walk back to the campgrounds when suddenly CHARLIE FROST, 62, a crazy looking guy with binoculars around his neck, stands in their way. CHARLIE FROST What did the government guys tell you? Jackson looks at him, instinctively picking up Lilly. JACKSON They think it's not such a good idea to climb over their fences. They feel the area is unstable. Charlie bursts out laughing. CHARLIE FROST Unstable! Ha-ha! They say its unstable! That's funny... With this he turns around and leaves. EXT. TENT/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson is sitting on a camp chair, right outside the tent. He's on his laptop, looking enquiringly at an aerial picture of Yellowstone on Google earth. In the background we see the kids are in the tent. (CONTINUED) 21. NOAH There are mosquitos in here. Did anybody spray the tent? Jackson looks up, remembering he forgot the spray. JACKSON We'll get some of that tomorrow. For tonight just put your head under the blankie. LILLY Daddy you said you weren't gonna work on your book. JACKSON I'm not Honey, I promise. Are you wearing your pull-ups? Lilly nods as Jackson walks over and tucks her into bed. He kisses her good night. He turns and is surprised to see Noah typing a text on his cell phone. JACKSON (CONT'D) Did mommy buy you that? NOAH No... Gordon gave it to me for my birthday. Jackson takes the phone from out of Noah's hands. JACKSON Noah. Things like a cell phone have to be discussed in the family. NOAH (BITTER) What family? Jackson reads the message Noah has typed `Hey Gordon, Camping Sucks!'. Hurt, Jackson hands back the phone. JACKSON Go to sleep guys. EXT. RESEARCH FACILITY/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Commotion. The base packs up. Adrian and Prof. West duck low as they board a chopper. Adrian is on the phone. ADRIAN ... You have to immediately inform the President, Mr Anheuser. The readings look much worse than I expected. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 22. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Plus Satnam's neutrino figures from India confirm... We hear Anheuser, yelling. ANHEUSER (O.S.) ... But you guys said... ADRIAN We were wrong! By five or six months... A second later the chopper lifts off. INT. LIMO/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Jackson has his laptop open with the cursor blinking away on the words `Chapter Seven'. But he can't concentrate on writing after what Noah has said. A chopper flies overhead. Jackson follows it's path over the campsite and his eyes fall on an American flag fluttering on top of a massive radio antennae. This belongs to an RV truck. Through the RV's window, Jackson sees the silhouette of Charlie Frost, the guy with the binoculars, speaking into a microphone. Curious, Jackson flicks on the radio and twists the dial. ON THE RADIO (Charlie's voice) ... We have a listener calling in. Bill from Cooke City, you're on the Charlie Frost Show. (Bill's voice) I wanted to know, where will this all start? Jackson is intrigued. He puts his laptop down. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Charlie's voice) Well, something like this could only originate in Hollywood, Ha-Ha! But seriously, they've got the earth cracking under their asses already, Bill. Jackson climbs out of his car and starts towards the RV. He can still hear the radio. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) (Bill's voice) Our family believes in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 23. ON THE RADIO (CONT'D) We have nothing to fear, Charlie. (Charlie's voice) Good for you Bill, good for you! INT. CHARLIE'S RV/YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - DUSK Charlie hits a switch. Music starts playing. The Doors, `The End'. CHARLIE FROST ... This is Charlie Frost reporting live from Yellowstone National Park, soon to become the world's largest active volcano. Charlie is about to take a bite of his sandwich, when there's a knock on the door. Jackson sticks his head in. JACKSON Hi. Mind if I join you? CHARLIE FROST I only got a few minutes. Charlie bites into his sandwich as Jackson looks around at all the equipment. JACKSON I just heard part of your broadcast... Mind me asking a question? What exactly is it... that will start in Hollywood? CHARLIE FROST (CHEWING) Actually it's gonna be the whole west coast... JACKSON What are you talking about? CHARLIE FROST The apocalypse, the end of days. The Mayans knew it, the I Ching and the Bible, kind of... Charlie looks at his watch. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) I got to eat... Just check my blog. You can download it for free. Charlie clicks on his laptop. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) ... However, we do take donations. (CONTINUED) 24. A crudely animated film starts to play. Charlie narrates on screen in an overly dramatic fashion. CHARLIE'S VOICE In the year 2012 a cataclysmic event will unfold. Caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years... Just imagine the earth as an Orange... Charlie appears as an animated figure holding an orange. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that's the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. On screen the middle of the orange shrinks, now the skin moves freely around it. CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D) In 1958, Prof. Hapgood named it `Earth Crust Displacement'... A faded portrait of a scientist appears on screen. CHARLIE FROST ... and Albert Einstein endorsed it... The infamous photo of Einstein, sticking out his tongue. CHARLIE FROST (CONT'D) The forces of mother nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12. The film ends with an image of the whole earth covered with water. Charlie shuts the laptop. | grinding | How many times the word 'grinding' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | absolutely | How many times the word 'absolutely' appears in the text? | 2 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | physics | How many times the word 'physics' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | bathroom | How many times the word 'bathroom' appears in the text? | 3 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | light | How many times the word 'light' appears in the text? | 2 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | everything | How many times the word 'everything' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | anything | How many times the word 'anything' appears in the text? | 2 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | ability | How many times the word 'ability' appears in the text? | 0 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | comic | How many times the word 'comic' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | town | How many times the word 'town' appears in the text? | 0 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | leisure | How many times the word 'leisure' appears in the text? | 0 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | holding | How many times the word 'holding' appears in the text? | 3 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | messages | How many times the word 'messages' appears in the text? | 3 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | magazine | How many times the word 'magazine' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | that- | How many times the word 'that-' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | disagreeable | How many times the word 'disagreeable' appears in the text? | 0 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | hanger | How many times the word 'hanger' appears in the text? | 2 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | unsatisfied,--the | How many times the word 'unsatisfied,--the' appears in the text? | 0 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | stall | How many times the word 'stall' appears in the text? | 3 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | gown | How many times the word 'gown' appears in the text? | 1 |
31 A short, balding middle-aged man in flannel pyjamas and an old flannel dressing gown stands in front of the open refrigerator holding an open jar of orange juice. He tips the jar back to drink, his free hand holding a balled-up towel to the back of his neck LARRY stares at him. FADE OUT BLEGEN HALL LARRY enters the departmental office. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark-bagged. He has beard stubble. The department's secretary wheels her castored chair away from her typing. SECRETARY Messages, Professor Gopnik. He takes the two phone messages. HIS OFFICE LARRY looks at the messages: WHILE YOU WERE OUT Dick Dutton OF Columbia Record Club CALLED. REGARDING: "2 d attempt. Please call." WHILE YOU WERE OUT Sy Ableman CALLED. REGARDING "Let's have a good talk." A knock brings his look up. LARRY Yes-thanks for coming, CLIVE. CLIVE Park enters the office. 32 . Have a seat. LARRY uses a key to open the top left desk drawer. He takes out the envelope. We had, I think, a good talk, the other day, but you left something that- CLIVE I didn't leave it. LARRY Well--you don't even know what I was going to say. CLIVE I didn't leave anything. I'm not missing anything. I know where everything is. LARRY looks at him, trying to formulate a thought. LARRY Well... then, CLIVE, where did this come from? He waves the envelope. . This is here, isn't it? CLIVE looks at it gravely. CLIVE Yes, sir. That is there. LARRY This is not nothing, this is something. CLIVE Yes sir. That is something. A beat. . What is it. LARRY You know what it is! You know what it is! I believe. And 33 you know I can't keep it, CLIVE. CLIVE Of course, sir. LARRY I'll have to pass it on to Professor Finkle, along with my suspicions about where it came from. Actions have consequences. CLIVE Yes. Often. LARRY Always! Actions always have consequences! He pounds the desk for emphasis. In this office, actions have consequences! CLIVE Yes sir. LARRY Not just physics. Morally. CLIVE Yes. LARRY And we both know about your actions. CLIVE No sir. I know about my actions. LARRY I can interpret, CLIVE. I know what you meant me to understand. CLIVE Meer sir my sir. LARRY cocks his head. 34 LARRY . Meer sir my sir? CLIVE (careful enunciation) Mere... surmise. Sir. He gravely shakes his head. . Very uncertain. CLOSE ON A TONE ARM A hand lays it onto a slowly spinning vinyl record. Through scratches and pops, a solo tenor starts a mournful Hebrew chant. Close on the sleeve: Rabbi Youssele Rosenblatt Chants Your Haftorah Portion VOLUME 12 Rabbi Youssele wears a caftan and a felt hat and has sad eyes. They peer out from the dark beard that covers most of the rest of his face like owl's eyes peering out of the woods. Wider, on DANNY, in his bedroom, evening. He lifts the tone arm on the portable turntable. He chants the passage. He drops the tone arm at the same place; Rabbi Youssele chants the passage again. DANNY listens, eyes narrowed. He lifts the tone arm and chants the passage again. He replays the passage again; before he can lift the tone arm to echo it his door bursts open. Rabbi Youssele continues to chant. 35 SARAH You little brat fucker! You snuck twenty bucks out of my drawer! DANNY Studying torah! Asshole! SARAH You little brat! I'm telling Dad! DANNY Oh yeah? You gonna tell him you've been sneaking it out of his wallet? SARAH All right, you know what I'm gonna do? You little brat? If you don't give it back? We hear the thunk of the front door opening. DANNY stands, calling: DANNY Dad? FOYER LARRY is entering with his briefcase. As he stows it in the foyer closet DANNY's voice continues, off: DANNY Dad, you gotta fix the aerial. Judith emerges from the kitchen. JUDITH Hello LARRY, have you thought about a lawyer? LARRY Honey, please! DANNY emerges from the hall. DANNY 36 We're not getting channel four at all. LARRY (to Judith) Can we discuss it later? DANNY I can't get F Troop. JUDITH LARRY, the children know. Do you think this is some secret? Do you think this is something we're going to keep quiet? SARAH enters. SARAH Dad, Uncle Arthur is in the bathroom again! And I=m going to the hole at eight! She hits DANNY on the back of the head. DANNY Stop it! LARRY SARAH! What's going on! DANNY She keeps doing that! LATER LARRY sits in a reclining chair in the living room, head back, listening to Sidor Belarsky on the hi-fi. On top of the music is a hissing-sucking sound. There is also the sound of a pencil busily scratching paper. We cut to its source: Uncle Arthur sits scribbling into a spiral notebook, his free hand holding the end of a length of surgical tubing against the back of his neck. The tube leads to a water-pik-like appliance on an end table next to him-the source of the sucking sound. After a long beat of listening to the music, LARRY speaks into space: 37 LARRY Arthur? Uncle Arthur does not look up from his scribbling. Uncle Arthur Yes. LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY What're you doing? Still without looking up: Uncle Arthur Working on the Mentaculus. Long beat. Music. Scribbling. LARRY Any luck, um, looking for an apartment? More scribbling. Uncle Arthur No. The doorbell chimes. FRONT DOOR LARRY enters, glances through the front door's head-height window, and-freezes, one hand arrested on the way to the doorknob. His point-of-view: framed by the window, yellowly lit by the stoop light, a human head. A middle-aged man, a few years older than LARRY. A fleshy face with droopy hangdog features, a five-o'clock shadow, and sad Harold Bloom eyes. LARRY opens the door. 38 LARRY Sy. Sy, entering, thrusts out a hand. His voice vibrates with a warm, sad empathy: SY Good to see you, LARRY. He is a heavy-set man wearing a short-sleeved shirt that his belly tents out in front of him. In his left hand he holds a bottle of wine. LARRY (TIGHTLY) I'll get Judith. SY No, actually LARRY, I'm here to see you, if I might. He shakes his head. . Such a thing. Such a thing. LARRY Shall we go in the... He is leading him into the kitchen but Sy, oblivious to surroundings, plows on with the conversation, arresting both men in the narrow space between kitchen sink and stove, and invading LARRY's space. SY You know, LARRY-how we handle ourselves, in this situation-it's so impawtant. LARRY Uh-huh. SY Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the news to you. She said you were very adult. LARRY Did she. 39 SY Absolutely. The respect she has for you. LARRY Yes? SY Absolutely. But the children, LARRY. The children. He shakes his head. . The most impawtant. LARRY Well, I guess... SY Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, LARRY. A bawdeaux. LARRY You know, Sy- SY Open it-let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant. LARRY Thanks, Sy, but I'm not- SY I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are signs and tokens, LARRY. LARRY I'm just-I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and, given our respective, you know- He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him. SY 40 S' okay. He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back. S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine. SKEWED ANGLE ON PARKING LOT We are dutch on a slit of a view through a cracked-open frosted window: the Hebrew school parking lot. The last couple of busses filled with students are rolling out of the lot. It is late afternoon. A reverse shows DANNY in a stall, standing on a closed toilet, angling his head to peer out the bathroom window opened at the top. The bathroom outside the stall: Ronnie Nudell leans against a sink waiting, sucking a long draw from a joint. DANNY emerges from the stall. Ronnie Nudell offers the joint. Ronnie Nudell Want some of this fucker? HALLWAY The bathroom door cracks open in the foreground. DANNY peeks out. His point-of-view: the empty hallway ending in a T with another hallway. A janitor crosses, pushing a broom down the far hallway. He disappears. His echoing footsteps recede. DANNY and Ronny emerge from the bathroom. RABBI MINDA The photo-portrait on the wall of Mar Turchik's office lit by late-day sun. We hear a scraping sound. 