FOURTH DRAFT
AUGUST 30, 1991
9/10/91 BLUE
10/1/91 PINK
10/14/91 YELLOW
10/25/91 GREEN
10/31/91 GOLDENROD
*11/7/91 BUFF
H E R O
a screenplay by
David Webb Peoples
from a story by
Laura Ziskin & Alvin Sargent and David Peoples
Please note the following changes:
A.) INSPECTOR JENSEN
(previously changed to
INSPECTOR BENSON on revised BLUE page 94)
has been changed to
INSPECTOR DAYTON
B.) THE PERIGORD restaurant
has been changed to
THE BARCELONA restaurant
C.) TERRY WELLS
has been changed to
TOM WELLER
D.) CHANNEL 11
has been changed to
CHANNEL 13
E.) CHANNEL 7
has been changed to
CHANNEL 8
INT. COURTROOM - DAY
JUDGE GOINES turns to the Jury FOREMAN.
JUDGE GOINES
Mister Foreman, have you arrived
at a verdict?
FOREMAN
We have, your honor. We find the
defendant guilty of all the charges.
TITLES BEGIN OVER THE SCENE
ANGLE ON THE DEFENDANT, BERNIE LAPLANTE
Forty, rumpled, cheap suit, cheap haircut. He reacts, turning
to the jury, indignant.
His attorney, DONNA O'DAY, rises. She's twenty-four, looks
younger.
DONNA
Your honor, may I approach the
bench?
As BERNIE fumes, the JUDGE, DONNA and the youthful clean-cut
PROSECUTOR engage in an earnest, inaudible discussion.
Frustrated, Bernie is watching them when he notices something
that distracts him from his anguish.
Donna's wallet is lying in her open attache case. The open top
of the case screens the wallet from the view of the JURY, THE
JUDGE, COURT REPORTERS, etc.
Bernie looks around, checking the spectators section.
No spectators.
TITLE CONTINUE
Bernie gets the wallet to his lap. In between cautious glances
toward the bench where the conference continues inaudibly, he
surreptitiously selects some of the twenties and some of the
tens from the wallet.
AT THE BENCH
The conference breaks up, DONNA heads back toward the defense
table.
The wallet still concealed in his lap under the table, BERNIE
is indignant.
BERNIE
What's going on? "Guilty"! What
is this?
DONNA
I got your bail continued.
BERNIE
Bail, for Chrissake! I'm innocent!
The JUDGE gavels for order as BERNIE slips DONNA's "lightened"
wallet back into her attache case unseen.
JUDGE GOINES
Mister LaPlante, I have been
persuaded in view of your continued
employment and your lack of prior
convictions, to continue your bail
under the same conditions
heretofore, pending sentencing six
days from now. In the meantime you
will make an appointment with the
probation officer who will make a
recommendation to me regarding your
sentence. I urge you to use these
six days to set your personal
affairs in order in anticipation
of incarceration.
THE TITLES CONCLUDE
INT. CORRIDOR/HALL OF JUSTICE - MINUTES LATER (DAY)
BERNIE and DONNA are hurrying along the crowded corridor outside
the courtroom.
BERNIE
"Anticipation of incarceration"?
DONNA
(upset)
He means prison, Mr. LaPlante.
BERNIE
I know what he means. I'm not a
prison kinda guy, Miss O'Day. I'm
a goddamn working man for
Chrissake! Maybe I "augment" my
income a little with some
"business deals," maybe summa the
guys I sell to are crooks, how
would I know, I'm not an
investigator. You can't make it
on a wage no more, not in this
country.
DONNA
I think our best course right now
would be to focus on the Probation
Officer's report...
BERNIE
He gives a good report and I walk?
DONNA
We can hope.
(consulting her notes)
You still have your job, right?
BERNIE
Yeah, I been calling in sick. They
think I got the flu.
DONNA
And a son by your ex-wife? Joseph.
BERNIE
A son, yeah. What about him? Joey.
DONNA
Are you pretty involved in his
upbringing?
BERNIE
Involved! Christ! She attached my
goddamn paycheck! Child support.
Why do you think I can't afford a
lawyer?
(then...)
You know what I mean. Why I got
a court appointed lawyer instead
of a, uh, more experienced...
DONNA
I understand. How often do you see
your son?
BERNIE
Often, uh.
DONNA
How recently?
BERNIE
Uh, his birthday, uh, May. I
think.
DONNA
It's November.
BERNIE
(beat... beat...
beat...)
She don't like me to see him.
Says I'm a bad influence.
DONNA
I think you should visit your son.
And try and get your boss to write
a note about your performance on
the job. You need to create the
impression of a responsible, decent
citizen with familial
responsibilities who happened to
slip up once.
They have reached the front door. BERNIE nods, about to exit.
DONNA
(with difficulty)
Uh, I know you're having financial
difficulties, Mister LaPlante, but
I wonder if... I mean, the money
I loaned you...
BERNIE
Some of it. Right here. I got some
of it. I'll get the rest as soon
as I can.
BERNIE pulls out the crumpled bills he took from Donna's wallet
and hands them to her.
DONNA
(surprised and touched)
I know things are difficult for you,
Mister LaPlante. I don't want to
take your last dime...
BERNIE is already reaching for a twenty.
BERNIE
Right. I better keep some if I'm
gonna see the kid. For gas and
stuff.
Then, unable to resist the chance, he snatches another.
EXT. LION CAGES/ZOO - ANOTHER DAY
A LION lies glumly in his cage, staring balefully through the
bars at BERNIE who stares balefully back, contemplating the iron
bars. At BERNIE'S side is a ten year old boy, JOEY, whose neat,
scrubbed appearance is in sharp contrast to BERNIE'S rumpled,
slightly soiled look.
JOEY
Wow! Look at that one!
JOEY is indicating the next cage where a BLACK PANTHER is pacing
restlessly to and fro.
JOEY
If you were in there, he'd kill you,
wouldn't he...Dad?
As Bernie looks at the PANTHER, the muscular beast looks right
into BERNIE'S eyes with the furious yellow stare as if to say
"I'm waiting."
BERNIE
Yeah, yeah, something like that.
INT. FLUKY'S RESTAURANT - AN HOUR LATER (DAY)
BERNIE and JOEY facing each other in a booth, eating burgers.
BERNIE
This guy, this "friend" your
mother's seeing, he's a fireman,
huh? He ever... spend the night,
whatsisname?
JOEY
Sometimes. His name's Elliot. He
saved a guy's life one time. In
a fire.
BERNIE
Oh yeah? A hero, huh?
(a beat, then...)
Was he in the 'Nam, this guy Elliot?
JOEY
"The Nomm"? What's that?
BERNIE
It was this war. Viet Nam. Doesn't
matter.
JOEY
Were you in it? In the war?
BERNIE
You never saw that picture, huh?
JOEY
What picture?
BERNIE
Me in my uniform. Used to be on
the bookcase.
INT. MEN'S ROOM/FLUKY'S - TEN MINUTES LATER (DAY)
Deserted except for BERNIE and JOEY side by side at the urinals.
BERNIE glances at JOEY.
BERNIE
Whatcha gotta do there, buddy, is
ya gotta get in close so ya don't
piss on yer shoes.
It don't matter now cause you're
wearin' them sneakers but the time's
gonna come when you're gonna be
wearin' good shoes, expensive ones,
and you don't wanna piss on them,
you wanna protect 'em. From piss,
from tough guys, from everything.
-- ALTERNATE VERSION --
BERNIE
What I don't like about public
restrooms is how you're always
standing in piss. It don't matter
to you, you got those sneakers but
I'm standing in piss in very
expensive shoes. It's a breakdown
in custodial services.
JOEY steals a glance at BERNIE, sees him "shake it off" and zip
up. JOEY does likewise.
JOEY
Are you gonna take me somewhere next
weekend?
BERNIE
I'm working on that. It's just I
got some business problems and...
whatsa matter?
JOEY is heading for one of the stalls. He reaches underneath
and pulls out a wallet.
JOEY
Somebody lost a wallet.
BERNIE is extremely interested, takes the wallet JOEY holds out
and glances inside.
Cash. A couple of fifties.
INT. FLUKY'S - SECONDS LATER (DAY)
BERNIE and JOEY exit the Men's Room and head for the door to
the parking lot, BERNIE explaining...
BERNIE
You give it to the manager, he
pockets the dough, throws the wallet
away. Most people who work in
supervisory positions... I'm not
saying all... are crooks.
JOEY casts a hasty glance at TEENAGER who's wearing the
Manager Badge. The youth could not look more innocent if he
wore a halo.
EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY
A BAG LADY pushing two shopping carts through the parking lot
spots BERNIE and JOEY crossing her path...
BAG LAOY
Excuse me, sir, could you spare...?
BERNIE
No way, lady, not a chance.
BERNIE hurries past her, notices JOEY looking back at the
miserable woman.
BERNIE
You gotta resist the urge to be nice
to those people, they're con
artists, they take advantage of the
soft heart. A lot of 'em are
financially better off than the
rest of us.
Arriving at an ancient, battered Toyota, BERNIE searches for
his keys and then fusses with the lock.
BERNIE
What I'm gonna do on this wallet
thing is, Monday, day after
tomorrow, I'm gonna have my
secretary phone this guy up from
the name on his driver's license
Let the guy come and get his wallet
and make sure you get a reward.
You deserve a reward. You want
one, doncha? A reward? Gwan, get
in.
INT. TOYOTA/MOVING/FREEWAY - TWENTY MINUTES LATER (DAY)
BERNIE is at the wheel, the car is gasping, struggling.
BERNIE
Whatcha gotta do, you gotta look
out for number one. It sounds
harsh, but it's a goddamn (excuse
the vulgarity) jungle out there,
kid. That's why you gotta keep a
low profile! Right? A low
profile!
It's where you don't give nobody
nothin' to shoot at, stay outta
sight, be parta the woodwork, don't
ever tell 'em your name, they'll
use it against you.
JOEY is looking for the right exit sign. He spots it.
JOEY
Here. Get off here.
BERNIE
(a look at Joey)
Thanks. Thanks, pal.
JOEY looks pleased.
EXT. EVELYN'S HOUSE/INT. TOYOTA - LATER - DAY
BERNIE is turning onto a suburban street, checking the houses.
BERNIE
Listen, buddy, I'm really enjoying
this relationship we got going here.
I been missing out on not knowing
you better. Thing is, I got all
this business stuff...
JOEY
I could go to a movie Thursday
night. 'Cause we don't have
school on Friday.
BERNIE pulls the car up in front of a single story two bedroom
house.
BERNIE
Here we are. Yeah, that's a
possibility. A movie. Now you gwan
in, tell your mother I got you back
on time. Point that out to her.
She was always on my case for stuff
like that. She's still like that,
right?
JOEY
(a little grin, his
first)
Yeah.
(getting out)
I'll see ya... dad.
JOEY gets out and runs toward the house. BERNIE watches him
go. Then he pulls out the wallet, thumbs the cash, glances at
the credit cards.
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
The bored, fiftyish bartender, CHICK, is watching the TV mounted
over the bar in this unfashionable, nearly-deserted joint. He
looks up when the door opens.
CHICK
Bernie! Where ya been, Pal?
Arriving at the bar, BERNIE surveys the dimly lit room, checking
the booths and tables for customers. Not many.
BERNIE
Some guys been looking for me,
Chick? Spanish kinda guys.
CHICK
Spanish kinda guys!
BERNIE
Business thing. Gimme a seven and
seven, willya?
BERNIE checks his watch, takes a seat, puts a twenty on the bar.
CHICK
What is it, five days now I don't
see you!
BERNIE
'Cause I'm up to my ass in shit is
why. I'm broke, plus I got legal
problems... Nobody was asking for
me, huh?
BERNIE looks around nervously, peering into the shadowy booths
and rear tables as CHICK puts a drink in front of him.
CHICK
Nope. Legal problems, you gotta
have a good attorney.
BERNIE
My attorney, she's just outta law
school, about a couple of years
older than my kid, for Chrissake.
CHICK
You gotta kid? How old's your kid?
BERNIE
Nine. I think. Maybe ten. Yeah,
ten. Nice kid.
CHICK
You got a ten year old attorney,
Bernie?
BERNIE
I can't afford no better. My ex,
she attached my pay check for child
support payments.
(turning)
You looking for Bernie LaPlante by
any chance?
A MAN who's just entered the lounge shakes his head no and heads
for a table where he's greeted by the COCKTAIL WAITRESS.
CHICK
I didn't even know you had a kid.
BERNIE
(thoughtful)
The thing about kids is, they're
so... young! They don't know
nothin' yet. When you're a kid,
you think you're gonna grow up an'
be a "wonderful person" instead of
an asshole, like everybody else.
CHICK
We're all assholes, Bernie?
BERNIE
(ignoring him)
When I was a kid, I thought I was
gonna be this fantastic wonderful
heroic human being.
ESPINOSA'S VOICE (O.S)
You Bernie Planta?
BERNIE turns.
Two Latinos are right behind him, low lifes, ESPINOSA and
VARGAS.
BERNIE
LaPlante. Bernie LaPlante. You the
guys Bunny called, huh?
INT. BACK BOOTH/SHADOW LOUNGE - MOMENTS LATER
Credit cards are being inspected. ESPINOSA, seated between
VARGAS and BERNIE, in a booth in the nearly deserted lounge,
looks the cards over dubiously.
ESPINOSA
Three hours is old, man. Very old.
BERNIE
Hey, he might not of reported 'em
at all yet. He might not know for
a couple hours.
VARGAS
You pick his pocket?
BERNIE
Yeah, more or less. Trust me, these
are very very fresh.
EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY
JEFFREY BROADMAN is standing against the granite facade of a
downtown office building. Three thousand dollar suit, Hermes
tie, expensively cut silver grey hair ruffling slightly in the
breeze. Charming smile, candid eyes...
BROADMAN
To be honest, I can't make sense
of it either, Ms. Gayley.
Things seem to be on the upswing,
our differences with the SEC have
been favorably resolved. In a
business sense, I believe we've
"turned the corner..."
GALE GAYLEY, a TV reporter, is standing close to BROADMAN, a
microphone in her hand. She's thirty, attractive, dignified...
We can hear SIRENS in the distance and, closer, the CRACKLE
of radios and walkie talkies.
GALE
Mister Broadman, your wife and
children are on their way here as
we speak. Don't you think -- ?
BROADMAN
I feel I've done very well in
life: good health, wonderful
family, much wealth. I guess what
we're talking about here is a kind
of despair. I just have the
feeling that everything from here
on is going to be... downhill...
At a time like this, I think I'm
entitled, as the saying goes, to
"look out for number one" and put
my own needs first. That pretty
much concludes what I have to say.
Thanks for coming out here to let
me talk to you and your viewers.
A nice smile as he drops RIGHT OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME!
ANGLE ON GALE
Looking down, horrified.
GALE
Oh my god! Chucky, tilt down.
Her cameraman, CHUCKY, twenty-five, is already urgently tilting
his vidpak as WE REVEAL that he and GALE are standing on a ledge
many stories above the street.
GALE
Did you get it?
(then, doubly
horrified)
Jesus, did I say that?
CHUCKY
Yeah, I got it. Sports training.
You learn to follow the ball.
(looking up at Gale)
How about you do a wrap-up from
up here? I'll pan off that
skyscraper over there, find you
here, then reveal the drop.
GALE looks shaken.
TV IMAGE (EXT. OFFICE BUILDING LEDGE - DAY)
Later, the CAMERA "finds" GALE in mid-sentence standing on the
ledge, "wearing" her broadcast voice and persona...
GALE
(into mike)
Suicide number 137 of this year
in this city was neither a
destitute nor a lonely man, but
a successful executive with a
loving family and forty million
dollars in the bank. If there's
nameless "despair" in executive
offices, what can there be sixty
stories below where the hungry and
the homeless, the brutalized and
the addicted, fight their daily
battle for survival.
(beat)
From a ledge sixty stories above
the street, I'm Gale Gayley for
Channel Four News.
REVEAL: THE TV MONITOR IS IN AN OFFICE
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE/CHANNEL 4 - LATE AFTERNOON
DEAKINS, fifty, shirtsleeves, News Director, and WALLACE, sixty,
Station Manager, suit and tie, patrician, are watching the
monitor while CHUCKY and PARKER, the boyish gofer, hover behind
them.
CHUCKY
Whadja think of the fall shot,
Chief? The guy drops twenty
stories in perfect focus, center
frame while I go smoothly from F16
to F5.6.
DEAKINS
Helluva shot, Chucky, beautiful.
(pulling out the video
tape)
Parker, run this down to Frazier,
tell him we open with it at six,
eleven and at seven a.m....
PARKER is already running out the door as Gale enters.
GALE
Hi, Chief. You like the suicide?
WALLACE
Never reach out!
GALE
Hello, Mister Wallace.
DEAKINS
(to Gale)
He's right. It's unprofessional.
WALLACE
(to Gale)
If you reach out, you could get
pulled over yourself.
GALE
What're we talking about? Reach
out for what?
CHUCKY
I told them how you were upset we
didn't save the guy...
DEAKINS
Saving people is not our job. It's
as wrong to step in and save someone
as it would be to push someone off.
WALLACE
You wouldn't push the guy, would
you?
GALE
I didn't say I thought we should
have saved him..
WALLACE
You didn't?
GALE
I said I wished it had at least
occurred to me to consider saving
him.
DEAKINS
What good would that do?
GALE sits on Deakins' desk.
GALE
It would make me feel like a human
being instead of a cynical,
hardbitten newswoman. Besides it
wouldn't be a bad story, would it,
"Newswoman Saves Suicide?"
DEAKINS
Unprofessional.
GALE
You just can't bear the idea of
good news.
DEAKINS
You're sitting on your ticket.
GALE finds an envelope on the desk under her butt.
