# World Trade Center (film)

World Trade Center is a 2006 drama film that tells the story of two Port Authority Police officers trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, when the towers collapsed over them.
    Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Andrea Berloff, based on the true life events of John and Donna McLoughlin and Will and Allison Jimeno.

## John McLoughlin

* We're prepared for everything. Car bombs, chemical, biological, an attack from the top. But not this. Not for something this size. There's no plan. We didn't make it.
* [as the South Tower collapses] Run! The elevator shafts!
* [narrating] 9/11 showed us what human beings are capable of. The evil, yeah, sure. But it also brought out a goodness we thought could exist. People taking care of each other for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. It's important to talk about that good, to remember. 'Cause I saw a lot of it that day.

## Will Jimeno

* Kassimatis said you were the best. You were the guy who knew everything down here. Dom, Antonio and Chris, nothing was gonna stop them from trying to help. We figured we might as well follow the best guy in.
* The most amazing thing just happened. I saw Jesus. And you know what? He had a bottle of water. And I could have drunk it, you know? But I didn't drink it. He's telling us something, Sarge. He's telling us to come home.
* You remember Starsky and Hutch? When I was a kid, it was on TV. I remember the theme song. When that would come on, I'd run around the house and arrest my sister, Karen. Took me six years to be a cop. The only thing I ever wanted to be was a cop.

## Dave Karnes

* God gave me a gift to be able to help people, to defend our country. And I feel him calling on me now for this mission.
* It's like God made a curtain with the smoke, shielding us from what we're not yet ready to see.

## Others

* Title card: 2,749 people died at the World Trade Center, including citizens from 87 countries. 343 were New York City Firemen. 84 were Port Authority employees, of whom 37 were Police. Another 23 were New York City Police. Only 20 people were pulled out alive. Will and John were numbers 18 and 19. Will had 8 surgeries in 13 days. John was put into a medically-induced coma for 6 weeks to allow for 27 surgeries. They are now retired from active duty and live with their families in New York and New Jersey. Dave Karnes re-enlisted in the Marines and served two tours of duty in Iraq. For the fallen men and women of the Port Authority Police Department. And for all those whose who fought, died, and were wounded that day.