41 Wider: Ronnie Nudell looks over DANNY's shoulder as DANNY, hunched at Mar Turchik's desk, fishes the end of a bent hanger into the keyhole on the top left drawer. After a beat, the hanger turns. They open the drawer. In it: squirt guns, marbles set to rolling by the opening of the drawer, a comic book, a Playboy magazine, a slingshot, a small bundle of firecrackers. Hands rifle the gewgaws: no radio. Ronnie Nudell Fuck. SANCTUARY We are behind the two boys who sit side by side on the last pew, staring at the front of the empty sanctuary. Its stained glass windows further weaken the late-afternoon light. In deference to the location, the boys wear yarmulkas. A long hold on their still backs. At length, some movement in DANNY's back, his head dips, and we hear him sucking on the joint. He holds it, exhales, and passes it wordlessly to Ronnie Nudell. SUBURBAN STREET We are pulling DANNY as he walks along the street, eyes red-rimmed, still wearing his yarmulka. It is dusk. After a few beats of walking, the front door of a house just behind DANNY opens. A husky, shaggy-haired youth emerges on the run. The sound has alerted DANNY. Seeing Mike Fagle, he too begins to run. He reaches up and grabs his yarmulka and clutches it in one of his pumping fists. Pursued and pursuer both run wordlessly, panting, feet pounding. Mike Fagle is closing. But DANNY is already cutting across the Brandt's front yard, approaching his own. He plunges into the house and slams the door. Mike Fagle draws up, panting, gazing hungrily at the house. 42 Lights are on inside. The house is a warm yellow citadel in the dusk. After a beat we hear, faint and dulled, the Jefferson Airplane. Mike Fagle slinks away. PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS A shockingly blue sky with picture-perfect clouds hanging in it. After a beat the top of an aluminum extension ladder swings in from the bottom of the frame and comes toward us. We cut to a side angle as the ladder clunk against a roof. It starts vibrating to the rhythmic clung of someone climbing. Hands enter. LARRY's head enters. He climbs onto the roof. He takes a couple steps away from the edge and stands tentatively, making sure of his balance. He looks around. His point-of-view towards the front. An unfamiliarly high perspective on the street and the neighboring houses, almost maplike. Very peaceful. Wind rhythmically, gently waves the trees. LARRY gingerly walks up to the aerial at the peak of the roof. We are hearing a rhythmic popping noise. LARRY reaches the peak and straddles it. He looks down at the back yard. MITCH Ow. Foreshortened Gar Brandt and Mitch are playing catch in their back yard. With each toss the ball pops, alternately in father's mitt and son's. Precariously balanced, LARRY reaches out for the aerial. He tentatively touches it. He grasps it. He twists the aerial. 43 Something strange: as it rotates the aerial creaks-a high whine as pure as the hum sounded from the rim of a wineglass. MITCH Ow. Faintly, under the wineglass sound, and clouded by static, a high, ringing tenor sings in an unfamiliar modality. Cantorial music. LARRY drops his hand. Inertia keeps the aerial rotating slowly til it dies, the sound drifting away into the sybillant shushing of trees. LARRY reaches out again to turn the aerial. The same crystal hum... cantorial singing... and now, layering in, the theme from F Troop. Music. Crystal hum. Wind. MITCH Ow. LARRY's look travels: his point-of-view pans slowly off the steep angle of father and son playing catch, travels across his own backyard, and brings in the white fence that encloses the patio of the neighbor on the other side. Gar (off) Good toss, Mitch. On the enclosed patio a woman reclines on a lawn chaise of nylon bands woven over an aluminum frame. She is on her back, eyes closed against the sun. She is naked. Mitch (off) Ow. LARRY reacts to the naked woman: startled at first, he moves to hide behind the peak of the roof. But as he realizes that the sun keeps the woman's eyes closed he relaxes, continu- ing to stare. She is attractive. Not young, not old: LARRY's age. Peaceful. After a still beat one of her hands gropes blindly to the side. It finds an ashtray on the table next to her and takes from it a pluming cigarette. The woman takes a puff and replaces it. 44 Mitch (off) Ow. F Troop. Cantorial singing. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. The sound of a pencil scratching against paper. NOTEBOOK A pencil scratches equations into a lamplit spiral notebook. Sidor Belarsky comes in at the cut. So does the spluttering suck-sound of Uncle Arthur's evacuator. Wider on Uncle Arthur, in his pyjamas, propped up on the narrow fold-out sofa, writing with one hand as he holds the evacuator hose to his neck with the other. Squeezed into the living room next to the fold-out sofa is a camp cot of plaid-patterned nylon stretched over an aluminum frame. On the camp cot is LARRY, lying half-in, half- out of a rumpled sleeping bag. He stares at the ceiling, a damp washcloth pressed against his forehead. His face is flaming red. Arthur speaks absently as he scribbles: ARTHUR Will you read this? Tell me what you think? LARRY continues to stare at the ceiling. LARRY Okay. Uncle Arthur glances up from the notebook, focuses on LARRY. ARTHUR Boy. You should've worn a hat. LATER 45 The lights are out. Very quiet. Uncle Arthur lightly snores. LARRY still stares at the ceiling. He shifts his weight. The aluminum frame of the cot squeaks. He shifts again. Another creak. LARRY fishes his watch from the jumble of clothes on the floor: 4:50. KITCHEN LARRY, in his underwear, spoons ground coffee into the percolator. Uncle Arthur snores softly on in the other room. From outside, a dull thunk. LARRY pulls back a curtain. Next door, Gar Brandt is going down the walk, wearing camouflage togs and camo billed cap, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. He is carrying an ice chest, its contents clicking and sloshing. The boy Mitch, also wearing camo clothes and cap and also with a rifle bag, has just closed the front door. He now lets the screen door swing shut behind him and follows his father down the walk to the car in the driveway. The twitter of early morning birds. Gar's voice, though not projected, stands out in the pre-dawn quiet: GAR Let's see some hustle, Mitch. CLOSE ON THE NOTEBOOK Its top sheet, densely covered by equations, has a heading: The Mentaculus Compiled by Arthur Gopnik After a beat LARRY's hand enters to turn the page. The second page is also densely covered with equations. 46 VOICE LARRY? This brings LARRY's look up from the Mentaculus. We are in LARRY's office. Standing in the office doorway is Arlen Finkle. LARRY Hi Arlen. Arlen Finkle LARRY, I feel that, as head of the tenure committee I should tell you this, though it should be no cause for concern. You should not be at all worried. LARRY waits for more. Arlen seems to need a prompt. LARRY Okay. Arlen Finkle I feel I should mention it even though we won't give this any weight at all in considering whether to grant you tenure, so, I repeat no cause for concern. LARRY Okay, Arlen. Give what any weight? Arlen Finkle We have received some letters, uh... denigrating you, and, well, urging that we not grant you tenure. LARRY From who? Arlen Finkle They're anonymous. And so of course we dismiss them completely. LARRY Well... well... what do they say? Arlen Finkle They make allegations, not even allegations, assertions, but 47 I'm not really... while we give them no credence, LARRY, I'm not supposed to deal in any specifics about the committee's deliberations. LARRY But... I think you're saying, these won't play any part in your deliberations. Arlen Finkle None at all. LARRY Um, so what are they... Arlen Finkle Moral turpitude. You could say. LARRY Uh-huh. Can I ask, are they, are they-idiomatic? Arlen Finkle I, uh... LARRY The reason I ask, I have a Korean student, South Korean, disgruntled South Korean, and I meant to talk to you about this, actually, he- Arlen Finkle No. No, the letters are competently-even eloquently written. A native English-speaker. No question about that. LARRY Uh-huh. Arlen Finkle But I reiterate this, LARRY: no cause for concern. I only speak because I would have felt odd concealing it. LARRY Yes, okay, thank you Arlen. 48 Arlen Finkle Best to Judith. LARRY answers with a wan smile. He looks down at the Mentaculus. HEBREW SCHOOL EXTERIOR Day. Somewhere inside the school a bell rings. Its doors swing open and children emerge. Our angle is down a line of school busses, each with the the same stenciled Hebrew lettering, waiting to ferry the children home. We are tracking toward the busses to steepen the rake. As children sort themselves out and climb into their respective vehicles, the track brings the nearest bus into the fore- ground. It noisily idles with its signature squeaks and stress sounds, its low coughing engine ominously rumbling. Children start climbing on. MINUTES LATER Inside the bus, now moving. Engine noise bangs in louder and air roars in through open windows. We are on the driver, a sallow man in a short-sleeved white shirt with earlocks and a yarmulke. He pitches about, stoically wrestling with the wheel and gear shift as the vehicle bucks. The pitching children. Somewhere, Jefferson Airplane plays. DANNY I gotta get my radio back. Ronnie Nudell Maybe the fucker lodged it up his fucking asshole. DANNY I gotta get it back. Or Mike Fagle's gonna pound the crap out of me. Ronnie Nudell 49 Way up his asshole. DANNY And I'll still have to get my sister the money back or she's gonna break four of my records. Twenty bucks, four records. Howard Altar How do you buy all those records. Where do you get your funds. CLOSE ON LARRY Standing in his yard. His eyes are darkly pouched. He is staring at something, it seems in distress. We hear a fluttering sound. His point-of-view: stakes are set out in the Brandts' yard. Red ribbon connecting them outlines a projection from the side of the house. The loose ends of the ribbon flutter in the breeze. Engine noise brings LARRY's look around. A car is arriving. It is the Brandts' car, oddly burdened. As it pulls into their driveway we see that there is a four-point stag strapped to the hood, its head lolling over the grille. Gar and Mitch get out of the car in their hunting fatigues. Blood is smeared on Gar's shirt. GAR Go scrub up, Mitch. LARRY Uh, good afternoon. This brings Gar's look around. Apparently he is unused to talking with his neighbor. There is a short beat before his response. GAR Afternoon. In the background of his angle is the dead buck, staring off through sightless eyes. 50 LARRY (LAMELY) . Been hunting? GAR Yep. LARRY Is that a, uh... He is indicating the staked area. Gar looks around at it, looks back at LARRY. GAR Gonna be a den. LARRY Uh-huh, that's great. Uh, Mr. Brandt- Gar barks at Mitch, who has lingered to listen to the grown-ups: GAR I said scrub up, Mitch! The child quickly goes. LARRY frowns. LARRY Isn't this a school day? GAR Took him out of school today. So he could hunt with his dad. LARRY Oh! He nods. . That's.. . nice. Gar stares at him with button eyes. Small talk is not his thing. LARRY clears his throat. 51 . Um, Mr. Brandt, that's just about at the property line, there. I don't think we're supposed to get within, what, ten FEET GAR Property line's the poplar. LARRY . the. ? GAR Poplar! LARRY . Well.. . even if it is, you're just about over it GAR Measure. We hear two pairs of pounding footsteps coming up the street. LARRY I don't have to measure, you can tell it's... GAR Line's the poplar. He indicates. . It's all angles. Gar Brandt turns and goes. LARRY turns, reacting to the pounding footsteps. One of the two pairs belongs to DANNY who arrives, slowing to a walk, panting, a bookbag over his shoulder. A half-block back the pursuing boy also stops running. Husky, shaggy-haired, he watches, scowling, as DANNY goes up the walk to his house. LARRY addresses DANNY's retreating back: 52 LARRY What's going on? DANNY Nothing. IN THE HOUSE As LARRY enters. Judith (ofj) LARRY? LARRY (PROJECTING) Yeah? Judith (ofj) Did you go to Sieglestein Schlutz? No, I-not yet. LARRY. Appointment Monday. The thud of a car door outside. SARAH heads for the front door, pulling on a jacket. LARRY is surprised. . Where are you going? SARAH I'm going to the hole. LARRY At five o'clock? He looks out the front-door window. Four girls of SARAH's age are coming up the walk 53 from the car. All have dark hair and big noses. SARAH We're stopping at Laurie Kipperstein's house so I can wash my hair. LARRY pulls open the door just as the doorbell rings. From the four dark girls: VOICES Hi, Mr. Gopnik. LARRY You can't wash it here? From somewhere in the house, Jefferson Airplane starts. As she brushes past LARRY: SARAH Uncle Arthur's in the bathroom. VOICE Out in a minute! Judith enters. JUDITH Are you ready? LARRY Huh? JUDITH We're meeting Sy at Embers. LARRY I am? JUDITH Both of us. I told you. EMBERS 54 LARRY has his arms pinned at his sides by hugging Sy Ableman. SY LARRY. How are you. LARRY Sy. SY Hello Judith. JUDITH Hello Sy. Once Sy releases LARRY, all seat themselves at Sy's booth, Judith next to Sy, LARRY facing. SY Thank you for coming, LARRY. It's so impawtant that we be able to discuss these things. LARRY I'm happy to come to Embers, Sy, but, I'm thinking, really, maybe it's best to leave these discussions to the lawyers. SY Of coss! Legal matters, let the lawyers discuss! Don't mix apples and oranges! JUDITH I've beamed you to see the lawyer. LARRY (teeth grit) I told you, I'm going Monday. SY Monday is timely! This isn't-please!-Embers isn't the forum for legalities, you are so right! JUDITH Hmph. 55 SY No, Judith and I thought merely we should discuss the practicalities, the living arrangements, a situation that will conduce to the comfit of all the parties. This is an issue where no one is at odds. LARRY isn't sure where this is leading: LARRY . Living arrangements. SY Absolutely. I think we all agree, the children not being contaminated by the tension-the most impawtant. JUDITH We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, LARRY. LARRY The kids aren't- JUDITH I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers. SY No one is playing the "blame game," LARRY. LARRY I didn't say anyone was! JUDITH Well let's not play He said, She said, either. LARRY I wasn't! I. --- SY Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, LARRY. LARRY glares at Sy. 56 Sy smiles at him, sadly. He reaches over and rests a hand on LARRY's hand. . I find, sometimes, if I count to ten. A beat. One... two... three... faw... Or silently. Long beat. JUDITH Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to DANNY's bar mitzvah- SY A child's bar mitzvah, LARRY! JUDITH Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house. LARRY . Move out?! SY It makes eminent sense. JUDITH Things can't continue as they- LARRY Move out! Where would I go?! SY Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently livable. JUDITH This would allow you to visit the kids. SY There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool- LARRY 57 Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy? Judith and Sy gape at him, shocked. After a long beat: JUDITH LARRY! SY LARRY, you're jesting! JUDITH LARRY, there is much to accomplish before that can happen. Sy is sadly shaking his head. SY LARRY, LARRY, LARRY. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. He shrugs. It has a pool. IN BLACK AND WHITE: A BRAIN It sits in a large fishbowl filled with clear fluid. The brain, alive, pulses. Leads connect it to various pieces of gear outside the fishbowl. Brain and appurtenances sit on a dais of sorts dressed out with bunting. Oddly, the picture is scored with cantorial singing. The brain seems to be giving orders to people who wear imperfectly form-fitting 1950's uniforms of the future. After receiving their instructions the minions of the brain kowtow before it and leave. They are succeeded by two leather-helmeted thugs, big and heavy though lacking muscle definition, who escort a resisting handsome man before the brain. The handsome man, hands tied behind his back, gazes defiantly up at the brain which in some fashion addresses him. We hear blows and voices over the cantorial music: 58 DANNY Stop it! SARAH Creep fucker! DANNY Stop it! I'm getting it! I'm gonna get it! Wider shows that the brain is on television, which DANNY has muted while he plays the Cantor Youssele Rosenblatt record and drills his torah portion. He and SARAH are in a stand-off, hands tensed to either deliver or ward off blows. SARAH Brat! LARRY enters. LARRY What's going on? SARAH (LEAVING) Nothing. She closes the door behind her. LARRY What was that? DANNY Nothing. LARRY How's the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi? DANNY What? We hear the doorbell off. LARRY indicates the portable record player. LARRY 59 Can I borrow this? I'm taking some stuff. To, you know, the Jolly Rodger. DANNY Sure Dad. On TV, the handsome man shouts defiance at the brain. From off, SARAH projects: SARAH Dad. Chinese guy. ASIAN MAN A middle-aged Korean man, well groomed. He wears a nicely cut suit and a jeweled tie- pin. MAN Culcha clash. He bangs his two knuckles together, illustrating. . Culcha clash. He faces LARRY in the driveway. LARRY's car is half-loaded with open boxes that are haphazardly stuffed with clothing and effects. LARRY is leaning against the hood, arms folded, gazing at the man, unimpressed. A long beat. Finally he bestirs himself. LARRY With all respect, Mr. Park, I don't think it's that. Mr. Park Yes. 60 LARRY No. It would be a culture clash if it were the custom in your land to bribe people for grades. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY So-you're saying it is the custom? Mr. Park No. This is defamation. Grounds for lawsuit. LARRY You-let me get this straight-you're threatening to sue me for defaming your son? Mr. Park Yes. LARRY But it would- Gar Brandt Is this man bothering you. Gar Brandt stands on the strip of lawn separating the two neighbors. He is giving Mr. Park a hard stare. LARRY Is he bothering me? No. We're fine. Thank you, Mr. Brandt. Gar Brandt, not entirely convinced, withdraws, glaring at the Korean. LARRY turns back to Mr. Park. . I, uh. . See, if it were defamation there would have to be someone I was defaming him to, or I... All right, I... let's keep it simple. I could pretend the money never appeared. That's not defaming anyone. BL Mr. Park Yes. And passing grade. LARRY Passing grade. Mr. Park Yes. LARRY Or you'll sue me. Mr. Park For taking money. LARRY So.. . he did leave the money. Mr. Park This is defamation. LARRY stares at him. LARRY Look. It doesn't make sense. Either he left the money or he didn't Mr. Park Please. Accept mystery. LARRY You can't have it both ways! If Mr. Park Why not. LARRY stares. We hear Sidor Belarsky music. RECORD PLAYER 62 Sidor Belarsky's singing crosses the cut. The tone arm of DANNY's portable record player rides on a spinning LP. Wider shows LARRY grading bluebooks at a small formica table crowded into a corner of his motel room. It is a depressingly generic budget motel room of the mid-sixties with cheaply paneled walls, thin carpet, formica night tables, plastic lamps, and twin beds with stained nubby bedspreads. The phone rings. LARRY Hello... He brightens. . Fine, Mimi, how are you?... Uh-huh... No, it's not that bad... It's not that bad... There's a pool... Arthur emerges from an alcove in the dim depth of the room that has a dressing-room mirror and apparently connects to the bathroom. He has a hand towel pressed to the back of his neck. . Oh sure, that sounds great. . . Oh, great, then I'll bring DANNY... LAKE NOKOMIS The beach: families are crowded onto the small beach of a freshwater lake, children cavorting, adults lounging, much sun, few | briefcase | How many times the word 'briefcase' appears in the text? | 1 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | discerning | How many times the word 'discerning' appears in the text? | 0 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | gives | How many times the word 'gives' appears in the text? | 2 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | how | How many times the word 'how' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | find | How many times the word 'find' appears in the text? | 2 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | reappearance | How many times the word 'reappearance' appears in the text? | 0 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | fence | How many times the word 'fence' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | his-- | How many times the word 'his--' appears in the text? | 1 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | ext | How many times the word 'ext' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | urine | How many times the word 'urine' appears in the text? | 1 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | over | How many times the word 'over' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | name | How many times the word 'name' appears in the text? | 0 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | pleased | How many times the word 'pleased' appears in the text? | 0 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | under | How many times the word 'under' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | kitchen | How many times the word 'kitchen' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | disconcerted | How many times the word 'disconcerted' appears in the text? | 0 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | time | How many times the word 'time' appears in the text? | 3 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | among | How many times the word 'among' appears in the text? | 1 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | havoc | How many times the word 'havoc' appears in the text? | 2 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | turns | How many times the word 'turns' appears in the text? | 2 |
345 CHURCHILL ROAD - GARAGE - NIGHT 34 The door opens and the puppy gets excited-- JOHN No no... I just wanted you to know I'm back. The puppy whimpers and he goes over to him, reaches into the box and pets him... JOHN (CONT'D) Buddy, you really gotta chill, okay? Yeah, I know, good to see you, too. But I'm just inside the house, I'll see you in the morning. Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep. 35 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - KITCHEN - NIGHT 35 John gulps orange juice from the bottle. Leaves a quarter- inch, puts it back in the fridge. And now we hear BARKING from the Garage. 27. 36 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BATHROOM - NIGHT 36 Water running. John swallows some preventative aspirin, picks some nachos off his shirt. He turns off the water. And we hear WAILING and KEENING coming from the garage. 37 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 37 John has his head buried under the pillows AS THE WAILING AND KEENING GO ON. AND ON. AND ON. Finally, John can't take it anymore. He sits up, pulls earplugs out of his ears. 38 38 INT. GARAGE - NIGHT As the light comes on and Marley's head appears over the top of the box. John sighs, comes over and scoops him up... 39 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - BEDROOM - NIGHT 39 John gets Marley settled in the box, now by the side of the bed. JOHN Just this one time. John climbs into bed, shuts off the light. Marley whimpers and John rolls onto his stomach, reaches into the box and strokes his back, the puppy lays down, still whimpers... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, come on... (THEN) Hey. Remember this? (half drunk, sings badly) One love, one heart... (MARLEY QUIETS) Let's get together and feel alright... John nods off, one arm hanging over the side of the bed into the box, his hand resting on Marley's back as the puppy now snoozes peacefully and we then... FADE OUT. AN ALARM CLOCK SOUNDS. 40 FADE IN: CLOSE-UP OF MARLEY'S FACE 40 Tail rising in the b.g., wagging. REVEAL: BEDROOM - MORNING 28. 40 40 CONTINUED: As John opens his eyes to see Marley snuggled up against his face. Marley's eyes looking into his. John reaches over the puppy and shuts off the alarm. JOHN She comes home today. Hung over, he sits up, looks around the messy room, half due to John's bachelor housekeeping habits, half due to Marley. Not only has everything has been chewed, but some time during the night Marley discovered how much fun toilet paper is. JOHN (CONT'D) We should probably clean up. 41 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - DAY 41 John vacuums, struggles to empty the bag, puts a broken vase in the trash, does the dishes, etc. Marley follows him, tail wreaking havoc, knocking over everything that isn't nailed down. John picks up the HUGE CHEW TOY he'd just bought and examines it as Marley runs into the bathroom... JOHN Huh. It's already completely gnawed up. John looks at Marley who emerges dragging a roll of toilet paper, rams right into the screen door, bounces back. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley, it's a screen, you're not gonna GET THROUGH-- Meanwhile, Marley backs up a few steps, gets a head of steam, then rams into it again, this time goes right through it. JOHN (CONT'D) --there. 42 INT. BATHROOM - LATER 42 John gets drenched as he gives Marley a bath. 43 INT. GARAGE - DAY 43 John drags Marley into the garage. JOHN I'll be back in an hour. Be good. 29. 44 44 EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY A bit of THUNDER as John comes out with a bag of groceries and a bunch of flowers. He gets to the car just as the rain hits. 45 45 EXT. AIRPORT - DAY As John and Jenny kiss outside the terminal. She holds a stuffed "Pluto." JENNY How's my puppy? JOHN I'm okay. A little tired, but OTHERWISE-- She nudges him. He gives her another kiss. JOHN (CONT'D) He's waiting for you. 46 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL - DRIVEWAY - DAY 46 John and Jenny get out of the car. We hear WHIMPERING in the garage. JENNY Marley! She takes off for the side door of the garage. 47 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - GARAGE - DAY 47 They open the door and freeze. JENNY Oh my God. It's a mess. It's almost incredible that it's all due to a single puppy. The box is in shreds; so are the blankets. A puddle of urine on the floor. A large piece of dry wall has been chewed off near the big garage door. The garbage cans are overturned. Marley is whimpering in the corner. JOHN Wow. Okay, this is not how I left it. JENNY How long has he been in here? 3 /06/07 30. 47 CONTINUED: 47 JOHN An hour, at the most. (looks around, then) Jeez... he Alg drywall. That's just not right. JENNY (she picks him up) Look. He's shaking-- Another bit of THUNDER and the puppy whimpers louder. JENNY (CONT'D) Does thunder scare you, Mister? Hm? He licks her face, snuggles into her. She gives him the Pluto stuffed animal. She hugs him... JENNY (CONT'D) Look at us. She looks up at John and smiles. He returns the smile. Mission accomplished. 48 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 48 As Marley bursts out of the back bedroom with one of Jenny's bras in his mouth. JENNY Marley, no! Jenny chases him into the kitchen, past John who holds up the newspaper... JOHN He gave me an extra paragraph... Marley bursts through the back screen door... 49 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - BACKYARD - DAY 49 A seemingly continuous shot, except that it's now A SIX MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes through the screen into the backyard now clutching a set of curtains in his mouth, still attached to the rod, and it's now JOHN who stumbles through the broken wire mesh to chase after him... JOHN Marley, no! John chases him across the backyard. Marley goes under the fence and John starts to go over into... 31. 50 50 EXT. THE NEIGHBOR'S BACKYARD - DAY And now it's a NINE MONTH OLD MARLEY who comes up from under the fence clutching a THANKSGIVING TURKEY in his mouth. And now it's Jenny AND John who go over the fence chasing him... JOHN Marley, no! They wave to the NEIGHBOR standing on his patio watching. JOHN (CONT'D) Hi, Tom-- Sorry... JENNY Happy Thanksgiving... Marley goes through a hedge and out onto... 51 EXT. STREET - DAY 51 Where Marley emerges into FRAME a FULL GROWN DOG, rapidly pulling Jenny by the leash along the intercoastal waterway. We track with him until a WOMAN WALKING A POODLE IS NOW IN FRAME and Marley gets the two women entangled as he starts humping the smaller dog... JENNY Marley, no! 52 52 INT. SUN-SENTINEL - ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY John sits across from Arnie. He looks thrown: JOHN I don't understand, why me? ARNIE I'm in a bind, John. JOHN But I'm a reporter, not a columnist. ARNIE It's a step up. JOHN Yeah, but it's a step away from what I wanna do. ARNIE It's also better pay, you set your own hours, pick your own topics... (MORE) 32. 52 52 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) and it's only temporary, just until I find someone permanent. JOHN What happened to Jerry? ARNIE You may have noticed that in every other column, he went on about The Pie Palace? JOHN I really haven't read his-- ARNIE Turns out he's been getting free meals in exchange for mentioning the joint. It's also why he became such a fat ass. John nods. Oh. ARNIE (CONT'D) Anyway, it's twice a week. And like I said, it's only until I can find someone else to replace him. Then you're back on, uh... whatever beat you were on. 53 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY 53 17- John pulls up, gets out of the car. His neighbors, The year-old GIRL -- short blue hair, pierced eyebrow -- and her MOM -- in a nurses uniform -- unload groceries from the car. GIRL Your dog's funny. JOHN (PAUSES) Uh, thanks. GIRL He tried to eat one of our tires. JOHN Yeah, well, dogs need rubber. Little known fact, helps the digestive tract... GIRL Right. Along with the occasional black Converse high top which I'd still love to get back by the way. 33. 53 53 CONTINUED: JOHN I'll do what I can. GIRL 'Preciate that. 54 54 INT. KITCHEN - DAY John sits at the table scribbling on a legal pad. He tears off the sheet and crumples it up, throws it across the room. Marley bounds into the room, Jenny behind him, sweating. JENNY I think he dislocated my shoulder. He doesn't heel-- hell, he doesn't even walk, he sprints, and I had to pull him off three dogs... JOHN Poodle? JENNY Yeah, among others. There was a Yorkie, a Dalmatian and a bichon frise that may never be right again. (sees the legal pad) What're you doing? JOHN Arnie gave me a column. JENNY You're kidding? Congratulations! JOHN Oh, yeah, it's a big honor. I get to write about zoning laws and yard sales. JENNY I bet you make something out of it. JOHN It's only temporary until he finds someone else. I'm just trying to get something down for Tuesday. She gives him a kiss, starts out of the room JENNY You'll think of something. And John, I'm serious abut Marley. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. We gotta do something... 34. 55 55 EXT. PARK - DAY MS. KORNBLUT, weathered and stern, is studying John. Behind John, eight puppies and their owners are chatting before the class begins. MS. KORNBLUT Incorrigible? I don't believe in that. All dogs want to learn. But they can't when their owners are weak-willed. JOHN I'm very strong-willed. MS. KORNBLUT And where is your animal? JOHN He's over there. With my wife. He was a little excited. He usually needs a little time to calm down. Ms. Kornblut looks at Jenny as she struggles up with Marley. MS. KORNBLUT I see. He calls the shots. Which of you will be the trainer? JENNY we thought we both would, since we want him to listen to both of us at home - MS. KORNBLUT A dog can only answer to one master. Which one of you has the most natural authority in your own relationship? JOHN (BEAT) I'll watch. MS. KORNBLUT I thought so. We begin. 56 EXT. PARK - LATER 56 As Ms. Kornblut gestures, demonstrates the command: MS. KORNBLUT Sit! 35. 56 56 CONTINUED: The students order their dogs to sit, and most of them do. The ones that don't require only a little effort to get the idea. Whereas: Jenny orders Marley to sit; instead Marley jumps up on her and puts his paws on her shoulders. She presses his butt to the ground, and he rolls over for a belly rub. She tries to tug him into place and he grabs the leash in his teeth, shaking it playfully. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That, class, is an example of a dog that has been foolishly allowed to believe he is the alpha male of his pack. And therefore he cannot be a happy animal. JOHN (from the sidelines) Yeah, he looks really bummed. Kornblut hears him, death stares John. MS. KORNBLUT You. Joker. Rotate in. John looks at Jenny who shrugs, holds up the leash for him to take. 57 CUT TO: A HEAVY CHOKE CHAIN 57 As Ms. Kornblut demonstrates on her wrist. MS. KORNBLUT The choke chain. When your animal walks properly by your side, there'll be slack. If he pulls, it tightens around his neck like a noose and loosens as soon as he stops pulling. JOHN Does it hurt them? MS. KORNBLUT Well, it's not called a hug chain. But they learn to like it. Go on, collar your dogs. Everyone else quickly, easily gets the choke chain around their dogs' necks. Of course. Meanwhile: John kneels down and struggles to put it. around Marley's neck. Marley, liking its shiny jingling, tries to eat it. 36. 57 CONTINUED: 57 Much tussling, and John finally gets it around Marley's neck - but Marley still manages to grab it in his teeth. JOHN He likes it. MS. KORNBLUT That's because he's eating it... Get it out of his mouth. Class? Give your dogs the sit command. All the dogs sit; John forces Marley's butt down. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) The leash is held in two places. Loop around your right hand, left hand at waist level. Dog always on your left, of course. JOHN That means us, pal. He rearranges Marley so he's on John's left. MS. KORNBLUT Now, when you give the heel command, step off with your left foot - I don't want to see any right foot first steppers - and walk. If your dog gets ahead, administer a correction by forcefully bring your left hand down and towards the right, and he'll respond. Shall we? One, two, three - now! Just as the dogs and owners prepare to step off, Marley lurches ahead of the pack... JOHN Marley, heel! Marley takes off like a fighter jet, dragging John behind. MS. KORNBLUT Correct him! John gives a mighty yank on the leash. Marley coughs, hesitates. John loosens the leash - and Marley explodes forward again. John yanks, Marley stops, John releases, Marley explodes forward. 37. 57 CONTINUED: (2) 57 MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) Rein in that dog! All right, everyone, line up again. Demonstration. Mr. Grogan? Pay attention. She takes the leash from John and efficiently guides him into line with the other dogs. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) It's a simple question of confidence in one's own authority. Shall I demonstrate a simple walk? JOHN Be my guest. MS. KORNBLUT Class? Even an unruly dog wants to obey his leader. Marley? Heel. And she steps off confidently - but Marley is a bit more confident than she is. He lunges, she pulls, he falls back on his hind legs, then barrels up and lurches forward. Ms. Kornblut half-stumbles, half rockets across the park. She manages to turn Marley around, and the whole process begins again as they make their way back to the line. Her face is flushed with embarrassment, anger, and exertion, but Marley, jowls frothing, is having a ball. It's like a walking tug-of-war. With difficulty, Ms. Kornblut manages to return Marley to John, but not before, as a coup-de-grace, he starts humping her leg enthusiastically. She struggles, he knocks her down, and then he buries his face in her crotch and humps her knee. John and Jenny rush over. John restrains Marley; Jenny helps up Mrs. Kornblut. She's livid. MS. KORNBLUT (CONT'D) That's it! He's out! JOHN He usually just does this with poodles. (looking at her bad perm) Maybe it's the hair. MS. KORNBLUT He's a bad influence on the others. Leg-humping is a virus. Once it takes hold in a group - he has to go! 38. 58 58 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY As they follow Marley back into the house. JOHN Well, that was fun. (to the dog) Congratulations, Marley. You flunked obedience school. JENNY You know, John, there is something else we can do-- JOHN (looks at her) No, no, I'm not doing that to him. JENNY It's painless. And he'll be a lot more comfortable. It'll calm him down. JOHN Yeah, you know why he'll be calmer? Because he'll have nothing to look forward to. JENNY What're you talking about? There are plenty of other things that'll make him HAPPY-- JOHN That's where you're wrong. Trust me, Jen: I know. I'm a guy. And yeah, lots of things make us happy, but the only thing we really look forward to is sex. Runner up: the possibility of sex. JENNY Oh, Please. Every book says he'll live LONGER-- JOHN It'll just feel longer. JENNY John, he's out of control. It's the right thing to do. John sighs, looks at Marley who's now humping the stuffed "goofy" that Jenny gave him as a puppy. 39. 59 59 INT. JENNY'S CAR - DAY Jenny at the wheel. John in the passenger seat. Marley in the back, his front paws balanced on the center console. JOHN It won't be so bad, buddy. You'll see. Sex is overrated. Marley looks-at him. JOHN (CONT'D) Okay, I'm lying, and I think you know that... so maybe the best thing is to just not talk about it. Jenny cuts him a look. He lowers his voice. JOHN (CONT'D) Poor son-of-a-bitch. A guilty John cracks the window just a bit and Marley begins listing to starboard, leaning against John to catch a whiff of the outdoor smells. Marley crawls onto John's lap... JOHN (CONT'D) Oh, okay, you wanna sit up here... Marley now jams his nose into the small opening, snorting to catch the fresh air JOHN (CONT'D) Least I can do. John lowers the window and Marley gets his whole snout out. JOHN (CONT'D) Here you go... John lowers the window again and now Marley sticks his whole head out, ears flapping behind him, tongue hanging out like he's drunk. JOHN (CONT'D) He's so happy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. Jenny looks over as Marley hooks his paws over the half open window so that his neck and upper shoulders now hang out of the car. JENNY He's making me nervous. 40. 59 59 CONTINUED: JOHN He's fine. He just wants a little FRESH-- Suddenly Marley slides his front legs out the window until his front armpits are resting on the glass. JENNY John, grab him! Before John can do anything, Marley is off his lap and scrambling out the window of the moving car. JOHN He's onto our evil plan, and he's making a break for it! But now his butt is up in the air, his hind legs clawing for a foothold... 60 60 EXT. INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny slows down in heavy traffic, John lunges out the window after Marley, grabs the end of his tail with one hand so that Marley dangles upside down, outside the car, by his tail... He trots along the pavement with his front paws... 61 61 INT. CAR - SANE Jenny gets the car stopped, HORNS HONKING BEHIND THEM. JOHN Uh, little help here... John's stuck. He can't pull the dog back in the window and he can't open the door. He can't let go as angry drivers behind them are now starting to swerve around them. John hangs on for dear life... JENNY I got him! 62 62 EXT. BRIDGE - SAME As Jenny puts on the flashers and gets out of the car, runs around to the passenger side... a group of cars drive slowly by in the other direction, all watching and laughing... JOHN (SHOUTING) What are you looking at?! He's losing his balls today! Cut the guy some slack! 41. 63 63 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY John sits at his desk, tries to write a column. Sebastian, in a flak jacket, pauses at his desk... SEBASTIAN Strip mall get approved? JOHN Riveting planning commission vote. Knuckle-biter. 8 to 1. SEBASTIAN You up for a beer? JOHN Can't, I gotta finish the column. Maybe tomorrow? SEBASTIAN Can't, I'll be in L.A. Part of that drug piece I'm doing-- JOHN Right. Another time then. John watches him move off, a secretary giving Sebastian a big smile as he passes. John sits there another moment, looks at his desk. A photo of him and Jenny. One of Marley with a flip flop in his mouth. John chuckles to himself, then deletes the column, starts typing a new one. 64 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - LATER 64 John sits anxiously across from Arnie who sits at his desk reading. The editor's expression is grim as he looks up at John. JOHN I'm really sorry, I'll go back and do the zoning piece-- ARNIE The hell you sorry for? It's hilarious. John sits back down, looks at Arnie. See, the thing is, Arnie's face doesn't say "hilarious," but... Shooting Draft 42. MARLEY & ME 64 64 CONTINUED: ARNIE (CONT'D) I loved it. Getting kicked out of obedience school, the humping, the "Great Escape," all of it. Hysterical. Again, Arnie's face remains dead serious as he passes the paper back to John. ARNIE (CONT'D) Run it. As is. JOHN Thank you, sir. John starts out of the office. ARNIE Hey, Gorgan... (THEN) Tell him not to feel bad. Sooner or later, we all lose our balls. JOHN I'll be sure to pass that on. 65 65 EXT. CUBAN RESTAURANT - PATIO - NIGHT Live music, a sexy vibe. John and Jenny sit outside in the hot Florida night. Dinner over, John raises his glass... JOHN To two years. JENNY That was fast. JOHN Good, though, right? JENNY Really good. He lifts out of his chair and kisses her, a long one. JOHN So. What's next? JENNY I was thinking desert. JOHN No, I mean on your list. 43. 65 65 CONTINUED: JENNY My list? JOHN ed, Remember, when we first got marri you had this whole checklist, with like the game plan. JENNY Right... JOHN So what came next? JENNY Let's see... a new car maybe? JOHN afterthat? We can do that. What was JENNY (BEAT) You sure you wanna know? JOHN Yeah. JENNY well, it was between a new roof and a baby. He studies her for a long moment, then... JOHN I can probably live with a few leaks. JENNY Really? Because a leak can turn into something bigger... and that can be a big responsibility. JOHN I know. JENNY I was just thinking that we might want everything fixed before we went to the next step. JOHN Well, we've already fixed Marley. Literally. (CONTINU ED) 44. Marley & He Shooting Draft 65 65 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY You're serious about this? JOHN I think so. JENNY t an And you know we're not talking abou actual roof here. JOHN Yeah, I got that. She looks back at him, finally nods. They are. Then.. JENNY Okay. Maybe, instead of tying to have a baby, we should stop trying to not have one. JOHN If I'm following you correctly -- and I think I am -- this is the part where we go home and get it on, right? JENNY Bingo. 66 66 INT. BEDROOM - DAY him. As Jenny pushes John back onto the bed, starts kissing Things getting hot and heavy quickly. As they kiss... JENNY Honey? JOHN Yeah... JENNY Did you eat some kibble? JOHN What? And now they part and we see MARLEY'S HUGE FACE RESTING ON THE SIDE OF THE BED, watching, panting up a storm. JOHN (CONT'D) Marley-- get out of here! 45- SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 66 66 CONTINUED: JENNY KNOW it's fine, he's a dog, he doesn't what he's looking at. JOHN RESENTS Oh, he knows, and trust me, he the hell out of me right now. Go on, Marley! Get out! But Marley jumps up on the bed, tries to climb on both of THEM-- JENNY Marley! And now they both start laughing as the dog tries to lick their faces... 67 67 INT. ARNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Silence. Arnie reads John's column, his face dead serious. ARNIE This is even funnier than the last one. JOHN Thank you, sir. ARNIE You're good, Gorgan. And not just the dog stuff. The piece on the women of Boca last week. What'd you call them? JOHN Boccahontis. ARNIE Hilarious. John nods, starts for the door... ARNIE (CONT'D) Is it true what you wrote? You and the wife are trying to have a kid? JOHN Well, we're not really trying. ARNIE How's that work? JOHN Excuse me? 46. SHOOTING DRAFT MARLEY & ME 67 67 CONTINUED: ARNIE Are you having sex? JOHN Yes. ARNIE ant? With the intention of getting pregn JOHN i guess. ARNIE Congratulations. You're trying. John just stands there. Arnie looks back at him. ARNIE (CONT'D) I assume you've thought this through? JOHN Yeah, I mean... (THEN) .yeah. 68 68 INT. SUN-SENTINAL OFFICE - DAY desk. John walks out of the office, pensive, sits down at his His PHONE RINGS. JOHN Grogan. 69 69 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - SAME Jenny on the phone, looking at a dry erase calendar. JENNY I just thought I'd let you know that I'm ovulating. INTERCUTTING: JOHN & JENNY JOHN Oh. JENNY Just in case you wanted to come home. JOHN QH- 47. 69 CONTINUED: 69 JENNY Like right now. 70 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 70 In the f.g., stands a harried thirty-something FATHER with a screaming INFANT in a Bjorn. John stands just behind the father who bounces in place trying unsuccessfully to soothe the baby. GIRL'S VOICE Daddy! And now, another KID, 4-year-old girl, jumps up in and out of frame... GIRL I wanna push the button! FATHER Daddy can't lift you right now-- GIRL (jumps up again) You said I could push the button! FATHER Alright, okay, I'll just-- He tries to pick her up without leaning over... GIRL Ow! You're hurting me! FATHER Okay, you know what? Never mind, no button! A very uncomfortable John now steps forward... JOHN You want me to give her a hand? FATHER Oh-- would you mind? John lifts the girl up to the panel. She runs her hands, from top to button, down the panel, pressing every single button. FATHER (CONT'D) Sarah! Goddammit-- 48. 70 70 CONTINUED: And now the little girl starts bawling in concert with the baby, while a trapped John backs up into the corner. 71 71 EXT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John gets out of the car. The young Girl next door gives him a wave as she starts down the sidewalk with her boyfriend. JOHN Hi. GIRL Hi. John watches the young couple go, arms around each other. 72 72 INT. 345 CHURCHILL ROAD - DAY John enters and is greeted as usual by Marley who jumps on him. JOHN Hey, boy. (LOOKS AROUND) Jenny? JENNY Out in a sec! John stands there, Marley looking at him. JOHN (to the dog) So. This is us not trying. The bathroom door opens and Jenny walks out in a tiny, silky two-piece thing... JENNY Hey, Sailor. She walks into the bedroom. John looks back at Marley as he follows her into the bedroom. JOHN Catch you later, buddy. And closes the door on the dog. 73 INT. BAR - NIGHT 73 John and Sebastian sit at the bar. 49. 