WALLACE
Ticket! What's going on?
DEAKINS
She's flying to New York. She's
been nominated for a Silver Mike...
WALLACE
A Silver Mike! You're covering us
in glory!
GALE
I haven't won it yet.
(studying ticket, to
Deakins)
I notice you've got me scheduled
on a flight back an hour after the
ceremony.
WALLACE
An hour after...! Deak, for
Heaven's sake! Let's give her a
night in New York City. We'll put
her and her boyfriend up at a good
hotel...
DEAKINS
She broke up with her boyfriend.
(to Gale)
Listen, babe, we needja back.
You gotta follow up on the jumper,
find the human interest in the
grim, unending tale of woe that
pours from the wounded heart of
the heartless metropolis.
GALE
The story behind the story, the
ugly scandal behind the falling
millionaire, the dirt, you mean.
DEAKINS
That too.
GALE
(to Wallace)
Would the station put me up at a
good hotel...?
WALLACE
(a look toward Deakins)
Absolutely!
GALE gives DEAKINS a big grin and starts out.
DEAKINS
Okay, hell with it. Party hearty...
is that what they say? I'll figure
something out.
(once she's gone)
She's just pretending she's a
person. She's really a reporter.
Fifty bucks she's on the first
flight back.
CHUCKY
You know what I don't get? I don't
get why a guy who's gonna jump asks
to talk to a TV reporter?
DEAKINS
Cause how's he gonna know he's
jumped if it's not on the six
o'clock news.
EXT. STREET/CITY CIVIC CENTER - AFTERNOON
HORNS BLARE as a FORD VAN cuts off a CAB and squirms into a
parking place marked "HANDICAPPED ONLY."
The side of the van reads GUMLEY'S SUPER CARPET CARE and
features a cartoon logo and a phone number.
BERNIE, wearing Gumley overalls, jumps out of the van and
hurries up the steps to an imposing municipal building.
INT. CIVIC BUILDING - TEN MINUTES LATER (AFTERNOON)
A door reads "PROBATION DEPARTMENT." MOVE IN ON THE DOOR.
INT. OFFICE/PROBATION - DAY
Bernie is sitting across the desk from the stone-faced, balding
Probation Officer, PATRICK DUKE.
BERNIE
(agitated)
Hey! Do I have a record? Have I
ever done time? I mean I been
arrested a few times, who hasn't?
Parking tickets for Chrissake!
Suspicion of stuff! Have I ever
been convicted of anything?
DUKE
Mister LaPlante...
BERNIE
Take a look at my employment
record, you got my employment
record there, right? You see any
unemployment there, any welfare?
I'm a taxpayer. They eat me
alive, the tax people, they got
taxes on everything, taxes, taxes,
taxes, and forms! Taxes and forms
so I can pay your goddamn salary,
so you can sit there and write
stuff, guys like me pay your
wages...
DUKE
Mister LaPlante...
BERNIE
Do I hit anybody? You see me shoot
anybody? Hey, drugs! Do I sell
drugs? Jesus, I don't belong in
prison. I'm a family man.
DUKE
Mister LaPlante...
BERNIE
Look, I got this kid. We got a
goddamn relationship! I'm takin'
him to a movie tonight! He worships
me. If I go down what's this do
to my son? I'm his goddamn role
model for Christ sake!
DUKE looks up at the "family man's" plaintive look. Then...
Bernie ruins it.
BERNIE
Listen, if I coulda afforded an
experienced attorney, I woulda
walked. It was a shitty case,
very circumstantial. You gonna
send me downstate for having an
inexperienced lawyer? How you
gonna feel about the system if you
do that?
The brief flash of mercy is gone from DUKE'S eyes, replaced
with a hard glitter. BERNIE has just shot himself in the
foot.
INT. BALLROOM /N.Y. HOTEL - DAY
VIGOROUS APPLAUSE! GALE has just received the Silver Mike
Award, a tastefully small, mike-sized replica of a microphone,
from the MASTER OF CEREMONIES. Clutching it, she faces the
applauding AUDIENCE across a podium, speaking into a real
microphone.
GALE
Thank you, very much. I'm grateful
for this. Since you're all
colleagues here, you know what kind
of a team it takes... to put a story
on a screen. I don't have to
explain to you how much the
cameraman, the editor, the
assignment editor and the news
director, to mention a few did to
get me this award.
GALE pauses. She reaches into her purse and pulls out an onion.
She holds it up.
GALE
This is an onion.
(dramatic pause,
then...)
It's a metaphor for a news story.
Only a few hours ago I was standing
on a ledge sixty stories above a
street interviewing a man who
subsequently jumped to his death.
Forty million dollars in the bank,
happily married, good health. Great
story!
The AUDIENCE is attentive, mesmerized as they watch her rip off
the outer skin of the onion and toss it dramatically aside.
GALE
(continuing)
There's gotta be more. We're pros,
right? Some kinda extramarital
hanky panky, maybe? Another good
story!
(she peels another layer
of onion)
Maybe the guy's been accused of
child molesting. Terrific story!
(she peels more off the
onion)
Then it turns out the accusation
was false. Wonderful! More story.
The AUDIENCE watches, captivated as the onion gets smaller.
GALE
(continuing)
Maybe the alleged mistress was
lying, setting the guy up.
Sensational story!
(the onion is very
small)
We keep going, keep digging, keep
investigating. We expose the
guy's whole life, his family.
Why? Because we're pros!
Because...
(she pauses
dramatically)
we're looking for the truth!
GALE considers the tiny remains of the onion in her hand.
Then, she peels it down to nothing and lets it fall.
GALE
But what if, after all our
digging, after all our painstaking
investigation, what if it turns out
there wasn't any truth? Just
stories! One story after another,
one layer, then another layer,
until there's nothing left. And
if it's like that, do we have any.
obligation to stop at any point?
Or do we just keep going, digging,
digging, digging, peeling,
peeling, peeling, until we've
peeled it all away, until we've
destroyed what we were
investigating in the first place?
ANGLE ON AUDIENCE
attentive, as GALE pauses dramatically, then...
GALE
I'll bet all of you, like me,
yearn for just one story that
isn't about uncovering layer after
layer of human weakness; a story
that reveals with each new layer
of investigation, something finer
and nobler, something even...
inspirational.
GALE gazes soberly across the podium at the AUDIENCE.
TELEVISION IMAGE (EXT. SKID ROW STREETS - DAY)
A BAG LADY addresses the camera, a news interview.
BAG LADY/TV
First rule out here on the streets
is you gotta watch out for number
one. If you go down... break a
bone or something... you're gone!
Nobody's gonna pick you up.'
WINSTON'S VOICE (O.S)
Shitty color! Looka the skin tones.
REVEAL: THE TV SET IS IN BERNIE'S APARTMENT
INT. LIVING ROOM/BERNIE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (RAIN)
WINSTON, fifty and fat, is scowling at the image on the TV
screen in BERNIE'S spartan and tasteless three room apartment.
BERNIE grabs the remote from WINSTON'S pudgy hands.
BERNIE
Chrissake! Homeless people are
supposed to have shitty skin tones.
Look!
BERNIE points the remote at the screen...
ON THE TV SCREEN
CLICK! A gunfight replaces the BAG LADY ON SCREEN, then a
sitcom, an old movie, MTV, and finally a slick commercial
featuring a sexy bikinied BLONDE.
INT. BERNIE'S APT. - NIGHT
BERNIE
There you go! Skin tones! Listen,
you gotta fish or cut bait. I
wouldn't even do this if I didn't
have these legal problems. Two
fifty. That's it. I gotta get
outta here, I gotta take my kid to
the movies tonight, I'm late.
WINSTON stares at the lithe thighs ON THE SCREEN as BERNIE
starts rummaging urgently in his closet.
WINSTON
I'll go two hundred.
BERNIE has just found his good shoes, notices a carton of brand
new jackets.
BERNIE
Two hundred! How about a jacket?
Wanna buy me a jacket?
INT. MAIN CABIN/BOEING 727 IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
The engines drone as we look into the sparsely populated main
cabin of the "baby Boeing". Among the many empty seats, a MR.
FLETCHER reads a magazine while his ten year son RICHIE plays
a pocket video game.
LESLIE SUGAR, one of the two Flight Attendants, is serving a
drink to Mr. Smith, a businessman while FREDDY, the other Flight
Attendant, is giving a pillow to an ELDERLY WOMAN.
We DISCOVER GALE, cradling a phone to her ear while she
awkwardly fishes in her purse and pulls out the Silver Mike
Award.
GALE
It's very nice actually.
(reading the
inscription)
"For Excellence in the Pursuit of
Truth." Uh, listen, I just wanted
you to know I got a seat back on
the early flight after all so...
What?
Reacting to what she hears on the phone, GALE overturns the
purse in her lap and the contents -- wallet, comb, lipstick,
notepad, etc. -- spill on the floor.
GALE
What do you mean you gave it to
Conklin? Conklin wasn't on that
ledge! Conklin wasn't...
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE/CHANNEL FOUR - NIGHT
DEAKINS is grinning into his phone, winking at WALLACE who's
standing beside his desk.
DEAKINS
Gale, you were gonna do the town,
remember? Fancy suite at the
station's expense, see a show, get
laid maybe. What was I supposed
to do?
Still grinning, he breaks off and listens to Gale's faintly
audible response while holding out his palm to WALLACE in a
triumphant "pay me" gesture. Then he speaks into the phone...
DEAKINS
Okay, okay, you get back tonight,
doll, and I'll take Conklin off your
suicide. Fly carefully... and
congratulations on the award.
DEAKINS hangs up and smugly pockets the fifty WALLACE has fished
from his wallet, chuckling gleefully...
DEAKINS
What'd I tell ya! They're all like
that, the good ones. They're
junkies for the story. They can't
let go.
INT. MAIN CABIN/BOEING 727 IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
The eight-year-old, KELLY, seated next to GALE is helping GALE
pick up the contents of her purse from the floor.
GALE
Thank you. Very much.
KELLY beams. And GALE gives a look to KELLY'S mother SUSAN
who's seated on the other side of KELLY.
SUSAN
There's another credit card on the
floor.
GALE reaches down to pick up her Visa card from the floor.
GALE
Thanks.
GALE inserts the Visa Card in her wallet with the other cards.
EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT
Rain comes down in curtains as BERNIE'S Toyota chugs and farts
through curtains of water.
INT. MOVING CAR/CITY STREET - NIGHT
BERNIE is at the wheel, trying to see through the rain swept
windshield. He's talking to himself as he drives...
BERNIE
I know why it's raining. I coulda
predicted this. It's raining
because my wipers are fucked up.
If my wipers were okay, the fucking
sun would be shining right now.
At night!
INT. COCKPIT/727 - NIGHT
Engines DRONE monotonously. The Flight Engineer is looking at a
magazine while the PILOT and CO-PILOT, surrounded by glowing
instruments, stare into the blackness ahead... until something
catches the bored PILOT'S eye. A red light on the control
panel. He frowns and looks closer.
INT./EXT. BERNIE'S CAR/FREEWAY - NIGHT
Looking for exit signs, BERNIE can barely see through the sheets
of rain that his malfunctioning wipers do little to clear.
Suddenly a sign looms into view and disappears before he can
read it.
BERNIE
Damn!
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
The engines drone. The cabin is peaceful, most PASSENGERS
dozing or talking softly as GALE glances up from her magazine,
sees SUSAN reading while KELLY sleeps peacefully, her head in
SUSAN'S lap.
PING! The electronic tone. Gale looks up, sees the "Fasten
Seat Belt" sign illuminated.
GALE looks toward the dark window. No sign of any lights below.
No city. No airport. strange.
The P.A. SYSTEM comes to life and the CAPTAIN'S mellifluous
VOICE murmurs soothingly...
P.A. SYSTEM
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your
Captain. We're experiencing a high
reading on one of our indicators.
Ten to one, it's a malfunction in
a gauge, but just as a precaution
I'm going to ask you to fasten your
seat belts while the Flight
Attendants run through some safety
procedures with you. I apologize
for the necessity and the
inconvenience.
Murmurs in the cabin. What does this mean? SUSAN looks a
question at GALE, puzzled as Flight Attendants LESLIE and FREDDY
take their positions to demonstrate safety procedures.
LESLIE
First make sure your seat belts are
fastened securely. Then brace your
arms against the seat ahead at you
like this. You can use pillows
or blankets...
KELLY
(waking up)
Mommy, what's going on?
SUSAN
Everything's going to be fine,
honey.
GALE'S eyes meet SUSAN'S eyes. Fear. Brave smile.
INT./EXT. BERNIE'S CAR/EXIT/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Pulling off the freeway, BERNIE peers at the signs that greet
him as he slows to a stop at the foot of the exit.
Unable to read them through the windshield he has to open the
door and stand in the rain.
Even then, the sign is obscured by torrents of rain.
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
All eyes are on LESLIE as she continues her instructions...
LESLIE
-- when you reach the bottom of the
chute you should immediately move
as far away from the plane as
possible in the event of a fire on
the aircraft.
Glancing around, GALE glimpses pale, strained FACES.
She sees the ELDERLY WOMAN holding the arm of a man, her SON.
She sees a MRS. BROWN squeezing a MR. BROWN'S hand tightly.
Looking back down the aisle she sees MR. FLETCHER putting his
arm around RICHIE'S shoulder, father and son united against
fate.
Beside her she sees SUSAN trying to comfort KELLY.
LESLIE
Those of you who can should help
others who may be unable to move
quickly.
GALE is acutely aware that everyone around her is comforting
someone else. Only she is alone.
INT. TOYOTA/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Back at the wheel, BERNIE is turning right onto an unlit
highway, his single headlight stabbing weakly at the storm ahead
while his useless wipers clatter loudly and the engine chugs...
farts... misses.
BERNIE
I'm late already! Don't quit on me
now, for Chrissake! This ain't the
time!
The engine struggles, continues.
BERNIE
Come on, come on !
The engine surges to life again... then begins to throb with
downright vigor.
BERNIE frowns. It's getting louder.
AND LOUDER! AND LOUDER! IT'S ROARING.
BERNIE'S eyes bug with the realization that either he's about
to take off... OR THAT ISN'T HIS ENGINE THUNDERING, THUNDERING.
A great shadow blurs in the rain ahead.
BERNIE brakes hard, skidding, sliding wildly.
BAWHOOOOOOOOM! HUGE NOISE. IMPACT! GRINDING!
BERNIE skids to a halt, eyes shut tight to prevent himself from
dying.
But he's not dead. He opens his eyes. Stares out the
windshield.
A blank wall greets him, bouncing back his headlights in a blur
of rain.
BERNIE
Now what?
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
BERNIE gets out of his car. Everything is spooky quiet.
The tail section of a huge aircraft blocks the road directly
in front of Bernie's car. He skidded to a stop two feet short
of ramming the twenty-five foot high vertical fin. The rest
of the craft is sprawled off the low bridge and into the water,
lost for the most part in the darkness.
Suddenly, a VOICE calls out... from somewhere forward along the
fuselage.
VOICE
Hey! Help! Somebody! Help.
BERNIE frowns. Helping is not his instinct. Approaching the
edge of the bridge, he peers into the darkness.
The plane is corkscrewed through the bridge at such a freak
angle that the tail rear doors are wedged shut by the metal
super-structure, the wing exits are blocked by the up-bent wing
stubs, and the right forward doors are canted hopelessly toward
the sky while the left exit is partially jammed in the mud near
the river bank in three feet of water.
VOICE
Please! Help us. We're stuck.
Hello! Anybody!
BERNIE
Whatsa problem, pal?
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 AT REST - NIGHT
Engulfed in darkness except for strings of floor lights leading
to the exits, the cabin is a confusion of GROANS, COUGHS, CRIES
and the piercing WAIL of a screaming BABY. The floor lights
seem to be on the walls, high on one side and low on the other,
as the cabin is dramatically canted, making movement along
aisles nearly impossible.
LESLIE, battered from the impact, her uniform torn, is
struggling to open the forward emergency exit. Angled downward,
the door will only open six inches before being blocked by mud.
Water pours in around her ankles as she shoves furiously.
LESLIE
Somebody give me a hand.
A VOICE
We're on fire.
LESLIE
Let's stay calm, everybody.
Everybody, stay calm, please.
Please stay calm. Everything will
be all right if we stay calm.
Somebody give me a hand with this
door.
Her flashlight stabs the darkness, reveals frightened FACES.
Slumped, motionless forms.
LESLIE
Help the people around you,
everybody. Please help each other.
AAAAAAAAAH! SCREAMS as the plane suddenly shifts violently from
the interior movement, canting further.
ANGLE ON GALE
Staggering from her seat. WHAM! Hand luggage slams into her
from an overhead rack. As GALE goes down, a PASSENGER lands
on top of her catching her arm at an angle, breaking it. The
PASSENGER climbs off her and struggles down the slope.
GALE realizes she can't get up, her leg is wedged in the
framework of a seat. PASSENGERS are climbing past her, heading
forward.
SUSAN is fighting her way out of her canted seats, clutching
the terrified KELLY to her.
GALE
I... I can't move. I'm caught.
SUSAN glances at her and their eyes meet. KELLY is screaming.
SUSAN turns away from GALE and half-carries KELLY toward the
exit, leaving GALE alone, trapped, in pain and fear.
EXT. BRIDGE - NIGHT
BERNIE is climbing cautiously down the undercarriage of the
bridge toward the water, as OTHER VOICES callout from the
twisted fuselage.
BERNIE
Hold on there, hold on there. Just
a minute.
BERNIE is awkward and... very careful... climbing down, not
brave or dashing. He doesn't notice that, behind him, where
the plane is corkscrewed through the bridge a BOUQUET OF ORANGE
FLAMES IS BLOSSOMING IN THE FUSELAGE OF THE JET.