## Dialogue

    Officer Polnicki: [watching TV] Can you believe this? What schmuck would fly a plane into the Trade Center?
    Officer Colovito: Maybe they ran out of gas or something.
    Officer Polnicki: Yeah, Colovito. Right.
    Officer Giraldi: Just some jerk-off forgot which lever to pull on his twin-engine.
    Antonio Rodrigues: That's not a small plane.
    Officer Polnicki: Hell, no.
    Inspector Fields: All, right, listen up! Let me have your attention here! They're telling us it's a commuter plane. Tower One is being evacuated as a precaution. They've asked us to send a team down to assist. Sergeant McLoughlin.
    John McLoughlin: I've got a list of names here. Step out when you hear it. We're going downtown.
    Officer Colovito: Hey, guys, you won't believe this! My wife says the other one got hit, the other tower.
    Officer Polnicki: What?! How the hell did the other tower get hit?
    Officer Colovito: She was listening to Hot 97 and they said it.
    Officer Polnicki: What? Who gets their news from Hot 97?
    Antonio Rodrigues: I told you it was no damn private plane.
    Will Jimeno: This is gonna be a bitch.
    Lieutenant Kassimatis: Relax.
    Will Jimeno: I'm just saying...
    Lieutenant Kassimatis: You think they're bringing you down there to scratch your ass? McLoughlin will tell you what to do. He was Emergency Services at the Trade Center. He's one of the guys who came up with a plan after the attack in '93. Anybody knows what to do down there, it's him.
    Officer Colovito: [after watching a victim jump from the Towers] Nothing's gonna help them.
    Antonio Rodrigues: No, we'll get up there.
    Officer Giraldi: How are you gonna save people that high up? It's impossible.
    Will Jimeno: We gotta try.
    John McLoughlin: Okay, listen up. Where's Kassimatis?
    Officer Colovito: He's looking for you, Sarge.
    John McLoughlin: We got to evacuate the Tower. Who knows how to use a Scott Pak? And don't give me any PBA bullshit.
    Officer Colovito: Hey, Sarge, to tell you the truth, I haven't used one in like four years.
    John McLoughlin: Look, what did I just say? Who's coming? Step forward.
    Will Jimeno: I got it, Sarge.
    Antonio Rodrigues: I'll go.
    Dominick Pezzulo: I'm with you, Sarge.
    John McLoughlin: All right. All right, we got a team. We're headed into Building Five. The rest of you wait for Kassimatis. Follow me. Stay together.
    [John begins leading the team down the street towards the site]
    John McLoughlin: Jimeno.
    Will Jimeno: Sarge?
    John McLoughlin: Take everyone's memo books, nightsticks, hats. They're useless here. Put them in the Suburban. It's over on Church and Vesey. Meet us back at the police desk in the lobby of Five. You got it?
    Will Jimeno: Which one's Five?
    John McLoughlin: There's two towers. North Tower is One. South Tower is Two, right behind it. There's Five, right in front of us, which is where the police desk is. Take the alley. Hurry up.
    Chris Amoroso: Now you're talking! Got the BT dogs up in here.
    John McLoughlin: Chris.
    Chris Amoroso: What's up, Sarge? Sarge, I'm telling you we got to get up. There's a ton of people stuck up there.
    John McLoughlin: We're going up.
    Chris Amoroso: Yeah? I gotta go with you.
    John McLoughlin: Sure, Chris. We can use you. We need more equipment. get a tank on.
    Chris Amoroso: A-Rod!
    Antonio Rodrigues: Yo, what's up, Chris?
    Will Jimeno: Yo, what happened to your eye, man? What happened to your eye?
    Chris Amoroso: Ah, I was carrying this woman out, something whacked me in the freaking head.
    Will Jimeno: She okay?
    Chris Amoroso: Yeah, hey, Sarge, we ain't gonna find any equipment left in One.
    [John leads the group left towards the lobby of Tower Two ninety feet away]
    John McLoughlin: Lynch has got gear down at the B-1 truck docks next to Two. There's a staircase right over there at Ben & Jerry's.
    Chris Amoroso: I heard they were evacuating Two, Sarge.
    John McLoughlin: Must have caught fire from One.
    Chris Amoroso: I heard Two got hit, that there was a second plane.
    John McLoughlin: No, Fields just said one plane, Tower One. Now, stay together.
    Lynne: They keep showing the same thing over and over and over.
    Judy Jonas: Jay's there. They must have called in every company in the city. He would have been there early.
    Donna McLoughlin: Yeah, John, too, probably. He knows those buildings so well.
    Judy Jonas: [overwhelmed] Oh, my God!
    Donna McLoughlin: Judy. Listen to me. Listen to me. Look. They evacuated those buildings. All right? I'm sure most everybody got out. They're fine. In the '93 attack, John said everybody got out real quick.
    Judy Jonas: God. In '93, the buildings didn't fall down!
    Will Jimeno: Where did that wind come from all the sudden, Sarge?
    John McLoughlin: I don't know.
    Will Jimeno: The fire just goes out like that, Sarge! Why is that?
    John McLoughlin: I don't know!
    Will Jimeno: You're not a big talker, are you?
    John McLoughlin: No.
    Will Jimeno: Well, see, you got to talk to me 'cause...
    John McLoughlin: [screams] Aaaahhhh! Aaaahhhh! Aaaahhhh! Aah! I can't!! 'Cause my knees are crushed again!! That's why I can't fucking talk! Oh, God!
    Brian Boel: [over phone] Al, it's Brian. I just got in.
    Allison Jimeno: Hi, Brian.
    Brian Boel: Allison, listen, they sent Will down on a bus with a bunch of the guys.
    Allison Jimeno: So he did go down there?
    Brian Boel: Yeah.
    Allison Jimeno: And did he go in the buildings?
    Brian Boel: We don't know.
    Allison Jimeno: Brian, did he go in the buildings or did he not go in the buildings?
    Brian Boel: We're trying to find that out.
    Allison Jimeno: It's very basic. Did he go in or did he not go in?
    Brian Boel: Allison, I'll call you as soon as we know.
    John McLoughlin: Sounded like a truck bomb. Like in '93. Blasted out the lobby. Pushed everything in here. Concourse must have collapsed.
    Will Jimeno: You never answered, Sarge. What have we got? How long does this internal bleeding take?
    John McLoughlin: I don't know. I'm not a doctor. Twenty-four hours is the most I've heard of. Maybe fourteen, sixteen. Just don't sleep.
    Will Jimeno: So we've been in six, seven hours. What does that mean? Another seven, eight hours from now? You remember that earthquake? Where was it? Turkey? There was a little girl there. She lived four days buried in the rubble like this. She was, like, three years old or something. If she could make it, we can make it. Maybe we ain't bleeding so bad inside. Sarge?
    John McLoughlin: Yeah, Will.
    Will Jimeno: You got any kids?
    John McLoughlin: Four. I got four.
    Will Jimeno: That's a lot of kids.
    John McLoughlin: Yeah. It's a lot of work for my wife.
    Will Jimeno: What are their names?
    John McLoughlin: Steven. He's the oldest. He's 15. Caitlin's 12. Peanut. JJ, he's 10. We got a little girl. Erin. She's four. We had her late. It wasn't planned. It just... It happened. I don't know.
    Dave Karnes: What's the status here?
    Fireman: The search has been called off. They say the Marriott's gonna go too, and until it's more stable, we're out. This whole thing is crap, man. Our guys are in there. They're dying in there.
    Dave Karnes: It's like God made a curtain with the smoke, shielding us from what we're not yet ready to see.
    Will Jimeno: This guy. He's gonna die if you don't get him out soon. And the only thing in the way is my leg. I want you to cut it off. Just cut if off. I can live without a leg.
    Scott Strauss: I'm not cutting your leg off. I can't. You're coming out in one piece, you hear me?
    Will Jimeno: You gotta... Look it's my leg. Just juice me up and cut it off. If he dies, I die. That's just the way it is.
    Scott Strauss: Look Will, your partner must be twenty feet deeper. Probably more compacted than you. Even if I cut your leg off, he's not gonna get out of there for hours. I'm sorry, man. Now, let me do my work.
    Will Jimeno: Hey, where did the buildings go? Hey, where did the buildings go?
    Older Fireman: They're gone, kid. They're gone.
    Grace: Waiting's shit, isn't it?
    Donna McLoughlin: Yeah.
    Grace: If it's gonna be bad, you just want to know it. No bullshit.
    Donna McLoughlin: That's right. They're digging my husband out. They found him in the rubble.
    Grace: That's good. My son's down there. Lawrence. He's the elevator operator in the South Tower. A good boy. When I saw that building going down like a pancake... Damn thing is, I yelled at him. Last time... I made dinner. He got held up at work. Food went to waste. And I yelled. Now all I want to do is hold him.
    Donna McLoughlin: I know. [Grace breaks down crying, Donna embraces her] I know. I know. Oh, come here. Come here. I know. I know, sweetie. It's all right. It's all right. Come here. It's all right. You're okay. I know. Thank you so... Thank you so...