73 CONTINUED: 73 SEBASTIAN So the puppy wasn't enough? JOHN Well, technically, we're not trying. But you know Jenny. SEBASTIAN But things are good right now, just as they are, right? JOHN Yeah, things are really good. SEBASTIAN So why change it up with a kid? I mean, have you already forgotten my little cautionary tale... JOHN The bomb, right? SEBASTIAN Yes. The bomb. And just so we're clear, the countdown sequence has been reactivated. By you. JOHN Well, it's been a few months and nothing's happened. Which actually makes me wonder if-- BARTENDER Mr. Grogan? The BARTENDER sets a PHONE down in front of John. BARTENDER (CONT'D) Phone call. I loved that thing you did on your dog watching you and your wife have sex? Really funny stuff... JOHN (EMBARRASSED) Thanks... BARTENDER Seriously, man, your stuff is classic. JOHN Well, it's just temporary, but thanks. John cuts a look at Sebastian, picks up the phone. 50. 73 CONTINUED: (2) 73 JOHN (CONT'D) Hello. JENNY (PHONE) I just wanted to let you know that there's a naked blonde in your bed. JOHN Oh. Why don't you two get started and I'll be there as soon as I can. JENNY Very funny. Can you come home? I'll make it worth your while. JOHN Oh. Alright then. I'll see what I can do. He hangs up. Looks at Sebastian. JOHN (CONT'D) Uh, I'm sorry, man, but I gotta jam. I forgot, I had this thing, I gotta deal WITH-- SEBASTIAN She's calling you home, isn't she? JOHN Yeah. See you later. John starts out of the bar. Sebastian calls after him. SEBASTIAN Tick tick tick! 74 74 INT. 345 CHURCHILL - NIGHT Romantic Music on the stereo. John comes in, wearily, absently pets Marley. He goes into the bedroom. The bathroom door is open. John sits down on the bed. JOHN You know, this baby thing. I been thinking maybe we should take a break. You know? Obviously, it's not happening. Maybe that's nature's way of saying it's not good timing. No sound from Jenny. He struggles on. 51. 74 74 CONTINUED: JOHN (CONT'D) Maybe this is a sign that we're not ready for this. I mean, have we really thought this through? Because-- BEHIND He looks up to see Jenny at the bathroom door. From her back she brings out a home pregnancy test strip. JENNY I'm pregnant. JOHN (PAUSE, then) Great. Wow, that's... great. JENNY But you just said JOHN Yeah, no, I mean-- okay, this is definitely awkward now, but... JENNY You wanna start over? JOHN Can I? JENNY By all means. JOHN Thank you. Okay, well... I gotta be honest, I'm a little panicked. JENNY Are you panicking because I'm pregnant... or because you're afraid I'm going to hit you? JOHN Both. It's a twofer thing. JENNY Are you scared? JOHN No. No. Not at all. (then, looks at her) Yeah, yeah I'm pretty scared. 52. 74 74 CONTINUED: (2) JENNY (sits down next to him) Me, too. But we're gonna be okay. (THEN) Look at me... He looks at her. She smiles at him. JENNY (CONT'D) We're gonna be okay. JOHN (BEAT) I believe you. He looks at her | chases | How many times the word 'chases' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | sensory | How many times the word 'sensory' appears in the text? | 3 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | ounce | How many times the word 'ounce' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | delight | How many times the word 'delight' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | liberty | How many times the word 'liberty' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | savage | How many times the word 'savage' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | street | How many times the word 'street' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | whispering | How many times the word 'whispering' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | why | How many times the word 'why' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | decapitated | How many times the word 'decapitated' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | projecting | How many times the word 'projecting' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | experience | How many times the word 'experience' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | dives | How many times the word 'dives' appears in the text? | 3 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | barrel | How many times the word 'barrel' appears in the text? | 1 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | controvert | How many times the word 'controvert' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | putney | How many times the word 'putney' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | affluent | How many times the word 'affluent' appears in the text? | 3 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | indelible | How many times the word 'indelible' appears in the text? | 2 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | peace | How many times the word 'peace' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | silence | How many times the word 'silence' appears in the text? | 0 |
6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. CUT TO: THE DOZEN OF COPS who had been on the bridge, charging down the steps after the garbage truck, which can no longer be seen. Madison walks calmly behind them. Scanning the crowd. Looking for Lindenmeyer. Her every instinct telling her he's here. He must be. She spots him. Veering from the direction the cops headed in, Madison casually wades into the crowd. She takes out her weapon and stops behind Lindenmeyer. Even in disguise, he looks familiar. Madison puts her gun against his back. MADISON (whispering into his ear) I figured you'd show up sooner or later... CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker and Sid 6.7 continue battling next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per-hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here...or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and then the groin. Sid 6.7 holds Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. The steel jaws immediately close in on Sid 6.7, who frantically tries to climb out. He gets his hands out. Then his head. But that's about it. Without emphasizing graphic detail, Sid 6.7 is decapitated. His lifeless body drops back into the compactor. His head tumbles to the street. The force of the impact causes the Sid 6.7 character module to separate from the neural net. The character module scatters into the street. Parker immediately jumps off the truck after it. ON THE STREET Parker's landing isn't pretty. Finally getting to his feet, he sees the Sid 6.7 character module is about to be run over. Parker dives for it, nearly getting run over himself. The approaching car SCREECHES to a halt next to him. It's driven by Lindenmeyer. At gunpoint. Madison sits behind him, her gun to his head. WHAM! The car behind them obviously wasn't prepared to stop so quickly. The bumpers of the two cars are now intertwined. Neither vehicle will be going anywhere soon. Madison pulls Lindenmeyer roughly out of the car. She drags him to Parker, who is still on his knees, clutching the Sid 6.7 character module. SIRENS approach in the distance. MADISON (to Parker) Find out anything? PARKER A bomb's going off tomorrow night, but I have no idea where. LINDENMEYER (a beat) There is only one way to get any more information out of Sid 6.7... They scan the area for a new mode of transport. And find one stopped at a dumpster down the block: the garbage truck. OUTSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker quickly explains the situation to the sanitation worker while Madison motions Lindenmeyer into the cab with her gun. As Parker climbs up to her, Madison shuts the door to give them a moment of privacy. MADISON Can I ask you something? PARKER (with a smile) You mean there's something you haven't asked me? MADISON (a beat) You've already fulfilled the terms of your pardon. You stopped Sid 6.7 and you've got his module. You're free to go right now. (a beat) Why are you going to do this? PARKER You don't know? MADISON (shaking her head) That's why I'm asking. PARKER Because this pain in the ass criminal psychology expert has helped me understand what I'm capable of. And what I'm not. (a beat) And better than anyone else, I am capable of stopping Sid 6.7. CUT TO: ON TOP OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK Parker lands on the back of the truck. Right next the opening and closing steel jaws of the truck's massive trash compactor. His gun tumbles from his hand, falling to the street. This sequence is IDENTICAL to the one you previously witnessed. It is as if we've jumped back in time. Sid 6.7 dives on top of Parker, putting him flat on his stomach. And his face against the steel teeth. Sid 6.7 chokes Parker. Hard. SID 6.7 I have to tell you, I do enjoy you, Parker. I really don't want to have to kill you... The sanitation worker at the wheel of the truck has no idea whatsoever what is happening on top of his truck. Parker and Sid 6.7 battle next to the compactor's lethal jaws. The machine makes an awful, grinding sound. Not unlike the sounds Parker and Sid 6.7 are making. The fight is primal. Savage. And moving at 30 miles-per hour. PARKER What C-4...was Cox talking about? SID 6.7 Let me put it to you this way... whether I'm here... or whether I'm not...I'm leaving an indelible mark on the world tomorrow night. PARKER Where did you plant the C-4?! He should concentrate more on fighting, and less on asking questions, because he's losing. Parker takes a wicked shot to the face, and but then blocks the anticipated shot to his gun. Sid 6.7 still manages to put Parker's head between the compactor's jaws. Which are closing. With every last ounce of effort he has, Parker hurls his legs up into Sid 6.7. Which throws Sid 6.7 into the compactor. Sid 6.7 frantically tries to climb out of the compactor as the steel jaws close in on him. He gets his hands out. Then his head... Except Parker now does something different. Just before Sid 6.7 is decapitated, Parker jams a metal rod between the compactor's steel teeth. Then grabs Sid 6.7 by the throat. PARKER (fiercely) You can't die until you tell me where the C-4 is. Where is it?! SID 6.7 (choking) My...secret. He SLAMS the back of his head into Parker's nose. Breaking it. Parker reels back in pain. Sid 6.7 squeezes out from within the steel teeth. The jagged metal cutting into him, striping him with blood. The blood then begins to retract. Sid 6.7's wounds, once again, heal themselves. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) Too bad you can't regenerate... As the truck slows at an intersection, he jumps to the street. Parker goes after him. Still in excruciating pain. WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL what you are seeing is ON A MONITOR The scene continues seamlessly. As you may now be guessing, the monitor is connected to the simulator INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION IN LETAC Parker lies unconscious on a bed. He is connected to the simulator via the neural connectors in the polyurethane skull cap, just like he was before. The Sid 6.7 character module is plugged into the system's main console. Lindenmeyer sits at the controls. Madison next to him, her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. They are both watching Parker chase Sid 6.7 on the monitor in front of them. Parker continues experiencing intolerable pain. A clock reads 4:00 AM. They are the only ones inside the entire facility. LINDENMEYER I told you this would work.. By setting back the clocks, he has absolutely no idea he's in virtual reality. He still thinks he's in the real world. MADISON (a beat) What's wrong with Parker? LINDENMEYER (innocently) How should I know? MADISON (getting an idea) Show me his physical sensory level. She clicks back the hammer of her gun and presses the barrel against Lindenmeyer's ear. He does as told. On a panel by the console, you read: PARTICIPANT PHYSICAL SENSORY LEVEL: 670%. LINDENMEYER I wonder how that... MADISON (CONT'D) Turn it down! Lindenmeyer adjusts the sensory level back down to 100%. ON A MONITOR Parker immediately returns back to normal. His pace picks up. He starts closing the gap between him and Sid 6.7 as he races into a shopping mall. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL The place is a seven story mecca of shopping. An atrium allows you to look from the ground floor up to the seventh. Sid 6.7 rushes up the escalators. Going up to the second floor. Then the third. Parker follows suit climbing escalator after escalator. Throwing people out of his way. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR which is also the highest, Sid 6.7 veers out of view. Parker races up the final steps to the seventh floor. Sid 6.7 is nowhere to be seen. Parker searches methodically. Efficiently. He finally spots Sid 6.7. Who has Parker's head lined-up perfectly in his gun sight. Parker is a sitting duck. BOOM! Parker dives behind AFFLUENT SHOPPER 2.1, who takes a bullet in his ascot. Parker quickly grabs him, and uses his body as a shield against Sid 6.7's constant gunfire until Parker arrives behind a marble column. SID 6.7 (surprised at Parker's ruthlessness) We really aren't that different, are we? What he cannot see is that behind the column, Affluent Shopper 2.1 is Auto Resetting. Parker puts his gun to the shopper's head. PARKER (whispering) Don't move, and don't make a sound. Got it? Affluent Shopper 2.1 nods his head repeatedly. Parker collects himself behind the column, then pivots out from behind it. Firing in Sid 6.7's direction. Each bullet finds its mark. Absorbing the blows, Sid 6.7 backs up against the atrium railing. Taking one final shot, he falls backward. Over the railing. PARKER'S POV Sid 6.7 tumbles through the atrium. Out of control. Speeding toward the ground seven floors below. SID 6.7'S POV The sense of momentum is exhilarating. And terrifying. If you get dizzy easily, close your eyes. FROM THE FIRST FLOOR Sid 6.7 falls through the atrium like a rock directly at you. A 200 pound rock. WHAM!!! He lands face down in the marble floor. The impact is bone crushing. Sid 6.7 does not move. Until he begins to regenerate. His fluids begin returning to his body. His bones regaining proper form. Within seconds, his body appears as good as new. (Technically, because this is VR1 the proper term would be Auto. Reset. But since Sid 6.7 thinks he's in the real world, regenerating is what he thinks he's doing.) Sid 6.7 stands, dusting himself off. SID 6.7 Man, what a rush. (yelling up to Parker) Adios, amigo! Grabbing his gun, he takes off out of the lobby. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR Parker retrieves his gun, then bolts down the escalators. CUT TO: INSIDE LETAC Madison and Lindenmeyer watch Parker on screen. Madison still has her gun trained on Lindenmeyer, who notices a WARNING LIGHT start to flash. He turns to Parker's unconscious body lying on the bed. Lindenmeyer looks concerned. MADISON What's wrong? Lindenmeyer checks several readings on his console. LINDENMEYER He's developing a hemisphere imbalance. MADISON Talk so I can understand. LINDENMEYER If I don't adjust the level of neural information each side of his brain is receiving, he won't be able to walk when I take him out of VR. MADISON Then fix it. As Lindenmeyer moves to Parker, Madison stays right with him. Her gun aimed at Lindenmeyer's head. Lindenmeyer carefully removes one of the neural connectors from Parker's skull cap. Before removing another, he looks for a safe place to put the connector. LINDENMEYER I need you to hold this. It can't get any dirt on it. Madison is reluctant, but doesn't know what else to do. Lindenmeyer slowly gives the neural connector to her free hand. LINDENMEYER (CONT ' D) All you have to do is hold the needle at the base. Just make sure not to jab yourself with the point... She clutches the needle in her left hand while aiming her gun with her right. Lindenmeyer removes a second neural connector from Parker's skull. Holding this second needle at the base, Lindenmeyer makes several adjustments on the neural management computer, then moves slowly back to Madison. LINDENMEYER (CONT'D) Hand me the connector nice and... He suddenly jabs his neural connector into Madison's right forearm. Madison has no time to react. 