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 - NIGHT
Thick smoke is oozing through the cabin. PASSENGERS are
stumbling over each other, clogging the canted aisles while
OTHERS slump in their seats, immobilized.
RICHIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Daddy! Daddy! Daddy, wake up!
LESLIE'S VOICE
Keep calm! Everybody, keep calm.
ANOTHER VOICE
Someone's coming!
EXT. RIVER - NIGHT
Having reached the riverbank, BERNIE is reluctant to step in
the water. He hesitates, then he takes off his shoes, looks
in the darkness for a place to leave them.
VOICE
Help us! Help, please.
BERNIE
Hold on, buddy. I got hundred
dollar shoes here.
More cries. BERNIE steps cautiously into the water. Up to his
ankles. Deeper.
BERNIE wades along the huge fuselage, toward the VOICES,
stumbling, landing on all fours in the water.
BERNIE
Jesus Christ!
Struggling to his feet, hands muddy, he blunders toward the
Emergency Exit and finds it canted into the water, jammed into
the mud so that it only opens a crack.
MR. BROWN is wedged in the crack, trying to force the door open
without success. Glimpsing BERNIE'S hands in the crack, he
pleads.
MR. BROWN
Help us, please. We can't get out.
BERNIE makes a tentative attempt to open the door. He has no
effect whatsoever.
MR. BROWN
Push it! You gotta push hard.
BERNIE
Whaddaya (grunt) think I'm (grunt)
doing?
Reluctantly BERNIE digs his feet into the mud, puts his shoulder
into the door and shoves with all his might. Because he has a
better angle on the door and better purchase, he's actually able
to move it several inches.
MR. BROWN
Harder. Push it harder.
BERNIE leans back into the door again and pushes with all his
might. It gives ever so slightly. Another inch. MR. BROWN
is trying to squeeze out.
MR. BROWN
Again! Harder. Come on.
BERNIE
(grunting with effort)
I'm... pushing... it, buddy.
MR. BROWN
Harder!
BERNIE
I'm... pushing... it... asshole!
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 - NIGHT
PASSENGERS stumble over each other while a flashlight makes
panicky stabs at the darkness, RICHIE cries out for FLETCHER
to wake up, the BABY screams.
Someone's trying to get out the overhead exit, others are
hammering at an aft exit.
GALE slumped in her seat, fades in and out of consciousness.
Above her, across the canted aisle, SUSAN is calling out for
help... Then, GALE'S eyes flicker with awareness at the sound
of an urgent shout...
VOICE
THERE'S A GUY OPENING THE DOOR.
HE'S OPENING IT!
A sudden shadowy surge of movement in the darkness, PASSENGERS
urgently scrambling over seats toward the exit.
EXT. AIRPLANE/RIVER - NIGHT
BERNIE gives a great heave and goes down in the river face
first.
He's opened the door just wide enough for MR. BROWN to squirm
through the narrow opening, then pull MRS. BROWN through.
BERNIE, sputtering, is trying to get to his feet when the BROWNS
knock him down again in their frantic rush to get as far away
from the burning plane as they can.
As BERNIE struggles to his feet yet again, more PASSENGERS are
oozing out the door. They brush him aside, splashing toward the
river bank, while orange flames are flickering wildly now in
the tail section.
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 - NIGHT
LESLIE is beside the exit, using her flashlight to guide people.
Her face is bruised and bloody, her uniform torn, but she is
courage itself...
LESLIE
Once you're outside, immediately
move as far away from the aircraft
as you can. If you see someone who
needs help...
Scared PASSENGERS are struggling to get over the seats that are
close to where the floor ought to be.
LESLIE
Please, everybody, one at a time.
Please, one at a time.
Just then the young RICHIE, caught in the surge of PASSENGERS,
bumps into her.
RICHIE
Please, Miss, my father can't move.
He can't move.
LESLIE grabs him and shoves him bodily out the narrow exit as
she speaks urgently...
LESLIE
We'll try and help him, you wait
outside. Get as far away from the
plane as you can.
Just then LESLIE sees the bloody PILOT and CO-PILOT staggering
toward her.
She helps them out the narrow opening, half pushing them.
EXT. RIVERBANK - NIGHT
BERNIE'S face is smeared with mud! He staggers out of the water
in the flicker of firelight and starts searching for his shoes
on the muddy riverbank.
PILOT
Don't stop!
BERNIE
You gonna bUy me a new pair a shoes,
pal?
The sound of approaching SIRENS cuts through the rainy night.
EXT. AIRPLANE/RIVER - NIGHT
RICHIE is outside the plane, struggling in chest deep water.
He looks back at the plane, sobbing...
RICHIE
Dad! Dad!
He doesn't know what to do.
EXT. RIVERBANK - NIGHT
Muttering curses, BERNIE is floundering around on the riverbank
when a hand clutches at his sleeve.
BERNIE whirls, his face a mask of mud. Finds himself facing
RICHIE.
RICHIE
Sir! Please, sir. Sir, my father
can't move.
Where? BERNIE looks around.
RICHIE
He's in there! He's hurt!
In the plane? In there? BERNIE looks at the plane, reacts...
BERNIE
In there? Listen, kid, the cops
are coming... and the firemen.
They, uh, they got equipment and
stuff for this kindathing, they're,
uh, experts.
The sound of SIRENS, still. a ways off. RICHIE clutches at
BERNIE.
RICHIE
Please, sir! Please! It's on fire.
He can't move.
BERNIE stares into the desperate face... and suddenly,
recklessly, BERNIE loses it, forgets he's BERNIE, acts like
someone else.
BERNIE
Where is he?
YOUNG BOY
Inside! He's in the plane, he...
BERNIE
I know he's inside. Which way?
What's his name?
INT. NEAR THE EXIT/MAIN CABIN/727 - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
Chaos and confusion. The smoke is thicker, LESLIE is upset...
LESLIE
Sir, you can't go back in. Sir,
you're blocking passengers. Sir,
no...
BERNIE, his muddy face unrecognizeable, is pushing his way into
the plane, shouldering coughing PASSENGERS aside.
BERNIE finds himself standing in the choking darkness,
PASSENGERS pushing past him. Holy smokes! This is ridiculous!
What's he doing here? Thicker smoke, can barely see anything,
VOICES cry out in pain and fear. Just then he spots something.
A flashlight lies on the floor sending a useless knife of light '
into the smoky darkness. He grabs for it, drops it urgently.
BERNIE
Jesus Christ!
The light is in a hand! He reaches again, snatches the light
and points it revealing FREDDY, the other Flight Attendant,
lying semiconscious on the floor, bloody, GROANING.
BERNIE hesitates. Then he leans down, still gripping the light
and half hauls FREDDY toward the nearby exit where LESLIE is
supervising PASSENGERS.
BERNIE
Hey, somebody, grab him, willya?
Help this guy, willya, goddamnit!
A MAN reluctantly turns and, with the help of LESLIE they manage
to shove FREDDY out the exit. LESLIE instructs the MAN...
LESLIE
Get him away from the plane, help
him.
LESLIE turns back in time to see BERNIE heading back into the
darkness, struggling around the stream of PASSENGERS.
For half a second, LESLIE'S face reveals her amazement at seeing
somebody go back into the the nightmare a second time. Then
she's helping the next passenger out... SUSAN and KELLY...
SUSAN
There's (cough cough) a woman back
there. She's caught.
LESLIE
Get as far away from the plane as
you can.
Urgently LESLIE shoves them through the door.
INT. "UP THE SLOPE"/MAIN CABIN/707 - NIGHT
BERNIE is struggling aft, up the steep slope of the nose-down
plane, coughing and cursing in the dark, calling out...
BERNIE
MISTER FLETCHER! HEY, MISTER
FLETCHER! MISTER FLETCHER, HEY
BUDDY, WHERE ARE YA, GODDAMNIT?
BERNIE pans the flashlight ahead of him. The blade of light
only cuts a few feet through the thickening smoke, revealing
only empty seats.
BERNIE
FLETCHER! HEY (cough cough) HEY,
FLETCHER, SPEAK UP, WILL YA? DON'T
BE AN ASSHOLE!
No answer.
BERNIE pans the light, turns and...
A SHARP GROAN!
BERNIE stumbles. He stepped on someone.
BERNIE
Fletcher?
Pans the light down.
BERNIE
Shit!
A woman! GALE. Semiconscious, in pain, she opens her eyes.
GALE P.O.V.: BERNIE'S MUDDY FACE
Looking up, all GALE can see is a vague vision of a muddy face
dimly visible in the spill of the flashlight.
BACK TO SCENE
GALE
My leg's caught.
BERNIE points the light toward her leg, overpans the leg, the
blade of light discovering her purse. Then he corrects the beam
back to reveal her leg wedged between two seats.
GALE
Can you... can you get me out of
here?
BERNIE pans the light back to the purse again.
BERNIE
Yeah, sure. I think.
BERNIE puts down the light and struggles her leg loose while
GALE groans in pain. Her head is near the floor lights, her
eyes open.
For a moment BERNIE'S face passes through the stationary beam
of the flashlight and GALE gets a glimpse of a smoky, muddy face
leaning close to her...AN OBSCURE VISION!
BERNIE
Okay, lady. You gotta make an
effort here. I don't happen to
be a goddamn bodybuilder.
BERNIE retrieves the flashlight lying near her purse. It's out
of her line of vision, behind her head. He only hesitates for
half a second before his hand shoots out for the purse, conceals
it under his jacket, and gets to his feet.
INT. EXIT/AREA/MAIN CABIN/727 - SECONDS LATER (NIGHT)
LESLIE is helping ANOTHER MAN out the exit.
LESLIE
Get away from the plane quickly.
It may explode.
Now she's alone. Heroically she turns back and probes the smoky
interior with her flashlight.
The blade of light is blunted by the smoky darkness. There's
nothing.
LESLIE hesitates. Should she run, save her own life or...?
Suddenly BERNIE steps into the beam of her light, emerging from
the thick smoke hauling GALE over his shoulder, his face
smudged, unrecognizeable, AN HEROIC VISION SHE'LL REMEMBER!
BERNIE
Gimme a (cough cough) hand, willya,
honey?
EXT. BRIDGE/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
SIRENS scream and lights FLASH as more Emergency Vehicles join
the ones already parked close to the bridge at a safe distance
from the burning tail of the plane. A FIRE CAPTAIN shouts "Move
that piece-a junk" at three FIREMEN who are already pushing
BERNIE'S Toyota off the bridge and away from the airplane while
a confusion of PARAMEDICS and POLICE hurry to the aid of dazed
PASSENGERS in torn and bloody clothing.
FIREMEN train hoses on the fiery tail of the plane while the
FIRE CAPTAIN shouts...
FIRE CAPTAIN
GET 'EM BACK! GET 'EM BACK!
ANGLE ON RICHIE
Staring at the smoking plane in horror when a hand grips his
shoulder. Turning he finds himself looking up at the MAN whose
back we saw LESLIE push out of the plane... FLETCHER!
RICHIE
DAD! OH, DAD!
FLETCHER
Son! Thank God! I couldn't find
you. I was terrified... terrified.
They're hugging.
INT. EXIT AREA/727 CABIN - NIGHT
LESLIE and BERNIE are awkwardly pushing GALE'S limp body out
the exit to a FIREMAN, DENTON in an asbestos suit just outside.
FIREMAN DENTON
(to Leslie)
You too, miss! Right away!
LESLIE turns to BERNIE.
LESLIE
I've lost (cough) lost count. I
think (cough) everybody's out.
But BERNIE isn't there! He's disappeared into the smoke. As
she stares in dismay, she hears him yelling...
BERNIE'S VOICE
HEY, FLETCHER! SPEAK UP, WILL YA?
INT. MAIN CABIN/727 - NIGHT
Coughing and choking BERNIE struggles through the cabin, his
light nearly useless now.
BERNIE'S VOICE
HEY (cough cough) FLETCHER!
Nothing! Darkness. BERNIE can see orange in the black near
the tail. Fire!
This is crazy! Time to turn back! He's turning toward the exit.
when suddenly...
A VOICE
Here! Over here! Help me, please.
At last! BERNIE waves the light in the direction of the VOICE
and stumbles that way through the smoke.
BERNIE
Where the (cough cough) hell are
ya, buddy?
VOICE
Over here. My leg's broken (cough
cough). I need help.
BERNIE finds an injured MAN crawling along the floor.
BERNIE leans down and grips him under the armpits.
BERNIE
Fletcher, right?
The MAN cries out in pain as BERNIE half drags him over seats.
MAN
Aaaaaaaah! Smith!
BERNIE
You're not Fletcher?
BERNIE lets him go.
SMITH
Please help me. My name's Smith.
BERNIE looks around with the light.
Thick smoke. Flames back toward the tail.
BERNIE
I'm looking for Fletcher! HEY,
FLETCHER!
BERNIE waves the light at the darkness and...it goes out.
BERNIE
Shit!
BANG! BANG! BERNIE bangs the flashlight against a seat.
SMITH
Don't leave me. Please don't leave
me.
BERNIZ
Awright, awright.
Angrily BERNIE grabs him and hauls him urgently toward the exit
while SMITH cries out in pain.
BERNIE
Don't count yer chickens here,
Smith. I can't see shit.
EXT. AIRPLANE/RIVER - NIGHT
A dazzling worklight shining down from the bridge illuminates
the fuselage and the partially opened exit as TWO FIREMEN in
asbestos fire suits splash through the water carrying GALE from
the plane.
FIREMAN DENTON stands at the narrow exit, too narrow for him
to enter in his bulky asbestos suit and shouts through his
helmet.
FIREMAN DENToN
You've gotta come outta there, miss.
Right now! This thing's gonna go.
LESLIE squeezes out of the exit, looks back...
LESLIE
There's another...
FIREMAN DENTON
(grabbing her)
RIGHT GODDAMN NOW! COME ON!
As LESLIE and FIREMAN DENTON splash the ten yards to the
riverbank flames eat their way toward the wings where the fuel
is stored.
Suddenly BERNIE'S VOICE cuts through the chaos...
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
HEY! GIMME A HAND HERE. HEY YOU!
IN THE BUNNY SUIT.
LESLIE looks back and sees BERNIE awkwardly pulling SMITH out
of the narrow exit.
FIREMAN DENTON slogs back to BERNIE.
FIREMAN DENTON
I'll help him, buddy, you run for
it.
FIREMAN DENTON tries to grab SMITH but BERNIE won't let go.
BERNIE
I gat this guy, you go get the guy
who's still in there.
FIREMAN DENTON is lifting SMITH bodily.
FIREMAN DENTON
Get out of here, pal, she's gonna
blow.
BERNIE
You're not goin' in? There's a guy
in there! You got a fucking suit.
FIREMAN DENTON
SHE'S GONNA EXPLODE, YOU DUMB SHIT.
FIREMAN DENTON starts to stagger away from the plane, carrying
SMITH.
BERNIE looks back at the plane, sees the fury of flames and
suddenly he splashes through the water after FIREMAN DENTON.
EXT. RIVERBANK - SECONDS LATER (NIGHT)
FIREMAN DENTON is staggering up the slope carrying SMITH when
he glances back.
He sees BERNIE poking around at the edge of the riverbank.
FIREMAN DENTON
HURRY 'UP, BUDDY!
In the orange glow of the fire, BERNIE gives a delighted grunt
as he finds half of what he's looking for... a single shoe.
FIREMAN DENTON
COME ON, YOU STUPID SHIT!
BERNIE
I LOST MY GODDAMN SHOE!
BERNIE is looking around frantically when...
EXT. RIVERBANK - NIGHT
BOOOOOOOOOOM! BERNIE is knocked backward by a tremendous
explosion. Suddenly he's sitting in the mud, the night around
him bright with flames.
BERNIE
Holy shit!
Then he's running, clutching one shoe, no longer worried at all
about the other...
BAAAAAAAAAAAAA-DOOOOOOOOOOM! A SECOND BLAST! MUCH BIGGER!
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
From the relative safety of the road, CHUCKY's pointing his
vidpak with the Channel Four logo at the exploding plane.
Panning the camera from the furious mountain of flames he picks
up a marvelous image.
CHUCKY
(excited, under his
breath)
Tight on fire, yes, yes, pulling
back, flame everywhere, find
survivors backlit in orange glow,
yes, yes, yes, awesome, major award,
cameraman of the year,go Chucky,go,
baby, how you shoot it.
A Flight Attendant (LESLIE) in a torn uniform is staggering up
the slope followed by an heroic FIREMAN (DENTON) carrying a
Crash Victim (SMITH) on his brave shoulders. What a shot!
EXT. RIVERBANK - NIGHT
BERNIE stands on the riverbank in the pouring rain and looks
back at the burning plane. He shakes his head sadly, imagines
FLETCHER in the inferno.
BERNIE
Sorry, pal. Woooo! What a way to
go!
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
TWO PARAMEDICS are struggling with GALE who's trying to get off
the stretcher they're putting into an ambulance.
GALE
I'm okay. Please, I'm okay, I'm
a reporter, I...OW!
PARAMEDIC
Lady, you're not okay.
GALE gets off the stretcher in spite of their efforts and
staggers a few feet, grabs one of them for support.
PARAMEDIC
Miss, please, you've got a broken
arm.
GALE
It's my leg. My leg hurts...
(suddenly shouting)
CHUCKY! OVER HERE, CHUCKY! CHUCKY!
ANGLE ON CHUCKY
Taping SURVIVORS, when he hears GALE'S voice and looks around
for her.
CONKLIN, the reporter with him, spots her first.
CONKLIN
Holy shit! It's Gayley!
ANGLE ON THE AMBULANCE
Where GALE is half on the stretcher as CHUCKY and CONKLIN rush
up to her.
CONKLIN
Gayley! You were on the plane?
GALE
This is my story, Conk. I did the
research.
PARAMEDIC
Please, she's injured, she's gotta
go to the hospital...