## Taglines

* A true story of courage and survival.
* The world saw evil that day. Two men saw something else.
* On the day we will never forget comes a story you never knew.

## Cast

* Nicolas Cage - John McLoughlin
* Maria Bello - Donna McLoughlin
* Michael Peña - Will Jimeno
* Maggie Gyllenhaal - Allison Jimeno
* Stephen Dorff - NYPD ESU Rescueman Scott Strauss
* Jon Bernthal - Officer Christopher Amoroso
* Jay Hernandez - Officer Dominick Pezzulo
* Michael Shannon - Marine Sgt. Dave Karnes
* Donna Murphy - Judy Jonas
* Frank Whaley - Paramedic Chuck Sereika
* Jude Ciccolella - Inspector Fields
* Danny Nucci - Officer Giraldi
* William Mapother - Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas
* Wass Stevens as Officer Pat McLoughlin
* Armando Riesco - Officer Antonio Rodrigues
* Nicholas Turturro - Officer Colovito
* Ned Eisenberg - Officer Polnicki
* Dara Coleman - Officer Boel
* Nick Damici - Lieutentant Kassimatis
* Arthur Nascarella - FDNY Chief at Ground Zero
* Patti D'Arbanville - Lynne
* Viola Davis - Grace
* Will Jimeno - Port Authority Police Officer
* Aimee Mullins - Reporter

## External links

* World Trade Center quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* World Trade Center at Rotten Tomatoes