10,000 volts of electricity instantly courses through her body. Madison drops to the floor, unconscious. The needle she had been holding falls from her grasp, breaking the circuit. She stops being electrocuted. Which saves her life. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) (as Sid 6.7 had said) God, some people are stupid. He sits back down at the simulator's main console, and starts to type commands. On the monitor, Parker is visible exiting the shopping mall. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING MALL Parker races out the door. BOOM! That was left knee cap. He tumbles to the street. His gun flying from his hand. Parker crawls desperately toward his weapon. But not fast enough. Sid 6.7 arrives at the weapon first. SID 6.7 So close, and yet, so far... He kicks the weapon down the sidewalk, then points his gun at Parker's head. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) It's really too bad you have to miss the Grand Finale. PARKER I thought you liked me being in the audience. Don't you want me to see it? Sid 6.7 pauses to think about it. SID 6.7 (considering the idea) You know, I do want you to see it. He shoots Parker in his other knee cap, rendering both of his legs useless. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) I want you to have a bird's eye view... OUTSIDE THE NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOLLYWOOD TOWER A 67 story monument to engineering brilliance in this land of earthquakes. 6:30 PM. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER The view is incredible. You can see from the Pacific to downtown. From LAX to the Hollywood Bowl. Smog must be getting better in the near future. Sid 6.7 ties Parker to a chair at the roof's very edge. He is facing downtown. Including the Biltmore Hotel, the location of Mayor Bennett's Re Election Rally. SID 6.7 There you go best seat in the house. PARKER (with some surprise) You are going after Mayor Bennett. SID 6.7 Let's just say I'm sending a very clear message to his Re Election Rally... He walks toward an open stairway door behind them. PARKER Aren't you going to watch with me? SID 6.7 I've got some final preparations to take care of Checking his watch, he stops suddenly. ON HIS WATCH Time is moving backwards. Literally. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER Sid 6.7 pauses, then goes over to Parker and checks his watch. It is also moving backwards. A smile of realization spreads slowly across Sid 6.7's face as he admires the beautiful sky above him. SID 6.7 (as if to God) Thank-you, Daryl. (turning to Parker) You had me going for quite a while there, sport. PARKER What are you talking about? SID 6.7 I really did think I was still in reality. At least, until now. (looking upward) Beam me up, Scotty! His body DISINTEGRATES before your eyes. It's electronic particles form into an amorphous cloud. Which disappears from view. PARKER (yelling) Madison, get me out of here! MADISON! Lindenmeyer watches Parker scream on the monitor. Madison remains unconscious on the floor behind him. LINDENMEYER (to the monitor) She's taking a nap at the moment. He types a set of instructions into the console and hits ENTER. LINDENMEYER (CONT' D) But don't worry. You won't be alone for very long. Fairly soon, you'll be dead. He removes the Sid 6.7 character module from its slot and exits the station. ON THE ROOF OF THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER One side of Parker's chair gradually starts to rise. Parker looks down to see the roof surrealistically swelling beneath his chair. This could only happen in virtual reality. In a matter of minutes, he is going to be thrown over the roof's edge. The next stop is 693 feet down. INSIDE LETAC Parker's screams for help ECHO throughout the facility. But there is no one there to hear him. CUT TO: OUTSIDE LETAC The garbage truck is parked in a loading dock. Lindenmeyer climbs awkwardly onto the truck, then into the compactor. INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer wades through trash until he comes upon Sid 6.7's headless body. The polymer neural net visible within its neck. Lindenmeyer inserts Sid 6.7's character module into its gelatinous base. But nothing happens. LINDENMEYER Come on, live. Live! The synthetic nervous system begins to crackle with life. Growing around the module. Forming the beginnings of a new head. Literally. CUT TO: PARKER sitting precariously on the increasingly-uneven roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. Unable to break free of his binds, he rocks the chair onto its side. He and the chair fall to the roof, which will keep him from falling to his death for another minute, if he's lucky. PARKER MADISON!!! INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison, still unconscious on the floor, finally stirs. Maybe Parker's screaming is finally reaching her. Or at least, starting to. CUT TO: INSIDE THE GARBAGE TRUCK COMPACTOR Lindenmeyer looks on with awe as Sid 6.7 grows a new head right before your eyes. You've never seen anything like it. Sid 6.7's resulting head is slightly off center. His skin tone isn't perfect, nor is his color, but at least its functional. Sid 6.7 admires himself in a broken mirror. SID 6.7 I am beautiful, aren't I? LINDENMEYER Of course you are. Sid 6.7 wades through the trash toward Lindenmeyer. SID 6.7 How can I ever thank you for bringing me back to life a second time, Daryl? LINDENMEYER Help me get out of here. SID 6.7 Glad to... He reaches out to give Lindenmeyer a hand, then grabs him by the throat. Choking him. Lindenmeyer can't believe what is happening. LINDENMEYER (gagging) What...are you doing?! Sid 6.7 takes Lindenmeyer's face gently in his hands. SID 6.7 You made me a composite of 183 of the most vicious people who ever lived. (a beat) What do you think I'm doing? LINDENMEYER I'm begging you...please don't kill me! Please! SID 6.7 (reassuringly) Don't worry. Through me, you will live forever... As Lindenmeyer begins to scream, we CUT TO: PARKER hanging on by his fingertips to the bulbous roof of the Hollywood Tower. He's going to fall at any second. CUT TO: MADISON'S BLURRY POV of someone entering Lindenmeyer's station in LETAC. You can't tell who it is, at first. But you can see the person is male. And wearing Lindenmeyer's pants. You now see the person is Sid 6.7. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison forces herself into consciousness.- Or as close to it as she can get. Her expression is one of complete and utter terror. SID 6.7 Dr. Carter I've been hoping we'd get a moment together... Mustering her strength, she manages to crawl behind several of the computers which make up the simulator. Sid 6.7 advances calmly toward her. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) You know so much about me, I was hoping to learn a little bit about you. You see, I'm doing research, too... He looks behind the computers where you last saw Madison. She is no longer there. Sid 6.7 begins searching for her. He passes a virtual reality monitor on which Parker can be seen clinging for life. SID 6.7 (CONT'D) (to the monitor) Hang in there, Parker. On the monitor, Parker looks all around him, trying to determine the voice's origin. Madison crawls out of Lindenmeyer's station. Sid 6.7 just catches sight of her, and goes after her. INSIDE LETAC Madison crawls into a darkened engineer's station and hides. She is still very dizzy. And trying to keep the sound of her breathing to a minimum. Sid 6.7 enters quietly. A hunter on the prowl. Moving very slowly. Then lunging very swiftly. He continues the hunt. If Madison is discovered, she doesn't have a prayer. Her heart pounds. Her forehead perspires. Sid 6.7 is getting closer. Sid 6.7 checks inside closets. Cabinets. Anywhere large enough for a human being to fit. He is practically standing over her. Looking. Listening. SID 6.7 How does it feel to know you're going to die? What are you thinking about? Lights in the building suddenly come on. Several engineers can be heard entering. It's 8 AM the start of a new day. The facility is quickly becoming populated. After giving one last look around, Sid 6.7 reluctantly gives up the hunt, and exits. Madison does not move until she is certain Sid 6.7 has left the building. PARKER (0.S.) SOMEBODY HELP! Madison scrambles out of her hiding place. CUT TO: PARKER finally losing his grip on the roof of the Hollywood Tower in virtual reality. He plummets with accelerating speed. Madison bursts through the partition around Lindenmeyer's station. Sacrificing her body. Without regard for pain. Parker tumbles toward the sidewalk 67 stories below. The speed is terrifying. Madison leaps over a table. Diving for the simulator's RETURN button. Parker falls faster. And faster. The street just beneath him. The instant before he slams into the street, his body DE MATERIALIZES. INSIDE LINDENMEYER'S STATION Madison keeps pressing the return button over and over, making sure it worked. Parker's eyes flutter as he returns to consciousness. Madison rushes to him. MADISON You okay? PARKER (shaking out the cobwebs) ...I think so...You? MADISON (looking over her bruises) More or less. PARKER Lindenmeyer? MADISON My guess is dead. PARKER Sid? MADISON I don't know. Several engineers peek in curiously at them. MADISON (CONT'D) Let's get out of here. She helps Parker to his feet. CUT TO: PARKER AND MADISON at a payphone outside a mini mall. Could be any one of the 10,000 in Los Angeles. It's late morning. PARKER (on the phone) Elizabeth Deane, please. Tell her it's Parker Barnes... INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE COX'S OFFICE Elizabeth Deane picks up the phone. DEANE Barnes, where the hell have you been?! PARKER Trying to find out where the bomb is. Where the hell have you been? DEANE What did you find out? PARKER Call off the manhunt looking for me. I didn't kill the transport guards. DEANE It's already been called off. Witnesses confirmed you weren't the shooter. (a beat) Did you find out where the bomb is? PARKER No, but I've confirmed the reelection rally is the target. (a beat) How much C-4 is missing? DEANE Enough to level an entire city block. PARKER If I were you, I'd get every demolition team in the city searching in and around the Biltmore Hotel. DEANE (with frustration) Demolition teams have searched everywhere in and around the hotel. I don't know where... PARKER (interrupting) Sid is smart enough to know you'd check everywhere in the immediate area. Whatever the device is, he's probably got it timed to move into position just before it detonates. (a beat) Have the demo teams check every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into the arena. DEANE You know how much man power you're talking about? PARKER You're the highest law enforcement official in the country. Use the fucking army if you need to. He hangs up the phone. CUT TO: DOZENS OF DEMOLITIONS TEAMS checking every subway tunnel, water pipe, gas pipe, and sewer pipe that goes under, over, or into Dallas Arena. The effort is massive. Intensive. The clock is ticking. 6:00 and counting. CUT TO: INSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL, MAIN LOBBY The area has been converted into a security checkpoint. Entrants are carefully scanned one by one. WE HEAR the rally OFF SCREEN. CUT TO: OUTSIDE BILTMORE HOTEL Security is on extreme alert. Tension is very high. It's 7:00. Parker, Madison, and Deane look on, anxiously. They listen to a RADIO SCANNER monitoring the conversations between the demolitions teams. DEANE (to Parker) This better not be a wild goose chase. PARKER Or what, you'll authorize my death a second time today? DEANE (sharply) Don't forget, convict, if this psycho isn't stopped, you go right back to rotting in a prison cell. MADISON Give him a break, would you? MALE VOICE (from scanner) This is demo team 27 leader. I think we just found what we've been looking for... CUT TO: INSIDE A LARGE SEWER PIPE A three man demolition team slowly, carefully disarms the bomb Sid 6.7 had secured to the automated sewer cleaning vehicle. Snip. One wire at a time. Snip. The work is very delicate. Snip. One wrong move and it's all over. Snip. TEAM LEADER One more and we're home free... Snip. The three members of the demo team look up proudly to each other. Breathing sighs of relief. It's 7:42. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Parker, Madison, and Deane remain glued to their scanner. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) (from scanner) Hey folks, it's time to crack open a cold one. Cheers are heard around the area from the other cops who'd been listening in. DEANE Thank God. TEAM LEADER (V. 0.) Then again, maybe we ought to hold off for just a second... DEANE (with concern, into radio) What's the problem? CUT TO: INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE The Team Leader carefully removes a piece of paper which had been taped to the timing mechanism. Written in handwriting, you read: HEY, PARKER, THE FUN IS ONLY STARTING! TEAM LEADER The good news is, we're finished here. The bad news is... CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BILTMORE HOTEL Deane stares at Parker with disbelief. Deane's Aide, holding a cellular phone, approaches Parker. AIDE You've got a phone call. Parker grabs the phone. PARKER (expecting it to be Sid) You son-of a bitch, I'm going to kill you. ALEXIEV (V. 0.) (through phone) Me? What did I do? INTERCUT WITH: INSIDE THE CAL TECH COMPUTER LAB Alexiev Borgen sits with a dismantled MAESTRO keyboard in front of him. PARKER (a beat) I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else. ALEXIEV I've discovered something about Lindenmeyer'5 Maestro teaching tool I thought you should know... (a beat) The harm done to the music students who used the device it was not by accident. The machine was designed explicitly for that purpose. Lindenmeyer intended to hurt the kids using it. PARKER Jesus Christ. (turning to Madison) I know who the dominant personality is. (a beat) Lindenmeyer. Madison's reaction is one of panic. She bolts toward their squad car with all the speed she has. Parker chases after her. PARKER (CONT'D) Where the hell are you going? MADISON Lindenmeyer never got over wanting to kill kids with more musical than he had... She gets into the driver's seat. Parker the passenger's. Madison punches the gas. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL The members of the L. A. Philharmonic tune-up for the evening's pay per view extravaganza. Several teenage musicians sit with them. Lights, cameras, and production trucks are all over the place. This really is going to be one hell of a show. TV ANNOUNCER (V. 0.) Joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this evening's first musical number will be several of the Los Angeles area's finest, high school musicians... SID 6.7 who is dressed in a tuxedo, knocking on the door to Guest Conductor's Dressing Room. GUEST CONDUCTOR (0. 