CHUCKY is already pointing the vidcam at her, taping as the
PARAMEDICS shove her onto the stretcher and into the ambulance
with her talking all the way.
GALE
Get the Flight Attendant, the one
who manned the door. Also some guy,
a passenger, pulled me out. Talk
to him. Then get down to the
hospital and I'll do an interview
and an intro and close. Make
sure...
BANG! The PARAMEDICS slam the door behind her.
CONKLIN shakes his head as CHUCKY lowers his camera and the
ambulance pulls away.
CONKLIN
She's a real piece of work!
Unbelievable! "It's 'my story, I
did the research."
CHUCKY
You're not going to believe the shot
I got back there. Major Awards!
ANGLE ON BERNIE
wearing only one shoe he limps right past CHUCKY and CONKLIN,
unnoticed in the confusion of FIREMEN, PARAMEDICS, and
SURVIVORS.
ANGLE ON RICHIE AND FLETCHER
Standing between an ambulance and a firetruck, father and son
are hugging each other warmly. They don't notice Bernie
trudging past them and he doesn't notice them.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
reacting with sudden horror at something he sees.
ANGLE ON THE BRIDGE
The spot where BERNIE left his car. FIREMEN are spraying
retardant on the firey fuselage of the plane. No sign of the
car!
BERNIE
Christ! My car! Where's my car?
BERNIE moans mournfully and suddenly a STATE POLICE OFFICER
is at his side.
STATE POLICE OFFICER
Where are you hurt, sir?
BERNIE
Huh? Hurt? What?
BERNIE is urgently concerned with the purse poorly concealed
under his jacket.
STATE POLICE OFFICER
How about coming over to the
ambulance, sir, let the medical
people check you out.
The STATE POLICE OFFICER has a hand on the arm BERNIE is using
to keep the purse under his jacket.
BERNIE
(pulling away)
Hey, I don't need no ambulance.
I'm just looking for my car... It
musta burned up or something.
The purse is visible though the OFFICER hasn't yet noticed it.
He's patronizing BERNIE, insisting.
STATE POLICE OFFICER
You weren't in your car, sir, you
were in an airplane crash. But
everything's going to be okay, we'll
just go see the doctor and...
Just then MRS. BROWN rushes up and clutches the OFFICER,
grabbing his arm.
MRS. BROWN
Please, please, my husband's been
waiting for medical attention...
As she pulls the OFFICER away, BERNIE hides the purse deeper
under his coat, breathes a sigh of relief... and notices
something!
BERNIE'S POV OF HIS CAR
Virtually unrecognizable, moved to the side of the bridge,
buried under a mountain of fire retardant foam.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
Limping up to his car, wiping the foam off the windshield.
BERNIE
This shit has gotta be great for
the paint job!
INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM/EVEYLYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Dark except for the eerie flicker of the TV set.
JOEY is in bed, surreptitiously watching the TV, turned very
low.
BANG! CRACK! Gunshots? Not from the TV, from outside.
JOEY scrambles out of bed and heads for the window.
JOEY'S P.O.V.: EXT. EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
BERNIE is getting out of his Toyota in the glow of a
streetlight. It's still raining. BERIE is soaking wet,
wiping off his face. He trudges toward the house wearing only
one shoe.
EXT. FRONT DOOR/EVELYN'S HOUSE - LATER (NIGHT)
The door swings open violently, revealing EVELYN standing in
the doorway looking furious. She's thirty-five, tough, plain,
not ugly.
EVELYN
He waited for you three hours!
BERNIE
You are not gonna believe this,
Evelyn! Absolutely fantastic! I'm
on my way --
EVELYN
I am so tired of your bullshit,
Bernie.
BERNIE
Ev, it's not my fault! I'm trying
to tell you this incredible --
EVELYN
It's never your fault, Bernie!
Never ever! You screwed up my life,
now you're gonna screw up Joey's
life, but you're never gonna accept
responsibility for anyth--
BERNIE
Is he here, your friend. The
fireman?
EVELYN
He had an emergency call... a real
emergency.
BERNIE
Why doncha let me in so we don't
wake everybody in the
neighborhood?
INT. LIVING ROOM/EVELYN'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
Suburban. Inexpensive furniture. EVELYN and BERNIE ranting...
BERNIE
Willya lemme talk for Chrissake?
I'm trying to tell you what
happened. What happened is...
EVELYN
The same thing that always happens!
You blew it!
And this time you broke your son's
heart instead of mine! He was so
proud, looking forward to going to
a movie with his father... and you
let him down! Like you let
everybody down, always! What did
you do, take a mudbath?
ANGLE ON JOEY
eyes wide, crouched at the top of the staircase in his pyjamas,
spying on his parents in the living room below.
ANGLE ON BERNIE AND EVELYN
BERNIE
That's what I'm trying to... to...
okay, nevermind. Just lemme talk
to Joey to... to apologize.
EVELYN
He's in bed! You're not gonna wake
him and make him crazy, do you
understand? He comes home from the
zoo, he wants to know if Elliot's
a "war hero" like you... he wants
to know how many people you
killed...
BERNIE
"Elliot"? The heroic goddamn
fireman?
EVELYN
I had to explain your tendancy to
"exaggerate", How you were actually
"in country" all of two weeks and
how you killed about as many people
as the other clerk-typists in your
outfit, no more, no less...
BERNIE
Three weeks, Ev. I didn't tell him
I killed anybody...
EVELYN
Maybe not,... but you let him
believe it! And then I gotta
explain about the homeless...
BERNIE
The homeless!
EVELYN
How not all of them own apartment
complexes, how not all of them play
the stock market, how not all of
them rent babies when they're
panhandling. He's ten years old,
Bernie! Impressionable!
ANGLE ON JOEY
Watching from the staircase.
ANGLE ON BERNIE AND EVELYN
BERNIE
Listen, it's important, Ev, I gotta
see him, I got my reasons, very
goddamn important...
EVELYN
Use the phone, Bernie, call him
tomorrow, he'd like to hear from
you. Where's your other shoe?
Never mind! I don't want to know.
Some fantastic adventure, right?
Something really crazy.
BERNIE
I was giving him some advice is all.
Preparing him for life. You don't
want him to grow up soft, Ev , it's
tough out there, it's a goddamn
jungle.
EVELYN
(firmly, opening the
door)
Back to the jungle, Bernie. Good
night.
EXT. FRONT DOOR/EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
BERNIE steps out and the door slams hard behind him. He pauses,
sighs, starts toward his car...
EXT./INT. BERNIE'S TOYOTA/PARKED - A MOMENT LATER (NIGHT)
As BERNIE gets in the car he notices the purse sticking out from
under the passenger seat where he hid it. He reaches down,
takes the purse, rummages in it, pulls out the Silver Mike,
glances at it, might be worth something, pockets it moves on
to the wallet, the credit cards, the cash... some hundreds,
fifties', twenties...
INT. LIVING ROOM/EVELYN'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
EVELYN is shutting off the last of the lights and starting up
the stairs when the doorbell rings. EVELYN scowls. She's
furious.
EXT. FRONT DOOR/EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The door opens and EVELYN stands there scowling.
BERNIE holds out a twenty dollar bill.
BERNIE
Sorry, Ev, to bother you again.
This is for Joey, his reward... for
this wallet he found. When I, uh ,
returned it I told the guy he hadda
give my kid something for finding
it, for the honesty. So the kid
would learn how honestly pays.
Eyes meet. She doesn't believe it for a moment and he knows
it.
BERNIE
Just give it to him, okay, Ev?
EXT. HIGHWAY - LATER (NIGHT)
An AIRHORN BLARES, a truck thunders past BERNIE, who's pushing
his Toyota to the side of the road, steering one-handed from
outside.
EXT. HIGHWAY - LATER YET (NIGHT)
A blonde GIRL tosses an empty beer can from the window of a
speeding car full of laughing TEENAGERS.
The can clatters to the road beside BERNIE who lowers his
"hitch-hiking thumb" as the car speeds off leaving him alone.
EXT. HEAVY TRAFFIC/FREEWAY - DAWN (HOURS LATER)
Rush hour! Bumper to bumper TRAFFIC oozing toward the city.
We HEAR A VOICE!
BUBBER'S VOICE (O.S.)
You actually went into it? A
burning airplane?
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
"Into it"! "Into it", for
Chrissake! I was practically living
in the goddamn thing... every time
I turned around, some other person
wants me to save 'em.
Looking for the VOICES, we MOVE IN on a single lane of crawling
traffic and finally FOCUS ON a battered, rusted 76 Chevy with
a crumpled fender, a trunk tied closed and cracked windows...
INT. CHEVY/MOVING/FREEWAY - DAWN
BERNIE is sitting on bare springs and tatters of upholstery in
the passenger seat, muddy, rumpled, weary...
BERNIE
(continuing)
Couldn't see a fucking foot in front
of me, smoke... then booooom! It
explodes! I could be dead!
JOHN BUBBER is at the wheel, a shabbily dressed, tired, haunted
man. He gives BERNIE a look. Should he believe?
BUBBER
And you pulled people out?
You're... a hero.
BERNIE
Nah, I fucked it up. I was tryin'
to impress this kid, don't ask me
why. I was gonna rescue his old
man, but I couldn't find the poor
bastard. He musta blew up.
(then...)
I got the hell outta there. I
didn't have the nerve to face the
kid.
BUBBER
(thoughtful, serious)
A lotta people wouldn't have tried.
It was pretty brave even trying...
BERNIE
Try stupid.
BUBBER brakes for traffic and a cardboard box from the back seat
hits BERNIE and cascades crushed cans all over him.
BUBBER
Sorry about that. Just toss them
in back.
(very serious)
A lot of people would say that's
what heroism is... stupidity. Doing
something that if you thought about
it, you wouldn't do it, it's not
in your... interest.
BERNIE indicates the clutter of cans.
BERNIE
You got a drinking problem or what?
BUBBER
I sell them at the recycling center.
Gives me a little for gas and food.
BERNIE
(considering the back
seat)
Looks like you live in here, for
Chrissake!
BUBBER
In bad weather, yeah. Mostly I camp
out in the woods. I thought maybe
you were down on your luck too when
I picked you up.
BUBBER indicates BERNIE'S muddy, torn clothes, stocking foot.
BERNIE
Down on my luck! Hey, I toldja,
a goddamn plane fell on me outta
the sky. In America, for Chrissake!
See this shoe! Hundred dollar pair
of shoes. One shoe!
BUBBER glances at the shoe BERNIE'S waving.
BUBBER
You should give it to someone with
only one leg.
BERNIE
One leg! Like the Red Cross or
something?
BUBBER
I know a guy who only has one leg.
BERNIE drops the shoe on the floor, shakes his head, disgusted.
BERNIE
Sell it to him. You get a couple
bucks, it pays for the ride.
(a beat, then...)
I got a job, nice apartment. I do
okay.
BUBBER
They interview you or anything?
At the plane crash?
BERNIE
Hey, do I look crazy? I don't go
for that shit... interviews, media.
They're manipulators. "Keep a low
profile," that's my motto.
EXT. FREEWAY - DAWN
The Chevy inches forward as the traffic moves again, heading
slowly toward the city.
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
(continuing, grandly)
Besides, I got these legal problems.
My attorney don't want me giving
statements to the press.
Traffic is still crawling.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
GALE sits up in bed in spite of an I.V. in one arm and a cast
on the other. There's a big bandage across the bridge of her
nose and her left leg is also heavily bandaged...
GALE.
I don't understand. You can't find
him?
She stares incredulously at her trio of visitors, CONKLIN,
CHUCKY, and DEAKINS. DEAKINS, uncomfortable outside his
office, is awkwardly trying to vase a bouquet of flowers.
DEAKINS
There's a lot of confusion around
what went on last night, it's not
clear...
GALE
You said all the passengers were
accounted for...
DEAKINS
Apparently the guy who pulled you
out wasn't a passenger...
A NURSE gracefully relieves DEAKINS of the flowers he's
destroying and skillfully vases them while GALE questions...
GALE
A paramedic? A fireman? He didn't
have a uniform...
CONKLIN
From what we could get, there's a
kind of... sort of... "mystery
guy"... involved.
DEAKINS
We're piecing together different
accounts and...
GALE
A "mystery guy!" "Not a passenger."
Who?
CONKLIN
We don't know who he is, he...
DEAKINS
He disappeared.
GALE
(incredulous)
A non-passenger, non-rescue-worker
went into a burning plane and pulled
me out and... disappeared?
GALE starts to get up, struggling with covers, I.V., etc.
CONKLIN
Not just you. Apparently this guy
is the one who opened the emergency
exit from the outside...
DEAKINS
Everybody! He saved everybody on
the plane! Because of him, no
fatalities! I don't think you're
supposed to move around like that,
Gale. You're attached there...
GALE is getting out of bed, the I.V. still inserted in her arm.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER (DAY)
LESLIE looks directly into the camera as CHUCKY tapes her over
GALE'S shoulder.
LESLIE
And all of a sudden, this...
"civilian"... rushed into the
plane. Next thing you know he's
hauling Freddy... he's the other
flight attendant... out and then he
goes back in.
(a beat, a tear,
then... )
That's what gave me the courage to
hang in there even though I knew
the plane could blow any minute...
GALE
What did he look like?
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER (DAY)
MR. SMITH is being interviewed in his bed. He's emotional...
MR. SMITH
It was just this face, all dirty,
it just appeared. I really thought
I was going to die.
GALE
Did he say anything to you?
MR. SMITH
He... asked if I was "Fletcher."
INT. OFFICE/CARPET CARE - DAY
A man named ROBINSON, fifty, sloppy, screams apoplectically...
ROBINSON
ONE WORD! ONE WORD, LAPLANTE, AND
YOU'RE FIRED! GOT THAT? ONE WORD!
Exhausted, shoeless BERNIE follows ROBINSON in the cluttered
Carpet Care Office...
BERNIE
Bill, I...
ROBINSON
DON'T SAY "BILL," BERNIE! DON'T
SAY ONE WORD! DIDN'T I SAY "ONE
WORD AND YOU'RE FIRED?"
BERNIE
I...
ROBINSON
YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE IT'LL BE AN
EXCUSE! IT'LL BE "BERNIE LAPLANTE
EXCUSE NUMBER FOUR THOUSAND ONE
HUNDRED AND SIX." NO, FOUR THOUSAND
ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE. THAT'S HOW
MANY EXCUSES YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, I
KEEP TRACK OF THEM ELECTRONICALLY.
I HEARD THEM ALL, BERNIE.
BERNIE
Bill, I got some legal problems and
I...
ROBINSON
THAT'S IT! YOU TALKED! YOU'RE
FIRED! OUTTA HERE! GET OUTTA HERE!
BERNIE
Bill, listen...
ROBINSON
OUT! I TOLDJA. JESUS CHRIST, I
GOT CUSTOMERS WAITING! AN' YOU WERE
GONNA GO OUT LIKE THAT? AN' MEET
THE PUBLIC IN STOCKING-FUCKING-FEET?
BERNIE
Bill, I got financial problems
and...
ROBINSON
I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS,
I'M GONNA THINK ABOUT MY PROBLEMS.
YOU'RE ONE A MY PROBLEMS. GET OUT!
OUT! OUT!
EXT. CITY STREET - MINUTES LATER (DAY)
BERNIE is trudging wearily up the busy sidewalk, dirty, tattered
and shoeless, BERNIE doesn't notice BUBBER staring in the window
of an electronics store where dozens of television screens show
the burning fuselage of Flight 104.
INT. LIVING ROOM/FLETCHER HOME - DAY
CHUCKY shoots over GALE'S shoulder as she interviews FLETCHER
in his living room.
GALE
He was asking for Mr. Fletcher...
FLETCHER
My son and I got separated in the
confusion and smoke. The very
courageous stewardess at the exit
told me my boy had got out so I got
out too. But my son had already
told this... man that I was still
in there.
EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE/CITY STREET - DAY
Disheveled, in stocking feet, BERNIE trudges wearily up the
front steps of the shabby apartment house where he lives,
enters.
INT. RICHIE'S ROOM/FLETCHER HOME - MINUTES LATER (DAY)
Posters, youthy icons. CHUCKY shooting GALE interviewing RICHIE.
RICHIE
I thought my dad was still... still
in there. So I asked the man to save
my father.
GALE
What did the man say, Richie?
RICHIE
He said... uh... he said...
(not sure, thinking,
then... )
"I'll save him." He said, "I'll
save your father."
INT. BERNIE'S APARTMENT - DAY
The door opens and BERNIE enters. He pulls the contents of
GALE'S wallet from his pocket and tosses them on a table... the
plastic windows full of credit cards and cash. Then he pulls
off his jacket, ruefully inspecting a tear in the muddy sleeve.
He's about to toss it on the ratty sofa when he notices it felt
funny. He reaches in another pocket and pulls out the Silver
Mike Award, considers it for a moment. What's it worth?
Sitting on the sofa, he leans back... and starts to doze off.
VIDEO IMAGE/EXT. "EXPLODING" PLANE - NIGHT
FRAME BY FRAME the image inches forward, sweeping off the fire
that fills the screen to the riverbank... frame by frame... fire
... fire... fire... then faster as the riverbank is darkening
the frame and then LESLIE and the THIRD FIREMAN sweep into the
foreground as the camera discovers them... the dramatic shot we
remember of them coming up the riverbank.
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Back. Go back. You missed it.
Zip zip zip the image highspeeds back to the exploding plane.
Again the screen is filled with fire...
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Now. Go forward again.
Frame by frame the blossom of fire blooms consuming the plane.
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Keep going.
INT. EDIT BAY - DAY
REVEAL: GALE in an editing bay at Channel Four, peering
intently at the fiery scene on the video monitor while the young
tape editor, JOAN, operates the controls.
CONKLIN, DEAKINS, PARKER, CHUCKY flank GALE.
GALE
There! Right there.
ON THE SCREEN (EXT. AIRPLANE - NIGHT)
A tiny silhouetted FIGURE appears in the far right corner of
the frame. Then, as one more frame clicks off, the FIGURE
appears near the center of the next frame of the pan.
The picture freezes there, a startling dramatic image of an
UNRECOGNIZABLE FIGURE (BERNIE) in silhouette, dwarfed by the
gigantic explosion. IT'S AN AWESOME IMAGE. NO ARTIST OR AD
MAN COULD DO BETTER... A TINY, ANONYMOUS FIGURE, ALONE, AGAINST
A GIGANTIC MOUNTAIN OF PURE FIRE. AND FROM NOW ON IT WILL BE
REFERRED TO AS "THE IMAGE."
INT. EDIT BAY - DAY
DEAKINS
That's him?
GALE
Who else? We've accounted for
everyone else. That's our hero!
She stares at "The Image." It's powerful, stirring.
CHUCKY
I didn't see the guy when I shot
it. I thought I was getting the
last survivors when I panned over.
DEAKINS
Any chance we could do some kind
of electronic enhancement, you
think? Get a clear picture,
identify him?
JOAN
(peering closely at the
screen)
There's no face really, nothing to
work with. Big dots, that's all
you'll get.
GALE
Look at the guy! He just saved fifty
people. Now he's going to disappear.
Who is he?
INT. BERNIE'S APARTMENT - DAY
UUUUHHHHOOOOOOOW! BERNIE snores loudly, asleep on his sofa,
still in his rumpled, torn clothes. He SNORES again.
MONTAGE: TELEVISION SCREENS IN CARS, HOMES, TV STORES
VIDEO IMAGE: INT. RICHIE'S BEDROOM - DAY
ON THE SCREEN, RICHIE is talking directly at the CAMERA, the
interview in his room on videotape...
RICHIE/TV
He said... uh, he said... "I'll save
your father."
VIDEO IMAGE: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
LESLIE appears ON SCREEN, her interview...
LESLIE/TV
-- all of a sudden, this...
civilian... He rushed into the
plane.
VIDEO IMAGE: FREDDY'S HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Freddy appears talking directly at the CAMERA...
FREDDY/TV
I woke up in an ambulance. Leslie,
the other flight attendant, told
me the guy dragged me to the exit.
VIDEO IMAGE: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
Leslie appears ON THE SCREEN again...
LESLIE/TV
"Here, give this guy a hand," he
said. The next thing I knew, he
was going back in there, into all
that smoke...
VIDEO IMAGE: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
MR. SMITH appears ON THE SCREEN...
MR. SMITH/TV
I was crawling around on the floor.
I thought I was a goner!
OFF THE SCREEN/MONTAGE
YOUNG PEOPLE, OLD PEOPLE, RICH PEOPLE, POOR PEOPLE, CONVICTS,
DENTISTS, BLACK PEOPLE, BROWN PEOPLE, WHITE PEOPLE, CHINESE
PEOPLE are watching the report in...
-HOME
-BARBERSHOP
-ELECTRONICS SHOWROOM
-JAIL CELL
-SKID ROW HOTEL LOBBY
-SHADOW LOUNGE
CHICK watching the report.
-CLASSROOM
JOEY watching the report in a classroom.
-EVELYN'S KITCHEN
EVELYN watching the report in her kitchen.
-ALLEY
BUBBER is listening to the report on a radio in an alley.
ON THE SCREEN
VIDEO IMAGE: INT. TV STUDIO - DAY
GALE, bandaged, casted, stands in front of a BLUE SCREEN.
GALE/TV
-- out of the darkness... out of
the smoke and the fear... came a
man with no name... no uniform...
but an abundance of courage.
The CAMERA ZOOMS IN SLOWLY on GALE and simultaneously DISSOLVES
SLOWLY TO... "THE IMAGE". It fills the screen as GALE narrates
VOICEOVER...
GALE'S VOICEOVER/TV
A man who was thinking not about
himself but about others, risking
his own life for ours...
(a beat then...)
He's out there now somewhere...
and... whoever you are, I, and the
other survivors of Flight 104, say,
"Thank you! God bless!"
MUSIC SWELLS as the CAMERA ZOOMS IN on "THE IMAGE" emphasizing
the tiny FIGURE alone in the frame surrounded by fire...
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - DAY
Flanked by GALE and CHUCKY, DEAKINS is watching the preceding
material on the monitor.
DEAKINS
Not bad. But if you gotta wear a
cast, you oughtta feature it more
it's parta the story.
(seeing Wallace enter
the room)
Network's taking everything we give
'em. They wanta feed off our six
o'clock whether we find the mystery
guy or not. We're very big
nationally.
WALLACE
It's a wonderful piece. Emotional.
I love it.
DEAKINS
We're gonna feature Gale's cast
more. The trick is gonna be keeping
the upper hand on this piece.
As long as we have Gale and there's
no mystery guy, we're the center
of the story. But if he shows up
and somebody else gets him first
or exclusive...
WALLACE
What about a reward for coming
forward?
DEAKINS answers a RINGING phone. GALE frowns, frets.
GALE
There could be problems with
something like that Mister Wallace.
What if...?
DEAKINS
(into phone)
WHAT? THEY FOUND WHAT?
Everybody looks at DEAKINS.
INT. LIVING ROOM/EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Ignoring the open schoolbook on the floor in front of him, JOEY
is sprawled on the floor, eyes on the TV screen.
ON THE SCREEN: EXT. CRASH SITE - NIGHT
A CLOSE-UP of a muddy shoe WIDENS to REVEAL the shoe nestled
in GALE'S sling on top of her cast. She addresses the camera
from a spot directly in front of the crash site while behind
her WORKMEN comb the wreckage under bright halogen lights.
GALE/VOICEOVER/TV
A phone check with survivors has
confirmed that the shoe does not
belong to any of the crew or
passengers of Flight 104. Several
witnesses recall the mysterious
man who saved fifty-four people
referring to his missing shoe.
The conclusion; the unknown hero,
know to many as "The Angel of
Flight 104," wears a size 10B shoe.
EVELYN'S VOICE (O.S.)
Joey! Dinner! Now! Turn that
thing off.
INT. EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
ELLIOT is at the table with EVELYN as JOEY joins them.
JOEY
He lost a shoe!
EVELYN
Who lost a shoe? Wash your hands.
JOEY
The "unknown hero." They found his
shoe right beside the plane crash.
ELLIOT
Superman, you mean? Lost a shoe!
What next?
EVELYN
Elliot! The man saved hundreds of
people!
ELLIOT
Fifty-four! I was there, remember?
You know why I didn't rush into that
plane? Because I'm a trained
fireman, that's why! Part of a
team! A disciplined team. We take
risks all the time, save people.
But we don't take crazy chances.
This guy does something really dumb
and he lucks out. So the media go
crazy about his shoe for god's sake!
What kind of message are they giving
to youth?
EVELYN
(indicating Joey)
What kind of message are you giving
to youth? Sneering at someone for
sticking his neck out. You sound
like my ex for heaven's sake...
Mister Cynicism.
ELLIOT gets up, shrugs.
ELLIOT
So what can I say? Give your ex
credit for being smart enough not
to do something stupid. Maybe the
man's not all bad. I'm gonna watch
TV, hoping it's not all this
"Superman stuff."
ELLIOT walks over to the TV and turns it on, leaving JOEY and
EVELYN alone. JOEY is excited.
JOEY
My father didn't have his shoes on
when he... when he came here.
EVELYN
(surprised)
You were in bed. Weren't you?
JOEY
I... I saw him out the window.
EVELYN frowns, hesitates a moment. Was the kid listening?
Then...
EVELYN
You think your father would do
something like that? Rescue people?
(sadly)
Your father is Bernie LaPlante,
Joey. It's against his religion
to stick his neck out.
ANGLE ON THE TV (INT. NEWS SET - NIGHT)
Where an ANCHORPERSON speaks from a news set.
CHANNEL 4 ANCHORPERSON/TV
-- where the leader of a religious
group claimed today that the
mysterious hero is, in fact, an
angel who is anticipated in
scripture.
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
Washing glasses behind the bar, CHICK is watching the same show
on the TV over the bar when he turns to see BERNIE enter
(wearing a brand new pair of cheap running shoes.)
CHICK
Bernie, how'sa kid?
BERNIE
You don't wanna know, Chick, you
don't wanna know. Those guys been
in here?
CHICK
(pouring a 7&7)
You in business with those guys or
what? I wouldn't want a problem
for the establishment, Bern.
BERNIE
You couldn't have a problem, Chick,
because I personally have got them
all. I cornered the whole goddamn
market. You wouldn't believe...
Oh, how ya doin'...?
ESPINOSA and VARGAS have entered the bar. They have another guy
with them, MENDOZA.
ESPINOSA
We bring our frenn this time, okay?
Something about MENDOZA spells trouble. it's almost palpable.
BERNIE doesn't notice, but CHICK does. He looks worried.
BERNIE
Excuse me here, Chick, I gotta do
these guys a little favor.
ANGLE ON BOOTH
As BERNIE, MENDOZA and ESPINOSA slide into a booth intent on
business, ESPINOSA looks around for VARGAS and spots him
lingering back at the bar watching the TV.
ESPINOSA
(calling out to Vargas)
Hey, vato! Vamos.
ANGLE ON THE BAR
Where VARGAS and CHICK are staring at the screen.
ANGLE ON THE TV SCREEN: INT. NEWS SET - NIGHT
Where the ANCHORPERSON is introducing WALLACE who stands there
in a suit and tie looking ill at ease...
CHANNEL 4 ANCHORPERSON/TV
-- bring you a special announcement
from Channel Four station Manager,
James Wallace.
Framed alone now, WALLACE smiles awkwardly at the camera.
WALLACE
Good evening. We at Channel Four,
like you, have been stirred by the
courage and...
ESPINOSA'S VOICE (O.S.)
Hombre! Por aqui!
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON VARGAS
Eyes lingering on the TV, backing toward the booth.
ANGLE ON BOOTH
BERNIE has spread GALE'S credit cards on the table in front of
ESPINOSA and MENDOZA. ESPINOSA examines them, questions
BERNIE...
ESPINOSA
How many you got there? Eight?
Ten?
VARGAS slides into the booth before BERNIE can answer.
VARGAS
They offer him a million dollars
reward.
MENDOZA
Who?
VARGAS
The "plane crash guy".
ESPINOSA
(to Bernie)
Is that all of them? Eight?
BERNIE
(distracted)
What "plane crash guy"?
VARGAS
The one-shoe dude who saved all
those people, man. Channel Four
gonna give him a million for an
interview.
ESPINOSA tries to turn BERNIE'S attention back to "business."
ESPINOSA
Come. on, hombre, we doin' business
here. You got more or not?
ANGLE ON CHICK
Watching the TV
ANGLE ON THE TV SCREEN (INT. NEWS SET - NIGHT)
Where WALLACE is concluding...
WALLACE/TV
The offer is absolutely
unconditional. All he has to do,
is satisfy our reporter, Gale
Gayley, and the other passengers
who had contact with him that he
is indeed the brave man who...
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
(yelling)
HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHAT'S
GOIN' ON HERE?
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON CHICK
Turning, seeing a commotion at the booth.
ANGLE ON THE BOOTH
Where MENDOZA is handcuffing the outraged BERNIE while ESPINOSA
reads him his rights...
ESPINOSA
You have the right to remain silent,
you have the right to --
BERNIE
Hey, this is bullshit! Do you guys
know who I am? You know where I
got the goddamn plastic? I got a
million bucks coming. I'm the guy
who...
ESPINOSA
(continuing)
You have the right to the counsel
of an attorney...
ANGLE ON CHICK
Watching BERNIE being hustled out of the bar, handcuffed,
protesting loudly.
BERNIE
CHICK, CALL MY ATTORNEY! THIS IS
BULLSHIT! ENTRAPMENT! I GOT A
MILLION BUCKS COMING, FOR CHRISSAKE!
MONTAGE: PRINTING PRESSES - DAY
Newspapers roll off the presses one after another.
THE TIMES features "The Image" with a headline over the firey
scene trumpeting "AN ANGEL FOR FLIGHT 104?"
THE MIRROR is tighter on the image featuring an enlargement of
the silhouette of Bernie with a headline asking "WHO IS HE?"
THE HERALD features a full page photo of the single muddy shoe
with a headline supered over it announcing "SEARCH FOR MR.
CINDERELLA!"
and finally THE TRIBUNE screams in massive black letters "ONE
MILLION DOLLAR REWARD!"
EXT. STREET CORNER/CITY - DAY
A NEWS VENDOR is waving a paper and shouting...
NEWS VENDOR
ONE MILLION DOLLAR REWARD TO THE
UNANIMOUS HERO! ONE MILLION BUCKS
FOR THE "ANGEL" WHO SAVED FIFTY
PEOPLE AND TOOK OFF!
A WOMAN walks by with a tee-shirt featuring "The Image." The
spectacular picture looks great on the contours of her chest!
EXT. TV STATION - DAY
PARKER, the youthful Channel Four gofer/runner, moves along a
seemingly endless line of WANNABE HEROES that stretches along
the sidewalk outside Channel Four and disappears around the
corner. He's addressing them at the top of his lungs...
PARKER
PLEASE, IF YOUR FOOT ISN'T A SIZE
10-B, DON'T REMAIN IN LINE. WE'RE
ONLY SEEING SIZE 10-B "HEROES."
GROANS and CATCALLS from the WANNABES, as we MOVE ALONG the line,
eavesdropping on various WANNABES...
AFRICAN AMERICAN
Thass a racist perspective, assuming
that because something heroic was
done that a white man done it. A
man with mud on his face could be
a man of any color, most likely was,
which is true in this case cause
it was me! With mud all over me.
Two other WANNABES are squaring off to fight...
1ST FIGHTER
You call me a liar, I'm gonna kick
your ass.
2ND FIGHTER
Hey, it's not just me sayin' you
ain't no hero. Everybody in the
goddamn line says you ain't the
hero.
ANOTHER WANNABE
Can you believe this? Must be more
than a thousand phonies after my
reward.
A WANNABE with mud smeared on his face spots GALE approaching
the front door of the station, a look of amazement on her face
at the length of the line.
MUD-FACE WANNABE
HEY, MISS GAYLEY! HEY, GALE!
REMEMBER ME? I'M THE GUY! I SAVED
YOUR LIFE! REMEMBER --
Rolling her eyes good naturedly, GALE walks briskly up the steps
to the front door of the station, passing PARKER who's measuring
a TALL WANNABE'S feet. The TALL WANNABE calls out to her.
TALL WANNABE
My foot's only eight and a half but
I wear a ten B for the comfort.
I swear!
(she keeps walking)
Hey, Miss Gayley, I saved your life!
Just as GALE is about to enter the TV station, PARKER catches
up to her.
PARKER
Hey, Miss Gayley, there's a cop
looking for you. From Robbery
Detail, Inspector Dayton. He wants
you to call him.
GALE
What about?
PARKER
I didn't ask him.
GALE
Call him back. Ask him.
(indicating the line)
I'm a little...busy.
GALE disappears into the TV Station.
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - DAY
WALLACE is looking down at the line of WANNABES.
INT. COURTROOM - DAY
JUDGE GOINES is addressing a miserable looking CRIMINAL...
JUDGE GOINES
Bail in this matter will remain
in the sum of five thousand
dollars. Next.
DISCOVER MENDOZA, ESPINOSA AND VARGAS
carrying on a whispered discussion with an African American
detective (DAYTON) in the spectator section (AS THE COURT
PROCEEDINGS CONTINUE IN THE BACKGROUND). MENDOZA indicates
something at the rear of the room to DAYTON who follows his
look.
DAYTON'S P.O.V.
A group of PRISONERS have just been led in the side door from
a holding cell and a BAILIFF is removing the handcuffs that
tied the PRISONERS together. One of the PRISONERS is BERNIE
LAPLANTE. DONNA approaches him as the BAILIFF uncuffs him.
She speaks to him but her words are inaudible to DAYTON.
ANGLE ON DAYTON
as he watches BERNIE from a distance, nods affirmatively to
something MENDOZA whispers in his ear. We realize we'll be
seeing DAYTON again...
ANGLE ON DONNA
astonished, reacting to BERNIE in a sharp whisper...
DONNA
"The Angel of Flight 104!" You're
telling me you're the A...?
BERNIE
(whispering)
"Angel!" I didn't say "angel,"
that's a little strong. Listen,
here's the thing, I gotta get over
there to the TV station to collect
my million bucks.
DONNA
Mister LaPlante, I really want to
help you, but crazy stories are
only going to make it worse. The
D.A. is asking your bail be set
at twenty-five thousand dollars
because you were arrested again
while you were out on bail...
BERNIE
Twenty-five grand is peanuts! All
you gotta do is get me outta here
long enough to collect.
BAILIFF
The People versus Bernard LaPlante.
JUDGE GOINES scowls at the sight of BERNIE moving toward him
talking already.
BERNIE
Your honor, my attorney here says
the prosecutor there wants
twenty-five grand bail...
DONNA looks horrified, the JUDGE furious...
JUDGE
Mister LaPlante, you will be silent
unless the court recognizes you...
BERNIE
(continuing grandly)
--which is fine by me. I got no
problem with that at all.
In fact, your honor, I'd be proud
to double it. Fifty grand! A tip
for "the people," your honor, if
I could just...
GOINES is banging his gavel angrily, glaring at BERNIE, not
noticing a SECOND BAILIFF hurry into the courtroom.
JUDGE GOINES
Mister LaPlante, unless you stop
chattering immediately, I am going
to ask the Bailiff to...
JUDGE GOINES breaks off, eyes furious, as he spots BAILIFF CLAY,
the Court Reporter, DE TAGLIO and the SECOND BAILIFF engaged
in urgent whispering.