5.) (German accent) It won't do any good to rush me. I need my time to prepare myself. The door is opened by the GUEST CONDUCTOR, who is dressed in a tuxedo, as well as large earrings. His hair is long and red. His complexion is pale, nearly white. And his eyes are piercing green. You might describe this look as punk meets classical. GUEST CONDUCTOR (annoyed beyond belief) Are you just going to stand there, or do you want something? Shaking with concentration, Sid 6.7 turns his hair red. (Nano organisms can do this, as well as the following.) He then grabs his hair and pulls it out, extending it to the exact length of the guest conductor's. Sid 6.7 then changes his complexion to match the conductor's. As well as his eye color, and other facial features. The Guest Conductor can't believe his eyes. By the time Sid 6.7 is finished modifying himself, he may not be an exact duplicate of the guest conductor, but even his mother would have to look twice. SID 6.7 It's show time. He shoves the Guest Conductor back into his Dressing Room. Sid 6.7 follows him in, revealing a suppressed .38. He SLAMS the door behind him. CUT TO: INSIDE THE SQUAD CAR Madison speeds recklessly through traffic toward the Hollywood Bowl. Parker doesn't notice. He's totally focused on screaming into the police radio. PARKER Listen to me, a bomb is planted somewhere in the Hollywood Bowl! Evacuate everybody! FEMALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, I don't have the authorization to do that. PARKER Then put somebody on who does! MALE VOICE What's seems to be the problem? PARKER You've got to stop the concert! A bomb is going to go off! MALE VOICE I'm sorry, sir, the concert has already started. CUT TO: THE GUEST CONDUCTOR whose back is to the audience, leading the orchestra in a truly magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony inside the Hollywood Bowl. The Guest Conductor waves his baton wildly. Passionately. Brilliantly. Getting the absolute best from the members of the orchestra. The musicians exhilarate in the challenge of being pushed to their musical limit. As the Guest Conductor turns to the next page of his sheet music on the podium, you notice seven small, HIGH-FREQUENCY SENSORS above an upcoming musical measure. The sensors are wired together. When the seven notes are played in sequence, an electrical pulse will be triggered down the wires which run down the side of the podium, beneath the stage. BENEATH THE STAGE The wires connect to several crates of C 4 positioned beneath the orchestra. These seven notes will be the last notes these musicians | pain | How many times the word 'pain' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | pursued | How many times the word 'pursued' appears in the text? | 0 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | some | How many times the word 'some' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | punches | How many times the word 'punches' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | punch | How many times the word 'punch' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | everything | How many times the word 'everything' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | growing | How many times the word 'growing' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | making | How many times the word 'making' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | minds | How many times the word 'minds' appears in the text? | 1 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | getting | How many times the word 'getting' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | something | How many times the word 'something' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | glad | How many times the word 'glad' appears in the text? | 0 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | hurt | How many times the word 'hurt' appears in the text? | 3 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | powers | How many times the word 'powers' appears in the text? | 0 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | offered | How many times the word 'offered' appears in the text? | 1 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | eyes | How many times the word 'eyes' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | starts | How many times the word 'starts' appears in the text? | 2 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | topic | How many times the word 'topic' appears in the text? | 1 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | parliamentary | How many times the word 'parliamentary' appears in the text? | 0 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | sideways | How many times the word 'sideways' appears in the text? | 0 |
65 EXT. CARNIVAL 65 A bell at the top of a strongman's game sounds. A big Boer farmer, mallet in hand, roars in triumph, swinging the mallet again and ringing the bell again. 66 ANGLE ON PK AND MARIA 66 walking through the carnival, munching popcorn. MARIA You took a big chance talking to my father the way you did. PK Not really. Going in I was behind on points with him. I'm English. I attend a politically suspect school. I'm a boxer. MARIA He likes boxers. PK All men like boxers. But not for their daughters. So I had to find some way to make an impression. They get on line for the Ferris wheel. MARIA You could have picked a more agreeable topic. PK And made much less of an impression. Talk to someone about their passion. Even if they disagree they'll remember you. It was really the most logical strategy if you think about it. MARIA Do you spend hours thinking about how to deal with me, too? PK Days. MARIA Know what I think? (beat) 48. You're dangerous. Their turn comes to mount the Ferris wheel. They get into the seat and strap in. MARIA When I was little we would go to my grandfather's farm in the high veldt for holiday. The Ferris wheel starts to go up. MARIA My father would take me to the top of the highest hill and we'd play this game, 'What Do You See' until we ran out of things to see. Do you ever play that? PK No. MARIA Want to try? PK Sure. The Ferris wheel stops to let more people on. Johannesburg glitters beyond. MARIA I see a forest. It goes on forever. There are giant trees which keep getting bigger and bigger over thousands of years. Now you. The wheel begins to move a little higher and then stops. PK I see little trees growing on the forest floor, learning to grow with the little bit of light the big trees let in. Now you. MARIA I see the big trees getting bigger, their leaves and branches making one great green umbrella over all of Africa. The wheel stops again at its highest point. PK 49. I see the sun growing weaker, giving off less light. I see the big trees dying because they cannot live without a lot of light. I see the little trees take over the forest because they learn to adapt. MARIA You tell a very good story. Her eyes sparkle, making her irresistible. PK leans forward. Maria turns her face towards him. Her lips part slightly. They kiss tenderly. The CAMERA RISES FROM them TO the star-littered sky twinkling above. The sky goes from black to grey as the CAMERA PANS DOWN. GEEL PIET (V.O.) (sing-song) Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. Can't hit you, can't hurt you. That's it. Good. Good. CUT TO: 67 INT. PRISON BOXING ROOM 67 Geel Piet is punching at PK, slowly, with a large pair of gloves. The seven-year-old bobs and weaves quite expertly. Geel Piet stops, winded. GEEL PIET You wear out this old man. See? See how it can work? How little beat big? PK Yes, sir. But when do I get to punch? GEEL PIET You not going to just punch, man. You going to combination. He demonstrates. GEEL PIET One-two. One-two. C'mon. Now you. One-two. One-two. 50. PK does his best to mimic. GEEL PIET Oh do we have a boxer here. Yes sir. We build you to eight-punch combination. The Geel Piet eight. Then you catch afire. One-two. One-two. Doc appears in the doorway. DOC How is the next Joe Louis this morning? PK Try and hit me. Doc chuckles. PK No. C'mon. Doc takes a half-hearted swing. PK bobs expertly. PK No. Try hard. Doc sets up and swings left, then right. PK avoids both swings. DOC You are amazing. PK And I'm going to learn the Geel Piet eight. DOC Yes, yes, yes. But right now you have to come learn the Beethoven Fifth for one hour so we can get to the cactus before it's too hot to plant. Did you bring her? PK points to a nearby bucket. PK Parchypodium Namquanium. DOC Excellent. Excellent. We make from you a champion and a brain. 51. GEEL PIET (furtive) Excuse me, big baas. But can I talk to the small baas? DOC Of course. Geel Piet looks hesitantly from the man to the boy and then begins. GEEL PIET Every day I see you bring the bucket and in the bottom is some tobacco leaf. PK It keeps the roots wet. GEEL PIET What happens to the leaf after? DOC A little I use in some water to make a bug spray for the plants. PK And the rest we throw away. Geel Piet fidgets. He drops his head, speaking low. GEEL PIET If you leave the pail when you go plant is a problem, small baas? PK I don't understand. GEEL PIET Is like this. You see how hard the life is for the people here in prison. Only little pleasure they take from this hard life maybe sometimes when no one watching late at night -- a little smoke. Now with the big war in Europe tobacco is plenty hard to get outside. Inside it is gone. We are the forgotten in here. PK We have bunches of leaves at home. I'll bring a whole bucketful tomorrow. 52. GEEL PIET No, no. Mustn't do that, little baas. PK I don't understand. DOC What Geel Piet means is it can be dangerous. Something the guards might not want the people to have. PK What's wrong with tobacco? Why wouldn't they want them to have it? DOC What's wrong is people whose job it is to punish. After a little while it is all they know how to do. PK What should I do? DOC This is for you to answer. The sound of a TRUNCHEON on METAL turns them to the door where SERGEANT BORMANN, a side of beef with a sadist's eyes, stands, truncheon in hand. He enters the room and circles the trio. BORMANN I smell something not right here, ay, kaffir? He pokes Geel Piet with his truncheon. GEEL PIET (submissive) No, meneer sergeant. Everything okay here. Bormann swings his truncheon into the back of Geel Piet's knees, buckling the little man to the floor. BORMANN I don't fuckin' believe you. He glares at Doc and PK. BORMANN If you're up to something I'll find out. 53. Bormann, still eying them suspiciously, exits. Doc and PK help Geel Piet up. DOC Schweinhund. GEEL PIET No, no. This old kaffir's okay. Sorry to make any trouble, little baas. We just stick to the boxing now on. Sorry, sorry. Geel Piet goes hobbling off, picking up towels. Doc and PK go to exit. At the door PK turns. PK Geel Piet. Geel Piet turns. PK I leave my bucket on the side by Doc's toilet when I practice piano. Geel Piet breaks out a smile he usually keeps to himself and exits. PK looks up at Doc who tossles his hair approvingly. DOC PK, to me you are the champion of the world already. Come. Let us go box now with Mr. Beethoven. PK and Doc exit. CUT TO: 68 INT. SOLLY'S GYM 68 PK in the ring is about to start sparring. Solly gives him instruction as Morrie stands by. SOLLY Now at the end of the Geel Piet eight you do this... one-two... (he punches the air) One-two-three... the Solly Goldman thirteen. Okay? PK nods. Solly hits the BELL. The sparring begins. PK works his way in. 54. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Move him around. Jab jab. Slip slip. Now. PK pours it on, laying in the Geel Piet eight. Solly is silently counting. SOLLY And... one-two... one-two-three. PK fires the last three punches like lightning and backs up. SOLLY That's it. That's it. Now work around the defense. Jab jab. The opponent becomes aggressive. PK starts dancing, slipping punches. MORRIE How do you get away with this, Mr. G? Why don't they close you down? I mean, there are laws about blacks and white boxing each other. SOLLY In a public match. Not in a gym. Not yet anyway. The Boer is a funny people. Outside the ring the black is not equal. Inside he is. But only in private, not in public. So I keep my mouth shut, the police go a little blind, and that's that. It's a crazy world, huh? A WHISTLE from across the gym draws Solly's attention. He and Morrie turn to his office where his assistant stands with the tall black man from the Schoolboy Championships. Solly's face takes on a serious ex- pression. He rings the bell. He turns to Morrie. SOLLY Work him on the heavy bag. Solly heads for his office. 69 ANGLE ON PK 69 turning away from his opponent. He and the tall black man trade a glance just before the man enters Solly's 55. office and Solly closes the door. CUT TO: 70 INT. GYM 70 PK pounds the heavy bag as Morrie stands by. MORRIE Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. That's it. PK stops, relaxing. Morrie throws a towel over his shoulders. One of Solly's ASSISTANTS comes over. ASSISTANT Solly wants to see you two. PK and Morrie look at each other and head for Solly's office. CUT TO: 71 INT. OFFICE 71 Solly faces the door as it opens. PK and Morrie enter. MORRIE You wanted to see us, Mr. G.? SOLLY Close the door. (beat) Someone I got a lot of respect for asked me to make a request. He wants to put you in a match. MORRIE With who? SOLLY A young guy just turned pro. Gideon Mandoma. MORRIE A black fighter! They want him to fight a black fighter? SOLLY In a black township. Sofiatown. MORRIE Out of the question. Not even up for discussion. C'mon, P.K. 56. Morrie goes to exit. PK doesn't. PK Who asked you to ask? SOLLY The man who promotes all the fights in Sofiatown -- Elias Nguni. PK And you trust him? SOLLY In thirty years I know him, number one on the list. MORRIE You're both out of your minds. PK Did he tell you why he wants the match? SOLLY I told you what he told me. PK Just talking boxing -- how do I match up with Mandoma? SOLLY Pretty even. MORRIE I mean besides getting thrown out of school and into jail, do you know what else happens you do this? He's a pro. The minute you fight him you're a pro. SOLLY There's no purse being offered. MORRIE That's a good career move. Risk everything to gain nothing. Very sound business sense. PK Tell Mr. Nguni I'll think about it. PK exits with Morrie steaming behind. They head for the locker room, PK clearly perturbed. 57. MORRIE Okay. What's going on? PK I don't know. MORRIE Well why don't you tell me what you do know. PK There's an African myth about an outsider who comes one day and unites all the tribes into one against their oppressors. They call it the myth of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi -- the tadpole angel. That chanting at the school championships? MORRIE For you? PK I haven't heard it in years. PK begins to disrobe. MORRIE And how did this honor fall on your broad back? PK I told you about bringing tobacco to the prisoners at Barberton? Well after that was going for a while I learned that even though they could send and receive letters, they never did. They couldn't read or write. MORRIE So you did it for them. PK Right. MORRIE And after that? PK A clothing program for their families and a food program. One thing sort of led to another. 58. MORRIE I can see where 'angel' would be an appropriate title. (beat) But it was, uh, this Geel Piet who was really behind all of it, wasn't it? PK He was very good at pointing things out. MORRIE Man like that should be running a country, not rotting in prison. PK He's not in prison anymore. (pause) He's dead. PK steps into the shower pulling the curtain closed. CUT TO: 72 INT. GYM 72 PK and Morrie exit the locker room. 73 PK'S POV - ACROSS GYM TO MARIA 73 talking to Solly. She sees PK and smiles. 