JUDGE GOINES
DAMNIT! I SAID I WANTED ORDER!
CLAY
Sorry, your honor...
SECOND BAILIFF
We got carried away.
DETAGLIO
They found him.
JUDGE GOINES
Found who?
CLAY
The "Angel of Flight 104".
SECOND BAILIFF
It was on the news! Just now! He's
gonna be on Channel Four at noon!
BERNIE reacts, jaw sagging in disbelief. The JUDGE sneaks a
hasty look at his watch.
JUDGE GOINES
We'll sustain bail at twenty-five
thousand dollars. That ought to
keep Mister LaPlante out of trouble
for a minute or two...
DONNA
But your honor, my client is a
responsible family man with limited
resources who...
[PAGE 66 IS MISSING FROM THE SCRIPT]
GALE
But finally you did come forward.
Why?
BUBBER looks her right in the eyes, gives a sheepish grin.
BUBBER/TV
The money, Gale. I wouldn't have
come forward at all if it wasn't
for the reward.
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Cut right there, right on that look!
INT. EDIT BAY - DAY
REVEAL GALE in an editing room looking over editor JOAN'S
shoulder as JOAN freezes the image and makes a note.
JOAN
You didn't mention he was cute.
GALE is staring intently at BUBBER'S modest, humble face frozen
on the screen.
GALE
He saved my life.
VIDEO IMAGE (INT. TV STUDIO)
The humble, honest face of BUBBER, freeze framed as GALE'S
VOICE narrates...
GALE/TV VOICE OVER
--were shocked to learn that the
hero who appeared out of the smoke
and the fire and pulled them to
safety was indigent and tragically
hadn't slept in a bed in more than
three years.
INT. DAY ROOM/JAIL - DAY
Seeing BUBBER'S honest face on the TV screen in the day room
enrages BERNIE...
BERNIE
The guy's a fake, for Chrissake!
He's a goddamn homeless bum. He
ain't no here, trust me on this,
buddy.
PRISONERS, standing in a group under the TV turn from the screen
to BERNIE, like "who's this asshole?" A BIG PRISONER glares
at BERNIE ominously...
BIG PRISONER
"Trust you"!
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - DAY
The office has become command-central. REPORTERS hurry in and
out, tearing off faxes, answering the phones, chattering at each
other, GALE among them. WALLACE is fretting to DEAKINS...
WALLACE
I thought they'd all go "It's him!
It's him!" and hug the guy or
something.
DEAKINS
Relax, Wally. He had the shoe and
the shoe checks out.
WALLACE
Does this mean I can stop worrying?
Where'd we put him?
DEAKINS
Drake Hotel, Penthouse Suite. Never
stop worrying. I figure we'll do
a sidebar on what it's like to go
from sleeping in your car and
collecting cans to sleeping in the
poshest suite in town. Also Gale's
onto something, digging into his
background.
PARKER rushes up to GALE...
PARKER
Excuse me, Ms. Gayley. That guy
Inspector Dayton... he's recovered
a bunch of your credit cards and
he wants...
GALE
Who?
PARKER
Inspector Dayton, the cop from
Robbery Detail who was looking for
you. They caught the guy who stole
your credit cards trying to sell
them and he wants...
GALE
Nobody stole my credit cards. They
burned up in the crash. Which
reminds me, did you get me cash?
And what about the reservations?
[PAGES 69-71 ARE MISSING FROM THE SCRIPT]
INT. COMMON ROOM/JAIL - NIGHT
Surrounded by the jailhouse cacophony, BERNIE stares glumly at a
plate of shit on a shingle in front of him while close at hand a
TOUGH PRISONER snarls at ANOTHER PRISONER...
TOUGH PRISONER #1
You mess with me, I'm gonna cut yer
heart out and eat it.
INT. FANCY RESTAURANT - NIGHT
The CAPTAIN finishes scribbling and seizes the menus.
CAPTAIN
Very good, sir. It's a special
privilege to serve you.
BUBBER smiles uneasily as the haughty CAPTAIN glides away.
BUBBER
Uh, er... I...
GALE
(amused and charmed)
You were saying you don't want a
million dollars.
BUBBER
(blurting)
Well, I'm not entitled to a million
dollars. I... I... didn't expect...
I didn't expect...
GALE
All the adulation? It makes you
feel like a fake, doesn't it?
BUBBER
Uh, actually... yes... I... should
never have come forward and
presented myself as --
Just then a distinguished MILLIONAIRE on the way to his table
barks gruffly at BUBBER...
MILLIONAIRE
You're a credit to the goddamn human
race. Coulda been me in that plane.
Or my family.
BUBBER
Uh, thank you.
GALE
Instant celebrity is overwhelming
to anybody. You've known John
Bubber all your life, you're used
to him, you know you're the same
human being you were before all the
excitement. So you feel like a
fraud...
BUBBER
Yes.
GALE
...unworthy of the adoration. We
all do.
A bluehaired MATRON, extravagantly bejeweled, pauses to loom
over BUBBER on her way out.
MATRON
I'm going to donate a half million
to charity in your name. Would
small animals be all right?
BUBBER
(startled)
Uh, "small animals"?
MATRON
(delighted)
I knew a man like you would adore
small animals. God bless you,
Mister Bubber.
(to Gale)
And you, my dear, you do so much
for women.
And then she's gone in a swish of silk, leaving BUBBER stunned.
BUBBER
Is she... serious? A half a million
dollars? In my behalf?
GALE
You're a celebrity, John. People
are going to want to please you...
or use you... or both.
Bubber hears this, digests it, considers it. He takes a bite
of food, thinking.
EXT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT
As the door to the restaurant opens, BUBBER finds himself
blinded by winking electronic flashes and sun guns. A CROWD
OF FANS and MEDIA engulf him and GALE. It's overwhelming. WE
SEE EAGER FACES and BLINDING FLASHES from BUBBER'S P.O.V. and
HEAR the CACOPHONY OF QUESTIONS.
GALE too is adrift in a churning sea of MEDIA and ONLOOKERS.
POLICE OFFICERS move close to help guide GALE and BUBBER to a
waiting limo.
ANGLE ON BUBBER'S P.O.V.
Again we see the chaos from BUBBER'S P.O.V., A POLICEMAN is
reaching to help him. Just then BUBBER glimpses something
else... beyond the CROWD in the fringes... HOMELESS PEOPLE in
the shadows, some applauding him, too shy to come forward. In
particular, BUBBER'S eyes fall on an ungainly MAN, his own age,
dressed in rags and carrying a big garbage bag and another net
sack full of cans. IT'S A STUNNING IMAGE! It's as though
BUBBER is looking at himself!
The door to the limo is open. GALE and several POLICEMEN are
trying to get BUBBER into the limo and out of the clutches of
the enthusiastic CROWD.
GALE
Come on, John.
But BUBBER isn't paying attention to her. He's turning to face
the eager CROWD, raising his arms.
BUBBER
Hey, hey, uh, take it easy.
ANGLE ON GALE
looking alarmed, then amazed.
The CROWD is still alive and buzzing, but they're respecting
BUBBER'S space as he accepts an autograph book from a young
woman, SYLVIA, and speaks shyly.
BUBBER
You, uh, want me to sign this? Uh,
what's your name?
SYLVIA
(weak in the knees,
smitten)
S-sylvia.
BUBBER
(almost shy)
Hey, if I sign this, will you do
me a favor?
Her COMPANIONS are already teasing her as they thrust pieces of
paper, magazines at him to sign.
ANGLE ON GALE
watching in disbelief.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
signing one after another as he addresses all those close to
him.
BUBBER
What I'd like is...
(addressing the group)
-- maybe some of the rest of you
could help Sylvia here -- what I'd
like is if you'd scrounge up some
blankets -- used ones, fifty maybe
-- and take 'em to the folks down
at the corner of Fifth and Grand.
Pass 'em out.
Cameras are rolling, GALE watches, amazed.
FAT KID
Fifth and Grand!
SKINNY KID
He means the homeless people. The
bums.
BUBBER
It gets cold down there at night.
And you'll feel warmer for every
person you give a blanket to.
GALE'S knits her brow, trying to reconcile this performance with
the apparent yokel she had dinner with a short time ago.
INT. LIMO/MOVING - MOMENTS LATER
BUBBER looks back at the CROWD as the limo pulls away.
BUBBER
I'll bet they do it. I'll bet they
get some blankets.
GALE looks at BUBBER, reevaluating him.
INT. HOTEL LOBBY - LATER - NIGHT
As BUBBER and GALE cross the luxurious lobby, again the center
of attention, a GORGEOUS BLONDE, very leggy, practically
plasters her plunging neckline against BUBBER.
GORGEOUS BLONDE
Uplifting! What you did was so
uplifting! You're a saint, John
Bubber!
BUBBER has trouble untangling his eyes from her tits.
BUBBER
Uh, no. But I, uh, wonder if you
could up support... support a
program to help the needy and...
GALE
(hackles raised)
John, I'm sure she could support
just about anything.
(steering him away)
I think I'll see you to your room.
A sort of bodyguard. Make sure no
harm comes to you.
GALE ushers the dazed BUBBER toward a bank of elevators and
prevents others from joining them in the elevator.
INT. ELEVATOR - SECONDS LATER
GALE'S mood changes to amusement as she and BUBBER ascend alone.
Giggling, she "points" her chest at BUBBER.
GALE
Uh, if you could, just, uh, support,
uh, a small airfield...
BUBBER
(embarrassed)
It's been sometime since, uh, I
received any, uh, of that kind of,
uh... attention. A couple of...
years.
GALE stops giggling. Their eyes meet. A charged moment.
GALE
Years?
(then...)
There are going to be lots of...
opportunities.
BUBBER
Gale... you're a very nice person.
I wouldn't want to hurt you... in
any way...
They're struggling against an embrace that seems inevitable...
GALE
I... I know that, John...
BUBBER
You... you think I saved your...
life. I can't take advantage....
GALE
You did save my life! And it's me!
I'd be taking advantage of you! I'm
a reporter, John, an experienced
professional... I...
Inevitably they embrace, KISS, can't help themselves.
BUBBER disengages suddenly, distraught.
BUBBER
I... no... I don't have the right...
I...
GALE
No, I don't have the right. You're
a news story!
BUBBER
Uh, right. A... news story.
She pushes him out the elevator door.
GALE
I know the truth, John. I'm flying
in some guys from your unit in
Vietnam tomorrow. Interviewing them
live on network hookup!
BUBBER
(stunned)
Vietnam!
GALE
Goodnight, John.
INT. BEDROOM/DRAKE SUITE
BUBBER wanders into the bedroom of the fabulous suite... in
a daze. He stares at BERNIE'S shoes on the floor. He shakes
his head as if to clear it.
TELEVISION SCREEN: INT. TV STUDIO - DAY
A fortyish black man, TOM WELLER, appears on the screen...
TOM/TV
Next thing I know, I'm in this
medical unit an' I see the other
dude, the one who was with me when
we got jumped, the one who I thought
was dead. There he is in the next
bed. I says "How'd we get here,
brother? We dead or what?"
He says, "That crazy white brother,
Johnny Bubber, he come back for us,
hauled us out." He shoulda been
wrote up, got a medal, but it was
fate. Wasn't no officers around
to observe it or nothing.
TELEVISION SCREEN: INT. TV STUDIO - DAY
A fortyish redneck type, CHARLIE BACON, is speaking to camera.
CHARLIE/TV SCREEN
The sonofagun goes out in the
paddies, pulling us outta there,
one after the other, six guys. Hey,
it don't surprise me one bit it was
Johnny Bubber went into that plane!
BERNIE VOICE (O.S.)
Fifty bucks says the asshole was
never even in Vietnam.
INT. DAY ROOM JAIL - DAY
BERNIE is furious, glaring at the TV, surrounded by PRISONERS.
TOUGH PRISONER #2
Shut your face, dirt bag... That
guy's a goddamn hero and you're
nothin' but a cynical little turd.
ON THE SCREEN (INT. TV STUDIO - DAY)
BUBBER is embracing WELLER, CHARLIE and several other VETERANS
as GALE narrates...
GALE/VOICE OVER/TV
After an emotional reunion, Bubber's
fellow veterans watched as station
manager James Wallace presented
Bubber with a check for one million
dollars...
Surrounded by applauding MEDIA TYPES, SPECTATORS and VETERANS,
BUBBER is accepting the check...
GALE/TV
As Bubber reacted to his sudden
wealth, word came that the
Secretary of the Army, responding
to an urgent resolution from the
Senate has conferred on John
Bubber the Medal of Honor.
This for his actions in Vietnam more
than 20 years ago, heroism that was
not acknowledged at the time because
it was not witnessed or reported
by a ranking officer. Later I spoke
to him about his sudden change in
circumstances...
BUBBER appears full screen, head and shoulders, interview
footage. He's shy and awkward at first... tentative... then
gaining confidence as he speaks...
BUBBER/TV
Well, I don't feel... right... about
all that money, Miss Gayley. That's
too much money for one person. What
I'm gonna do is donate, uh, most
of it to different organizations
like the Homeless Vets and stuff,
and start up some programs... to
help people. See, when you're out
there in the cold like I was, on
the streets or sleeping under
bridges or in your car, the worst
thing, even worse than the hunger
and the cold, is the... feeling...
that you're just plain... useless.
You don't matter to a single soul
in this world, nobody needs you,
nobody wants you.
MONTAGE: TELEVISION SCREEN AND VIEWERS
BUBBER'S INTERVIEW appears on screens in...
-HOME
-MOTEL ROOM
-WHITE HOUSE
The PRESIDENT watching.
-CHEAP HOTEL LOBBY
-SHADOW LOUNGE
CHICK watching.
-JAIL
BERNIE watching.
-EVELYN'S LIVING ROOM
JOEY, EVELYN, and ELLIOT watching.
-PRISON
INMATES, their tough faces momentarily solemn, watching.
-WINSTON'S APARTMENT
WINSTON smacks the TV he bought from Bernie to adjust the color.
ON THE SCREEN (INT. TV STUDIO - DAY)
BUBBER/TV
I guess when I... did what I
did... I was trying to save my
own life more than anything else.
Trying to connect myself with
people again and be... part of the
whole. You have to help others
to do that, you need a role to,
play... even if it's a very humble
role, it gives you self worth.
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE
(NOTE: Bubber dialogue, additional or as above continues
throughout scene)
GALE, her editor, JOAN, DEAKINS, WALLACE, CHUCKY, PARKER, and
CONKLIN are crowded around the monitor staring at the screen.
JOAN catches GALE surreptitiously hiding a tear and whispers
to her...
JOAN
Is he like that in real life? So
gorgeous?
GALE
He's pretty... remarkable.
JOAN
(eyes widening at the
thought)
You didn't... get it on with him?
GALE
Don't be ridiculous. I'm a reporter.
JOAN
Reporters don't have hormones?
GALE
Reporters... have to... rise above
their hormones.
ANGLE ON DEAKINS, WALLACE
reacting to BUBBER on TV. WALLACE is impressed.
WALLACE
The guy's... a natural.
DEAKINS rolls his eyes, a cynical, hardened newsman.
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. TV STUDIO - DAY)
GALE/TV/VOICE OVER
I asked John Bubber about the
Medal of Honor.
BUBBER/TV
As far as the medal goes, well...
that medal's for something me and
my buddies did almost twenty years
ago in Viet Nam. So if I'm a war
hero today then I was a war hero
last week when I was selling cans
and sleeping in my car... when I
didn't have a medal. I don't think
a medal makes a hero. You don't
need machinegun fire or burning
planes to be... brave. People do
heroic acts every day only there's
nobody around to take their picture
or decorate them. Little things
can be heroic. Helping someone
day in and day out, giving up your
life a little every day instead
of all at once... to help.
Maybe... maybe we're all heroes.
MONTAGE - DAY
Across the nation solemn FACES reflect the glow of the TV screen.
YOUNG FACES, OLD FACES, BLACK, WHITE, BROWN, YELLOW...
-HOME
-BARBERSHOP
-ELECTRONICS SHOWROOM
-BAR
-JAIL CELL
-SKID ROW HOTEL LOBBY
INT. DAY ROOM - JAIL - DAY
...And BERNIE LAPLANTE'S FACE. He's glaring at the screen in
the Day Room of the Jail, sputtering helplessly...
BERNIE
We're all heroes, huh? Asshole!
Just then a GUARD enters the Day Room and belows...
GUARD
LAPLANTE, BERNARD. LAPLANTE?
BERNIE
Me?
GUARD
Ya made bail, Ace. C'mon, let's
go.
BERNIE looks startled.
WELLESIAN VIDEO - TV SCREEN
News coverage of the crash and photos of Bubber are ZOOMED,
DISSOLVED, WHIRLED and SPUN into a glittering promo while a
stentorian WELLESIAN VOICE brays excitedly...
WELLESIAN VOICE/TV
John Bubber himself! Along with
twenty of the real survivors of
flight 104! See the real life
participants re-enact the
terrifying drama inside the
burning plane.
INT. SUITE/DRAKE HOTEL - DAY
BUBBER is staring at the TV screen wide-eyed with amazement
as the promo continues on the screen
ON SCREEN (WELLESIAN VIDEO)
WELLESIAN VOICE/TV
Out of the darkness, out of the
fire, out of a nightmare of
fear... came The Angel of Flight
104. John Bubber saved fifty-four
people. This is his story and
theirs. A drama featuring the
actual people who actually lived
those moments of terror. No
make-up, no music, no actors.
This is the real thing. Thursday
night. Channel-Four. Be there!
On Screen the Channel Four logo blends exotically with "The
Image".
INT. SUITE/DRAKE HOTEL - DAY
A dismayed BUBBER dials the telephone.
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - A LITTLE LATER - DAY
DEAKINS and WALLACE walk, deep in conversation, WALLACE upset.