74 BACK TO SCENE 74 PK and Morrie come up. MARIA I thought I'd surprise you. PK Well, you succeeded. MARIA Mr. Goldman was explaining the theory behind the left hook. MORRIE Beats talking about the weather. You may have heard about me? 59. I'm Morrie. MARIA Oh yes. How d'you do. Solly's Assistant whistles for him. SOLLY Well, nice meeting you, Maria. MARIA Nice meeting you, Mr. Goldman. SOLLY We never had a girl come to the gym. (beat) It's not such a bad thing, huh? Solly moves off. PK You got a pass to come out on a weeknight? Maria lifts her jumper a bit, displaying the results of treeclimbing on her knees. MARIA Your tree pass. PK moves Maria and Morrie off down the stairs. MARIA Do you box too, Morrie? MORRIE Do I look that daft? PK Morrie's the brains of the operation. MORRIE He means the bank. Your boyfriend has a great head for literature but none for finance. They exit the staircase. 75 THEIR POV - ACROSS THE WAY - NGUNI 75 in the shadow of the alley stands, smoking a cigarette. 60. 76 BACK TO SCENE 76 PK (in Zulu) I see you, Nguni. NGUNI I see you, P.K. They talk across the narrow street. NGUNI You have heard my request? PK Yes. Why do you make it? NGUNI A woman has thrown the sacred ox bones. She has made a fire and read the smoke. PK What did she read? NGUNI That the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi who is a chief must fight the one who one day will be a chief. PK But it's not true that I'm a chief. NGUNI Who knows what is true and what is not. The legend of Onoshobishobi Ingelosi is very powerful among the people. They see you box the Boer and always you win. They have heard the stories from Barberton. The people live with little hope. They must see if the spirit of the boy still lives in the man. PK And if I lose? If the spirit of the Onoshobishobi Ingelosi does not exist in me anymore, then what will they live with? NGUNI Less hope. But still they must 61. see. It is our way. At that moment a spotlight blinds them. A police car comes up the alley, stopping in front of them. The POLICE exit, threatening. POLICE #1 What's this here? Maria is gripped by fear. Morrie is cautious, unmoving. PK An old family servant, Officer. From home. We just ran into each other. POLICE #2 Papers, man. Come on, be quick. Nguni reaches into his pocket. POLICE #1 Where you coming from? PK Gym, sir. I train there. POLICE #1 And you? MORRIE I'm his manager. The Police look at each other and share a laugh. POLICE #2 (to Maria) And you're the sparring partner, hey? The Police laugh. Police #2, satisfied Nguni's papers are in order, hands them back. POLICE #2 You have an hour to curfew and a long way to go, kaffir. Be off. NGUNI (subservient) Yes, baas. Going right now. Nguni moves off, no semblance of the proud man in his gait. PK 62. Nguni. Nguni turns. PK I'll do it. Nguni smiles and disappears into the night. PK watches him go. CUT TO: 77 EXT. DEVILLIERS SCHOOL 77 PK and Maria stand by the tree set to climb over the wall. MARIA I'm scared for you, PK. PK Solly's a great teacher. He wouldn't put me in a fight I couldn't handle. MARIE I mean about how involved you are with the black people. That scares me. PK Because you don't understand them. MARIA No I don't. PK If you did you wouldn't be so scared. You ever have a conversation with a black person? MARIA Of course. PK Besides a servant. Maria's silence is her answer. PK You should sometime. MARIA I hate it when you tease me. 63. PK Sorry. He kisses her. MARIA (pouty) No you're not. PK Yes I am. He kisses her again. This time she responds, kissing him back. The kisses become more passionate, touching, feel- ing. The heat in both of them begins to rise when a car passes, its headlights arcing across the tree, startling them out of their passion. They cling to the shadows until the car turns the corner. MARIA I better go. They kiss once, lightly. PK boosts her over the wall and waits until she is safely on the other side before run- ning off into the night. CUT TO: 78 INT. OXFORD BOARD OF EXAMINERS ROOM - DAY 78 The Oxford Board of EXAMINERS, eminent academics all, sit four across at a lecture table, looking absolutely musty with learning. Across from them PK sits, a folder in his lap. One man, PROFESSOR LEWIS, peruses the file in front of him. LEWIS According to your submission you have ambitions to be a writer and the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Lewis reads the last sentence with a tinge of amusement in his voice. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Don't you find seeking a career as a pugilist and reading for a degree at Oxford a bit, how shall we put it, intellectually 64. incompatible. PK Lord Byron was a boxer, sir. And I've never heard anyone question his intellectual integrity. One of the other Examiners coughs theatrically to hide his smile. Lewis looks down the table at the man. LEWIS I do not recall Lord Byron actually engaging in matches for money. PK Actually, sir, there are several recorded instances of Lord Byron engaging in matches for quite large sums of money. EXAMINER #2 Quite right. Yes. In a letter to his wife Shelley makes mention of just such a thing. For hundreds of pounds, actually. Lewis has heard enough. LEWIS Let's move along, shall we? As your presentational you've requested to read from a work of your own fiction. PK Yes, sir. LEWIS Well, then, let us hope we'll be treated to the stirrings of another Byron. His sarcasm is not lost on PK. PK ignores it, opens his folder, and begins to read. PK The Concerto for the Southland and the Death of Geel Piet. (pause) His name was Geel Piet -- yellow Peter. He was a mix of half the blood in Africa -- Dutch, Portuguese, Zulu, Sotha, and who knew what else. His father 65. deserted his mother before he was born. His stepfather threw him out to survive on the streets of Capetown when he was nine. CUT TO: 79 INT. BARBERTON PRISON BOXING RING 79 Geel Piet is instructing a nine-year-old PK in the Geel Piet eight. Both boy and man are enjoying what they do -- and each other. PK (V.O.) When I met him he had spent forty of his fifty-five years in one South African prison or another. He was a thief, a con man, a black marketeer. As the narration continues, the SCENE FADES TO: 80 TWELVE-YEAR-OLD PK 80 with a much better grasp of the Geel Piet eight. He and Geel Piet seem closer than ever. PK (V.O.) He may even have killed a man or two in his time. But despite all that he was one of the kindest, wisest, most self-effacing persons I ever knew. He was my teacher; he was my friend. FADE TO: 81 INT. PRISON ROOM 81 PK sits opposite a black prisoner who talks to him. PK, thirteen years old now, writes what the man says on a piece of paper. When he is finished, he folds it, puts it into an envelope, and hand it to the man. The man smiles, shakes PK's hand profusely, and exits. PK turns to Geel Piet who is on his hands and knees polishing the floor, seemingly part of the surroundings. Geel Piet and PK share a smile. PK (V.O.) Geel Piet bore no animosity, held no hate. Should a guard beat him he regarded it as self-inflicted, 66. the result of some carelessness on his part. To survive the system he lived in he became an expert in the art of camouflage, a master of the invisible. In this he strove to be perfect, and in the end it was his quest for perfection that provoked anger from above and killed him. CUT TO: 82 EXT. PRISON CACTUS GARDEN 82 Quite advanced after five years of planting. PK and Geel Piet are bent over a cactus, transplanting it. A group of prisoners on the way to a hard-labor work task march by. They chant a verse to Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK is a little embarrassed by it. PK You know every time they do that I want to jump up and say I'm just a twelve-year-old. I'm not anything else. GEEL PIET To them you are. You are the one who brings the smoke, the one who writes the letters, the one who puts clothes on their children when they are cold. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. PK But you know that's not true. GEEL PIET Who is to say what is true and what is not true, kleine baas. Doc comes running up, excited, waving a newspaper. DOC The Allied armies have crossed the Rhine into Germany. It is almost over. PK That's great, isn't it? He turns to Geel Piet. GEEL PIET 67. (subdued) Yes, kleine baas. DOC You are a good faker, Geel Piet. but you don't think it's great at all. It means you lose your star letter writer and tobacco importer. GEEL PIET No matter that, Professor. We always manage here. What pains me most is I lose my boxer. PK I'll come back. GEEL PIET (adamant) No, kleine baas. You leave this damn place you don't come back never. DOC Geel Piet, when a painter finishes a work of art he doesn't lose it. He sends it out in the world so everyone can see the genius of his creation. This is what you are going to do. And to celebrate the launch of such a work of art as you have made our boxer here, I have composed an entire concerto -- 'The Concerto for the Southland' -- which it is my intention to play in concert for the prisoners before I leave. GEEL PIET Not possible. The kommandant never allow the people to have such a thing. DOC He'll think it's a concert for him and the brass. But we'll know, ay? And the people will know. PK He'll never let black be with white here, Doc. DOC If the black is part of the 68. orchestra, like the piano, he will. GEEL PIET But the people have no instruments in this place, big baas. DOC They have their voices. Each tribe a different voice, a different language -- all singing together. It is brilliant, no? PK Except the tribes don't trust each other. They don't even talk to each other. DOC (crestfallen) Oh. This is correct. This stupid hatred. GEEL PIET They will do it for you, kleine baas. You are Onoshobishobi Ingelosi. You bring the tobacco. You write the letters. You put clothes on their children's bodies and food in their bellies. All you do is ask and they all sing for you. DOC He's right. Wunderbar. You are the smartest of us all. Geel Piet smiles as he lifts the watering pot to exit. A truncheon stops him. All turn to Sergeant Bormann. BORMANN A kaffir smarter than all of us? You are a strange German, Professor. DOC That little maniac with the moustache in Berlin you admire. He is the strange German. And soon kaput, I hope. BORMANN If that's true you'll not be long for this place, eh, Professor? 69. DOC No, Sergeant. God willing. BORMANN And you, too, little Rooinek. But you, kaffir, Hitler comes or goes... He takes Geel Piet's hand. BORMANN You are going to stay with me. He forces Geel Piet's hand closer and closer to a cactus with long thorns. BORMANN And I will find out all your secrets once your friends are gone. One slip... He pushes Geel Piet's hands onto the cactus needle. Geel Piet does not cry out. BORMANN I have you. He lets go of Geel Piet's hand. Geel Piet removes it from the cactus, bloodied. BORMANN Get out of here. Geel Piet takes his watering can and goes. BORMANN You see, Professor, they are not like us. A white man would scream bloody murder. Doc and PK glare at Bormann. He smirks and walks away. PK (V.O.) As the weeks went by and the date for the concert grew closer, my life was a whirlwind. PK and Geel Piet appear before various tribal leaders, talking, agreeing, shaking hands. PK (V.O.) Having obtained the cooperation of all the tribal groups, we set about instructing them. Four men from each tribe were taught the 70. intricacies of their group's parts. They were the choral leaders responsible for teaching the others. PK and Doc instruct. Doc plays the piano. PK leads the singers. Geel Piet turns the pages for Doc. PK (V.O.) At night the prison hummed with the men in their cells practicing. CUT TO: 83 EXT. PRISON TOWER 83 Nervous guards patrol as the SOUNDS of the prisoners singing wafts through the air. CUT TO: 84 INT. BOXING ROOM 84 Geel Piet instructs PK. P.K. (V.O.) My boxing instruction accelerated as well. It was as if Geel Piet was trying to give me every bit of boxing knowledge he had before we parted. And always from the corners and shadows Bormann watched and waited. Bormann watches PK and Geel Piet from the door of his room, his truncheon beating idly against his leg. CUT TO: 85 INT. RING 85 A photographer sets up a group picture of the boxing squad -- kids and guards. Geel Piet stands off to one side, OUT OF FRAME. PK (V.O.) Our boxing squad, the Barberton Blues, won the State Championship with a perfect record. I won at 100 lbs. It was my first championship. It made me want 71. more. The group disperses. PK beckons the photographer to wait. He grabs Geel Piet and forces him to stand, much to the little man's protestations, for a photo of the two of them. As the picture is taken Geel Piet has the widest smile imaginable. 86 INT. PRISON YARD - NIGHT 86 The guards, all in crisp uniforms, patrol nervously, truncheons at the ready. The towers bristle with guns as hundreds of black prisoners file into the yard. PK (V.O.) Finally the night of the concert arrived. The prison atmosphere, normally tense, was keening. Each prisoner entering the yard is searched. It was prison policy to keep tribal rivalries boiling. Divide and conquer. The policy of control. PK (V.O.) (CONT'D) This was to be the first time in the history of the South African prison system that the tribes were allowed to mingle. And if trouble came, it would be the last. All the prisoners are seated on the ground behind Doc, who is raised with the piano on a small stage. Guards surround the prisoners -- a solid, edgy border encasing a black center. The front of the yard is filled with seats on which sit the Kommandant, his wife, assorted prison brass, politicians, and a smattering of the local Afrikaan Hierarchy. PK is overseeing the seating of the prisoners when Doc comes up to him. DOC Have you seen my page turner? PK No. He asks a prisoner in Zulu. PK Have you seen Geel Piet? The man shakes his head. PK looks worried. 72. DOC (reassuring) He will come. The Kommandant, all medals and polished leather, mounts the stage, signaling a beginning to the festivities. VON ZYL Where is Bormann? I need Bormann to translate to the prisoners. SMIT I don't know, Kommandant. DOC Is there a problem here, Kommandant? VON ZYL I want to address these filthy kaffirs but I don't have a translator. PK I'll translate. VON ZYL You can speak Zulu, PK? PK Yes, sir. VON ZYL All right. Listen up. He addresses the prisoners. VON ZYL Tell them this concert is the gift to them from the professor who, even though he is in prison, is not a dirty criminal like them but a man of culture and learning. PK (subtitled) The Kommandant welcomes you and looks forward to the great singing. VON ZYL For such a man I am happy to do this. But one hair of trouble and it's finish. 73. PK (subtitled) He hopes each tribe will sing its best and bring honor to its people. VON ZYL One wrong move and you get marched back to your cells and don't come out for a month. PK (subtitled) He says tonight let us be one people under the African sky. The prisoners break into spontaneous applause. Von Zyl looks at PK, unsuspecting, pleased. VON ZYL You did a good job. PK Thank you, sir. VON ZYL Professor? He turns the stage over to the professor and takes his seat. The professor sits at his stool, poised. PK, in front of the singers, watches him for a cue. Doc drops his head. PK points to a group of singers. MUSIC and VOICE blend spontaneously. "The Concerto for the Great Southland" begins. Doc plays magnificently with great style. PK focuses on leading the singers. Each section, each tribe singing its own songs | gives | How many times the word 'gives' appears in the text? | 1 |