WALLACE
Upset! What's he upset about?
DEAKINS
Said he's not an actor.
WALLACE
He's not supposed to be an actor,
that's the whole point. He's a real
life hero, all he has to do is act
like a real life hero. That's the
beauty of the concept, the whole
freshness of it. Did she call
him back?
DEAKINS
She's talking to him now.
WALLACE
We paid him a million dollars.
You'd think he'd want to cooperate
a little, help our ratings.
DEAKINS responds eagerly to GALE entering the office.
DEAKINS
How'd it go?
GALE
He'll do it.
(to Wallace)
You really-should have talked to
him first.
WALLACE
He might have said no.
INT. CORRIDOR/HALL OF JUSTICE - DAY
BERNIE charging through the crowded Waiting Room having just
been released on bail. He doesn't actually shove the WOMEN and
CHILDREN waiting to visit inmates out of the way, but he doesn't
slow down either as he weaves rapidly among them with DONNA on
his heels, barely able to keep pace. He doesn't look back as
he speaks rapid-fire. He's really pissed.
BERNIE
Whaddaya mean they didn't reduce
the bail? If they didn't reduce
it, how'dja spring me?
DONNA
(a deep breath,
embarrassed)
I took a loan on my car and my
computer.
BERNIE
(actually stops, faces
her)
You whaaaaaat? You paid it? You
gave a bondsman ten percent?
DONNA
I was inspired by the hero, how he
stuck his neck out for others, how
he took a chance...
BERNIE
(apoplectic)
That fake inspired you to loan a
guy who's been fired off his job
twenty-five hundred goddamn dollars?
A guy you say is probably gonna do
time! You're s'posed to be an
attorney for Chrissake! You're
s'posed to have good judgment!
DONNA
(fighting tears)
Well, as you like to point out,
Mister LaPlante, I'm relatively
inexperienced. My naivete may have
worked to your benefit in this
instance.
BERNIE frowns at that, starts walking again.
BERNIE
Well, you're right, I'm glad you
got me out, I appreciate that.
BERNIE charges out the door, exiting the building with DONNA
right behind him.
EXT. HALL OF JUSTICE - DAY
Hurrying down the steps, BERNIE barks over his shoulder at
DONNA.
BERNIE
Listen, now that I owe you
twenty-five hundred bucks plus, how
about loaning me twenty for cab
fare?
DONNA
So you can call me "naive," Mister
LaPlante.
BERNIE
Hey, you could call me "Bernie,"
forget the "Mister LaPlante" stuff.
(seeing Donna open her
wallet)
You are naive.
DONNA
I read the probation report. It's
not good. I think you're going...
going to prison, Mister... Bernie.
I know that scares you but..
BERNIE
TAXI! HEY, TAXI!
(turning on her)
Well, at least I'm gonna get my
goddamn million bucks.
(screaming at a cab)
TAXI FOR CHRISSAKE!
A cab pulls to the curb and BERNIE jumps in, talking.
BERNIE
I seen on the TV where that
do-gooder asshole's gonna go visit
sick kids at three-thirty.
(to the Cabbie)
Children's Hospital, on the double.
DONNA
(alarmed)
You mean John Bubber?
BERNIE speaks out the window of the cab as it pulls away.
BERNIE
(then, through the
window)
That bozo don't just owe me a
million bucks for my shoe, he's a
goddamn menace! Look what he done
to you! He's makin' people insane.
He's a whacko, he' gotta be stopped.
Stunned, DONNA watches the cab disappear in traffic with BERNIE
raving from the open window.
EXT. CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - LATER (DAY)
Limos are parked out front of the hospital and there is a
gathering of TV vans as BERNIE exits a cab and charges toward
the entrance of the hospital, a tiny figure dwarfed by the huge
building. He disappears inside.
INT. CORRIDOR/CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
We discover BERNIE wandering around, lost. A NURSE gives him
a glance in passing and BERNIE suddenly is aware that his
appearance is unusual. Disheveled. Unshaven. He tries to
smooth his hair a little as he turns into a doorway.
INT. SPECIAL CHILDREN'S WARD/CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Stepping through the door BERNIE is immediately horror stricken.
Rows of beds. A room full of seriously SICK CHILDREN. Palsied.
Eyes out of sync. Motor disorders, spasms. Terrifying
paraphenalia... tubes, machines, monitors, bags of fluid. A
place of sUffering. To BERNIE it's a vision of a leper colony!
A SEVEN YEAR OLD spots him, clutches at him with clawlike hands,
jerky movements.
BERNIE recoils in horror, backing away.
A FIVE YEAR OLD, "blinded" by the gauze wrapped around his face
"looks" toward BERNIE and speaks.
"BLIND" CHILD'S VOICE (O.S.)
Is that him? Is he here yet, Miss
Roberts?
An EIGHT YEAR OLD with a bandaged arm responds, looking at
BERNIE.
EIGHT YEAR OLD
Naw, it's just some guy.
A nurse MISS ROBERTS, appears from behind a curtain suddenly
and restrains the SEVEN YEAR OLD as she addresses BERNIE...
MISS ROBERTS
Excuse me, sir. Can I help you?
BERNIE
Uh, well I... what I...
Looks "wrong," acts "wrong." Looks like a child molester!
MISS ROBERTS
You'll have to leave, ,sir. This
ward is off limits. If you want
to arrange a visit...
Just then a couple of CAMERAMEN back through the door shooting.
It's the head end of an entourage of REPORTERS, CAMERAMEN,
HOSPITAL PERSONNEL and a couple of SECURITY GUYS that are
traveling with BUBBER.
BERNIE is bumped backward by a CAMERAMAN just as he sees BUBBER
enter surrounded by MEDIA PEOPLE.
BERNIE'S P.O.V.
seeing BUBBER unhesitatingly reach out to the grotesque SEVEN
YEAR OLD and lift him into is arms, eyes shining with warmth,
smiling genuinely like he likes picking up hideous looking kids.
ANGLE ON MISS ROBERTS
tapping one of the SECURITY OFFICERS on the shoulder and
indicating BERNIE to him.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
remembering why he's here. It's not going to be as easy as he
thought. He starts to move through the entourage looking very
out of place.
BERNIE
Excuse me, pal. Uh, couldja lemmee
through here? Thanks I...
THE SECURITY OFFICER is suddenly between BERNIE and his
destination.
SECURITY OFFICER
You gotta press pass, sir?
BERNIE
Press pass? Uh, hey, I lost it.
Listen...
ANGLE ON BUBBER
holding the SEVEN YEAR OLD. Smiling broadly, the child radiates
joy in the warmth of BUBBER'S embrace, his grotesqueness
miraculously minimized by his mood.
BERNIE
(O.S., diminishing)
GETCHER GODDAMN HANDS OFFA ME. ALL
I WANNA DO IS TALK TO THE GUY.
BUBBER and everybody turn toward the sound of the commotion.
BUBBER'S P.O.V.
of an unidentified MAN (BERNIE), obscured by the bodies of the
two SECURITY OFFICERS who are hurriedly hustling him off the
ward.
BERNIE (O.S.)
HEY, HOLD ON, BUDDY. THIS IS
AMERICA FOR CHRISSAKE! I GOT
RIGHTS!
BUBBER
is frowning when a DOCTOR reassures him...
DOCTOR
All under control. An unfortunate
man. Security will look after him.
BUBBER nods and turns back to SICK KIDS who seem transfigured
from BERNIE'S gruesome vision to children radiant with hope.
Much of their appearance, at least, was attitude, despair.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
A solitary figure.
INT. WARD/HOSPITAL - DAY
A 14 year old ALLEN lies comatose in an intensive care room,
tubes in his nose, arms, and chest, monitors all around him,his
arms and legs in casts and traction.
BUBBER leans over the unconscious boy speaking intensely while a
DOCTOR hovers next to him and REPORTERS and CAMERAMEN jockey for
position at the foot of the bed.
BUBBER
Listen, kid, you gotta hang on.
I know you're scared, we all get
scared, but that's when you have
to fight...
DOCTOR.
I'm afraid he can't hear you. He...
BUBBER
He can hear me...
As he leans closer to ALLEN, BUBBER puts a hand out without
turning away from the boy,and waves away CHUCKY who has oozed
in close with his camera. This is private. Understanding, GALE
puts a hand on the lens and pushes the camera aside.
BUBBER
Listen...
(eyes flicking to
Allen's I.D. bracelet)
Allen, you're in the darkness there
and it's scary. The doctors are
working on you but the tough part
is for you. You can't quit!
GALE can't hear what BUBBER is saying as he leans even closer
to ALLEN and grips the boy's hand.
CLOSE ON BUBBER AND ALLEN
BUBBER
I know you don't know it, but
you're a hero. Sometimes you
don't know how brave you are...
and sometimes you don't know...
you can do something... until
you... until you surprise yourself
and... do it. But I know you've
got the stuff, I know it in my
heart. I want you to struggle
kid... for yourself, for all of
us.
(vulnerable)
For me. I... I really need you
to do this for me. I need you to
get well, Allen.
Did an eyelid flicker? Did the boy hear?
GALE'S eyes glisten with emotion as BUBBER rises, shaken.
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY
A CROWD is waiting for BUBBER, MEDIA PERSONNEL among them.
BERNIE comes up behind a TV CAMERAMAN and taps his shoulder.
BERNIE
Hey, buddy, you're with the media,
right? I got a story for you.
Something fantastic. That guy
Bubber, he's a fake, he...
THE CAMERAMAN is turning to consider BERNIE when there's a
sudden EXCITEMENT. The CROWD surges toward the hospital
entrance. VOICES cry out "He's coming! Here he comes!"
THE CAMERAMAN turns toward the doors leaving BERNIE helpless,
caught in a surging tide of people.
BERNIE
HEY! WATCH OUT! HOLD ON! FOR
CHRISSAKE!
INT. LOBBY/CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - DAY
BUBBER and his entourage of DOCTORS, MEDIA PEOPLE and SECURITY
GUARDS are surging toward the front door of the hospital like
an excited amoeba. GALE is close to BUBBER in the crush.
GALE
(emotional)
You were... very... inspiring.
BUBBER
(alarmed)
A script! I thought we just walked
through everything...
GALE
Read it. It'll be fine.
They're being swept through the front door of the hospital, the
whole amoeba. A CHEER GOES UP.
EXT. FRONT STEPS/HOSPITAL - DAY
BERNIE is being tossed about like a cork in stormy seas.
Buffeted about by happy ONLOOKERS full of good will, only BERNIE
is surly, obnoxious.
BERNIE
Quit shovin', lady. Hey, watch yer
elbow. YOU'RE ALL NUTS FOR CRYING
OUT LOUD! WHATSA MATTER WITH YOU?
ANGLE ON BUBBER
being jostled as his BODYGUARDS are shoved back into him,
CAMERAS push toward his face, HANDS reach out desperately for
him. But, in a dramatic contrast to BERNIE, BUBBER thrives on
the energy, laughing, reaching out to touch the hands that reach
for him, thriving on the vibe.
TEENAGE GIRL
I LOVE YOU, JOHN BUBBER!
BUBBER
HEY, WE ALL LOVE EACH OTHER, DON'T
WE?
OLD WOMAN ONE
GOD BLESS YOU, JOHN! GOD BLESS YOU!
BUBBER
GOD BLESS US ALL!
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
YA GODDAMN PHONY!
BUBBER stiffens imperceptibly. Dld he hear that right? Was
there a discordant note in the cacophony' of VOICES singing his
praises from every direction?
BUBBER'S POV
A sea of shining faces filled with love and admiration surges
in front of him. And yet, that VOICE again, a sour note of
contraction...
BERNIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
BUBBER, YA GODDAMN FRAUD! THAT'S
MY SHOE AND MY MONEY!
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Hearing it, looking around urgently, but all he sees are
ADMIRERS thrusting at him as he's borne, as if on a tide, toward
his limo. Nobody else seems to have noticed BERNIE'S VOICE.
INT. WAITING LIMO
As the door slams shut, the cheering is suddenly faint. BUBBER
sinks back in the opulent seats while FACES distort themselves
against the smoked glass, trying to peer into the sanctuary.
Then, as the limo pulls away, BUBBER hears the VOICE again
muffled by the thick glass. He turns, looks out the rear
window. He sees the CROWD receding behind him, a confusion of
SPECTATORS and... is that that hitchhiker (BERNIE) being
restrained by a COP?
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Shaken and frowning with concern, he turns away from the scene
now out of view behind the moving limo.
Alone in the luxurious leathered sanctuary, he realizes his
hands are shaking as he reaches for the manila envelope GALE gave;
him and tears it open.
He stares at the script titled THE ANGEL OF FLIGHT 104.
EXT. CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - DAY
As the happy CROWD disperses, an enraged BERNIE is facing a COP.
BERNIE.
Don't tell me what I can and can't
say. This is America.
COP
(laughing)
Hey, suit yourself, buddy. If it
makes you feel better to insult a
man who's worth about a thousand
of you, go ahead. Like he says,
"We're all heroes," pal. Even you.
BERNIE
Bullshit! What a lotta bullshit!
COP
Okay, have it your own way: you're
not a hero.
[PAGE 92 IS MISSING FROM THE SCRIPT.]
ANGLE ON BERNIE
blinking, as the T-shirts magically feature BUBBER again,
smiling, heroic. BERNIE wonders if this is hell.
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
Behind the deserted bar, CHICK looks from the TV set as BERNIE
enters, weary and bedraggled, the strut gone. Bernie holds up
his hands defensively.
BERNIE
Hey, I don't blame you for bein'
sore. I know I screwed up gettin'
busted in here. You got a right
to throw me out.
CHICK
I'm not gonna throw you out, Bernie.
CHICK is fixing a seven and seven. He puts it on the bar.
BERNIE hesitates, then steps to the bar, takes a drink.
BERNIE
Thanks, Chick. I appreciate it.
REPORTER/TV (O.S., VOICEOVER)
The doctors who had believed the
boy had little or no chance for
survival, now predict a slow but
complete recovery.
CHICK glances up at the TV screen and BERNIE looks too.
ON THE TV SCREEN (INT. WARD/HOSPITAL - DAY)
news footage shows young ALLEN in his hospital bed, still
engulfed in tubes and life support equipment, but conscious now,
smiling bravely for the CAMERA while a REPORTER narrates.
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON CHICK
eyes on the TV, shaking his head in wonder.
CHICK
Helluva guy, ain't he? Vietnam,
plane crash, now miracles.
BERNIE stares at the screen lost in thought.
EXT. VIDEO STUDIO - DUSK
A sign over the door says "STAGE ONE/CHANNEL 4." Further down,
on the door itself a sign says "NO ADMITTANCE/ AUTHORIZED
PERSONNEL ONLY"
UNIFORMED POLICE linger around the door, surrounded by FANS and
BUBBER'S limo waits at the curb, his DRIVER lounging by the
door.
DAYTON (we saw him earlier in the courtroom), is making his way
through the knot of ONLOOKERS and MEDIA PERSONNEL gathered
around the limo and in front of the entrance.
Approaching as if to enter, he is confronted by one of the
several UNIFORMED POLICEMEN guarding the doorway.
POLICE OFFICER
Sorry, sir. Closed to the public..
(Dayton is reaching for
his fold)
No media either, sir, they're taping
a show and... Oh, right. Sorry
about that, Inspector.
DAYTON is flashing his badge fold as the POLICEMAN hastily opens
the door for him.
INT. STAGE ONE - NIGHT
DAYTON enters the sound stage and sees the mock-up bathed in
hot light in the middle of the darkened stage, surrounded by
shadowy cameras and TECHNICIANS. The SURVIVORS are visible in
the skeletal plane, rehearsing.
DAYTON settles in the shadows, out of earShot, watching.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Approaching GALE who's lying "helplessly" among the seats. He
looms over her, his face obscured by "mud" make-up, hesitates.
She whispers helpfully...
GALE
Now you lean down and free me from
the seat. I was caught and...
that's it. Good.
BUBBER bends down, starts to "free" her, a troubled look on his
face. He is struggling with something emotionally.
GALE
Now you help me up. Boy, you
seem... taller. It must be
psychological... now that I know
you saved my life...
BUBBER
(lifting her)
Gale! I can't go through with this!
It's... it's all wrong!'
GALE
You're doing fine. You didn't
actually lift me though. It was
more like you supported me.
BUBBER
(supporting her)
That's not what I mean...
GALE
There, like that. Kind of, uh,
sexy.
(with meaning)
You can support me anytime, John.
BUBBER
Gale...
GALE
(giggle)
I just remembered. You were
talking about bodybuilding and
swearing.
BUBBER
Bodybuilding!
THE DIRECTOR'S VOICE booms over the speaker from the booth.
DIRECTOR'S VOICE (O.S.)
WE DON'T WANT ACTING, AS I SAID.
BUT WHEN WE DO A TAKE, GUYS, PLEASE
DON'T LAUGH, OKAY? IT HAS TO PLAY
SERIOUS. IT WAS A VERY SERIOUS
THING...
(a beat, then...)
UH, ALSO, JOHN, MAYBE YOU COULD LIFT
HER MORE, SORT OF CARRY HER. I KNOW
THAT MAY BE BENDING REALITY JUST
A TEENSY BIT, BUT IF YOUR
JOURNALIST'S INTEGRITY CAN HANDLE
IT, GALE, I THINK IT WOULD "PLAY
BETTER" ON THE SCREEN.
(then, to all of
them...)
OKAY, GANG, LET'S RUN THROUGH IT
FROM THE TOP ONE MORE TIME, THEN
WE'LL DO A TAKE.
ANGLE ON DAYTON
Watching, impassive.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Lifting GALE, uncomfortable.
BUBBER
It's not right, Gale...
GALE
(misunderstanding again)
It's no big deal, it just looks
better carrying me. Oh, you mean
because I wasn't carrying my purse
at the time.
GALE has a purse under one arm.
GALE
(suddenly serious, eye
contact)
You're an inspiration, John. You're
making us better human beings. Less
cynical. More open, more giving.
Do you realize that?
BUBBER starts to say something again, but the moment for
confession has passed, they're approaching LESLIE who is
applauding along with the other SURVIVORS, tears in her eyes.
LESLIE
You leave her here... and you (sob)
go back in again.
BUBBER nods and starts grimly back up the slope, trapped in his
heroic role.
INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
BERNIE is sitting moodily at the bar while CHICK washes glasses
and the TV DRONES. BERNIE is wrestling with a thought. He
breaks the, silence finally.
BERNIE
What wouldja say if I toldja I ran
into a burning plane an' saved a
buncha people, Chick, an' risked
my goddamnlife?
CHICK
You mean like Bubber? The hero?
BERNIE
Yeah, like that. Same thing.
CHICK
Well... I mean... what am I supposed
to say here, Bern? Is this a riddle
or what?
BERNIE
I mean, if I said it, wouldja
believe me?
(then...)
Ya wouldn't, would ya?
CHICK
It's a character thing, Bernie.
I mean, you wouldn't do it. No
offense. Me neither. I mean, a guy
like Bubber, he's a certain kinda
guy. Heroic. You and me, we're
not... heroic. It's not our nature.
It don't mean we're bad or nothing.
We're just not so inclined. What
about it?
BERNIE
Nothin'.
CHICK
I wouldn't be depressed about it,
Bern. A guy don't have to be heroic
to be a human being.
BERNIE
The thing is, Chick. I'm goin'
down.
CHICK
Down. You mean jail? For that
credit card stuff? For Chrissake,
Bernie, your lawyer...
BERNIE,
Not jail. Prison. And not that
credit card bullshit, that's
nothin'. I got a conviction.
Sentencing tomorrow. Some cases
of paint I got involved with.
Latex. I see this parole officer,
he writes a report to the judge says
I'm "anti-social."
CHICK
"Anti-social." Jesus, Bernie.
How much paint are we talking
about?
BERNIE
(grimly)
A lot.
INT. STAGE ONE - NIGHT
DAYTON unnoticed among the shadows, as the YOUTHFUL DIRECTOR
addresses the assembled SURVIVORS. DAYTON focuses on GALE.
YOUTHFUL DIRECTOR
That's a wrap, guys. I want to
thank you all. I think we did
something very important here this
evening.
BUBBER is looking for GALE, spots her fifteen yards away.
BUBBER'S P.O.V. - A BLACK MAN
is showing GALE something, a badge fold, saying something to
her.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
reacting. A frown. he starts to move toward them but a MAKE-UP
ARTIST approaches him insistently...
MAKE-UP ARTIST
Just let me get that gunk off your
face, Mister Bubber.
BUBBER
Uh, it can wait, I...
His eyes on GALE and DAYTON, BUBBER is disengaging from the
MAKE-UP ARTIST when SUSAN suddenly blocks his way, holding up
a DOLL, a shy KELLY in tow.
SUSAN
Mister Bubber... uh, John... Kelly
wants you to sign an autograph for
John Jr.
BUBBER finds himself facing a JOHN BUBBER DOLL, sees KELLY
peering up at him hopefully. What can he do? He's a patsy.
ANGLE ON GALE
as DAYTON speaks to her.
DAYTON
Won't take more than ten minutes.
Fifteen at the most. I'll buy you,
a cuppa coffee down the street.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Handing the autograph to KELLY and looking toward the spot where
GALE was.
BUBBER'S P.O.V. - DAYTON AND GALE
walking toward the exit.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
calling out, starting after them.
BUBBER
Gale!
Just then SMITH rushes up to him, blocking his way.
SMITH
I breathe, I see the sun, I thank
you. God bless you. I'm alive
because of you, every moment of life
I owe to you.
BUBBER looks at his grateful face. What can he say? He looks
toward the exit.
BUBBER'S P.O.V.
GALE and DAYTON have disappeared.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
eyes full of despair as other grateful PASSENGERS engulf him...
INT. COFFEE SHOP - LATER (EVENING)
Credit Cards are spread out on the formica table top in the
booth where GALE and DAYTON face each other.
GALE
How... how does this, whatsisname,
the "sleazebag," say he got my
cards?
DAYTON
LaPlante? Ha! Which version? This
bozo has more stories than a
newspaper. In one of them, he's
"the angel of Flight 104!" He pulls
you off the plane, saves your purse
for you, but forgets to return it.
That's Version 63. In Version 64,
he kept it to pay for his "hundred
dollar shoes." The guy's a bullshit
artist, he's already got a sentence
pending for dealing stolen goods.
(leaning forward,
whispering)
Listen, I know. this is pretty off
the wall... that guy, the hero,
Bubber... he was a homeless guy,
right? Down on his luck? He
couldn't have swiped the wallet,
could he? While he was rescuing
you? And sold it to this guy
LaPlante?
GALE
(raised eyebrows)
John Bubber risks his life to save
me and fifty-four other people
and... swipes my purse?
DAYTON
Too far-fetched? I mean, I'm not
trying to make problems for John
Bubber, I just want to make sure
this creep LaPlante does some
meaningful time. If we can't figure
out how he got the cards, it makes
it more difficult.
GALE
Tell me more about him.
INT. LIVING ROOM/EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
JOEY is sprawled on the living room floor, surrounded by
homework, his eyes on the TV set.
EVELYN, on the sofa, looks up from her book and catches JOEY
watching the TV.
EVELYN
Homework. You're doing homework,
remember?
The phone rings and EVELYN gets up and goes for it.
EVELYN
(to Joey)
Homework, homework, homework! No
homework, no zoo trips, no movies.
(into phone)
Hello.
(then, very cold...)
He's doing his homework.
JOEY looks up from his homework.
INT. PHONE BOOTH/SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
BERNIE is talking into the phone urgently...
BERNIE
Look, I'm going away, I just wanna
say goodbye to... never mind where.
I just wanna say... He can't call
me back later, my phone's
disconnected...
INT. LIVING ROOM/EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
EVELYN covers the mouthpiece and turns to JOEY...
EVELYN
It's your father. If you don't talk
to him, he's going to call all
night.
INT. PHONE BOOTH/SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
BERNIE
Hey, Joey, how ya doin', pal, it's
me. Your old man. You get the
twenty dollars? What?
(listens...)
Well, she's right on that, Joey,
that's the best place for it, a
college fund. I was gonna tell ya
that myself. Look, about how I
didn't show up the other night I...
what?
(he listens)
You seen me out the window....
(listens)
One shoe, yeah and the mud... So
you thought I mighta been the heroic
guy, huh?
(a beat, then...)
An' what'd she say when you...?
"Against my religion," huh?
(he struggles, then...
decisive)
Well, you know Joey, this kinda
stuff, we gotta talk about it some
time, man to man. But I gotta go
off on this -- this damn business
trip now... for a while. So...
so I won't be seein' you. What you
gotta do, you gotta listen to your
mother, she's smart, very smart,
knows what's best for you and...
(reacting)
No, no, no, it ain't 'cause I don't
like you, Christ! I mean, not
"Christ," you know... I mean I don't
wanna go on this business thing,
I love you Joey, but I gotta!
That's part of growing older, all
these goddamn (pardon the
vulgarity) business things you have
to do. Which reminds me, this
"hero" business... one of the things
you learn as you get older is that
life gets very complicated...
weird actually... people aren't
exactly like they seem... nothing
is... life gets unbelievable...
this is normal as you grow older
and... huh? I was talking to Joey.
INT. EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
EVELYN
Your son actually wants to spend
time with you. If you let him down
this time after popping back into
his life...
INT. PHONE BOOTH/SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
BERNIE
Ev, you gotta understand, it's
this... this goddamn business trip,
no wait, don't hang up, Ev, just
a sec, listen, I just wanna say one
thing, okay? One thing!
(with some effort)
I know I kinda act like an asshole
sometimes. I know that. I know
you were a good wife. I know I
fucked it up. I had a good thing
an' I blew it. I just want you to
know I know that, okay? I gotta
go now. Business trip. It's gonna
be a while.
BERNIE hangs up.
INT. EVELYN'S HOUSE - NIGHT
EVELYN stares at the phone as though it had changed into a piece
of fruit before her eyes! Bernie said that?
INT. HALLWAY/APARTMENT BUILDING - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
WINSTON (who bought Bernie's TV) has opened his door just a
crack to address GALE and CHUCKY. It says "Manager" on the door.
WINSTON
LaPlante! That asshole! I don't...
Hey, is that you, from the tee vee?
In person?
GALE
We're from Channel Four, yes. We'd
like to find --
WINSTON
"This is Gale Gayley for Channel
Four News!" Incredible.
Unbelievable! For Bernie LaPlante!
He's a celebrity now? 'Cause he
stole paint?
GALE
We couldn't find his name on the
buzzer or on the mailbox, but...
WINSTON pushes past them out the, door and into the corridor.
WINSTON
"Low profile." That's his big
motto! He don't put his name on
anything. Come on, we'll go look.
GALE sees WINSTON trundling down the corridor toward the
stairwell.
INT. STAIRWELL - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
WINSTON waddles up the stairs with GALE and CHUCKY on his heels.
GALE
Shouldn't we have buzzed him to let
him know --
WINSTON
Half the time he don't answer even
if he's home. Know why? 'Cause
he don't want no bill collectors
to find him. I don't mean to be
judgmental, but he's a scumbag.
He don't have no friends. Who's
gonna like a creep like LaPlante?
I was doin' him a favor on the TV
outta kindness, and he screwed me.
You know what color skin you get
on my set, Miss Gayley? Purple!
That's what color skin you got on
the tee vee LaPlante sells me!
During the climb, GALE'S BEEPER goes off. She shuts it off.
INT. UPSTAIRS CORRIDOR/APT. BUILDING - MOMENTS LATER
BANG! BANG! BANG! WINSTON pounds on the door to 5A while GALE
and CHUCKY hover behind him anxiously.
WINSTON
Bernard! Bernard! Hey, LaPlante,
open the door. Television
Interview! Fame and fortune. Open
up, Bernard.
WINSTON pulls a ring of keys from his belt and unlocks the door.
WINSTON
Hope the silly bastard didn't kill
himself. He's all upset about this
sentence he got. He's going to
prison.
(to Chucky)
That a camera you're carrying? If
he killed himself, you could take
pictures.
INT. BERNIE'S APARTMENT
WINSTON, GALE and CHUCKY enter the tiny charmless living room.
As WINSTON disappears into the bedroom; GALE glances around,
notices something.
A cheap commercial photo of BERNIE with JOEY at the zoo.
Studying it, she considers BERNIE'S face.
WINSTON re-enters from the bedroom.
WINSTON
No dead body. Too bad. Not too
often you guys get pictures of a
body even before the cops get there.
Exclusive!
GALE
I wonder if you'd mind if we waited
for him here, Mister Winston...
Surprised, CHUCKY gives her a sharp look, like "what's up?"
WINSTON
What's he gonna do, sue? You
people, you're the media.
WINSTON exits, closing the door behind him.
CHUCKY
We're gonna wait here? The guy
could be hours.
GALE
Maybe, maybe not. I have a feeling
this guy is important somehow.
CHUCKY
Hey, listen, great that you're a
career-fiend, I got a wife and
family, I...
GALE
You're lucky, Chucky, you... OW!
GALE has flopped down on BERNIE'S ratty sofa.
CHUCKY
What's the matter?
GALE
This sofa is a lethal weapon. The
springs... are... the springs...
what...?
GALE is digging behind her on the sofa. She pulls out The
silver Mike Award and stares at it, dumbfounded.
CHUCKY
What is it?
GALE
(stunned)
The...Silver...Mike...Award!
CHUCKY
This guy LaPlante won an award?
GALE
(staring at the
inscription)
"For Excellence in the Pursuit of
Truth."
CHUCKY
(amazed)
LaPlante!
BERNIE
Who the hell are you? What's goin'
on here?
BERNIE is standing in the doorway, scowling at CHUCKY. But
before the astonished CHUCKY can respond, GALE turns, revealing
her face.
BERNIE
You!
GALE
Camera, Chucky. Are you Bernard
LaPlante, sir? What is your
relationship with John Bubber?
BERNIE
(indicating chucky)
Turn that thing off.
GALE
(holding up the Silver
Mike)
How did you acquire this, Mister
LaPlante?
BERNIE
How do ya think I got it, for
Chrissake?
(to Chucky, indicating
the vidpak)
Hey, put that thing down. This is
my goddamn apartment, you can't
just...
GALE
What's your scheme, Mister LaPlante?
What are you forcing John Bubber
to do? What are you -- ?
The door bursts open and WINSTON rushes in hysterically.
WINSTON
HE'S GONNA JUMP! BUBBER'S GONNA
JUMP! IT'S ON CHANNEL THIRTEEN!
CHUCKY
Thirteen!
TV IMAGE (EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - P.O.V. OF LEDGE - NIGHT)
Weirdly distorted colors. A shaky long lens shot (news camera)
reveals a bright green BUBBER standing on a ledge fifteen
stories up while a REPORTER narrates urgently...
CHANNEL 13 REPORTER (V.O.)
-- say that they cannot rig a net
below him because they are afraid
it will trigger his decision to
jump. Bubber has said repeatedly
he will only talk with Gale Gayley
a local television reporter.
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Oh my God!
REVEAL: INT. WINSTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Where GALE, flanked by BERNIE, CHUCKY, and WINSTON, is staring
in horror at the lurid color image on the TV BERNIE sold to
WINSTON.
VIDEO IMAGE (EXT. DRAKE - NIGHT)
CHANNEL 13 REPORTER/TV
(continuing)
So far, attempts to reach Ms. Gayley
have not succeeded.
INT. WINSTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
ANGLE ON GALE
GALE
(to Winston)
Your phone! Quick.
As WINSTON shows her the phone, BERNIE scowls at the TV.
BERNIE
He's green for Chrissake!
As GALE punches digits on the phone, WINSTON turns back to
BERNIE.
WINSTON
No shit! You took advantage of me,
LaPlante. It's a piece of shit.
BERNIE
You gotta tune it, ya bozo. You
gotta adjust it.
BERNIE is adjusting the television color.
VIDEO IMAGE (EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT)
CHANNEL 13 REPORTER/TV
Meanwhile, as you can see, a crowd
has gathered here at the hotel, many
of them in tears, pleading aloud
with John Bubber not to jump.
INT. WINSTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
ANGLE ON GALE
speaking urgently and privately into the phone.
GALE
For God's sake, tell him I'm on my
way.
(she slams down the
phone)
Let's go, Chucky. A police escort
is gonna pick us up en route. You
too, LaPlante.
BERNIE
Me!
GALE
If you're not in the car in ten
seconds, I'll have the cops pick
you up.
BERNIE
The cops! What kinda bullshit is
this? Is this America or -- ?
GALE
(urgent, inspiration)
Here! Here... ten, thirty, fifty
bucks. How much have you got,
Chucky? Give Mister LaPlante your
money.
GALE shoves cash into BERNIE'S hands as CHUCKY obediently
reaches for his wallet.
GALE
Come on! Let's go! John's in
danger.
Confused, BERNIE looks at the cash, then follows them out the
door.
BERNIE
(pocketing the cash)
Christ, you media people think you
can just buy people. Cheap.
EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT
SIRENS SCREAM. An escort of POLICE MOTORCYCLES precedes the
speeding Channel Four van through the dark streets.
INT. SPEEDING CHANNEL 4 VAN - NIGHT
CHUCKY is at the wheel of the van, GALE beside him. BERNIE sits
back in the confusion of equipment and monitors that show the
news coverage of Bubber on the ledge. BERNIE is addressing GALE
indignantly, trying to be heard over the SCREAMING of the
SIRENS.
BERNIE
My fault! My fault! This nut case
goes out on a ledge and it's my
fault?
GALE
If anything happens to John BUbber,
Mister LaPlante I'm going to see
you prosecuted to the full extent
of the law.
BERNIE
What, is everybody in love with
this, bozo? I don't get this. What
about...?
GALE
Yes, everybody is in love with John
Bubber. The whole country, in fact.
And they're not going to be happy
if he jumps to his death because
he was harassed by a lousy little
money-grubbing low-life fence...
BERNIE
"Harassed." Cause I yelled at him
when he's riding in his limo? The
guy's a thief, he took my...
GALE
(erupting)
He had one tiny, uncharacteristic
moment of weakness. That's not the
same thing as a lifetime of petty
crime...
BERNIE
(stung)
Hey, lady, I got faults, I know I'm
not perfect but I don't get this
at all, your attitude. I saved
your...
GALE
(interrupting)
A lifetime of petty crime climaxed
by your sleaziest accomplishment
yet... blackmailing a national
hero...
BERNIE
-- saved your... whaaaaaaat? What?
Blackmailing...?
GALE
You think I haven't figured it out?
Just because the cops aren't on to
you yet doesn't mean you're home
free. I'm a veteran reporter. I've
seen your kind before, the
underbelly of crime.
BERNIE
Underbelly!
GALE
In all that smoke and fire, John
had a moment of weakness. He'd been
down and out, destitute, living in
his car. It was just an impulse,
stealing my purse.
BERNIE looks thunderstruck. CHUCKY too.
CHUCKY
Swiped your purse! While he was
saving you? You gotta be kidding!
GALE
(a triumphant 190k at
Bernie)
And sold it to Mister LaPlante, the
fence, who's now trying to blackmail
poor John.
BERNIE is too stunned to speak.
CHUCKY
He's gotta be a nut! He saves all
those people and swipes a purse?
GALE
(emotional)
Because he was a real hero, Chucky.
He was acting out of a deep
instinctive decency, not out of some
ego thing. He didn't expect the
media to lionize him. He didn't
expect a million dollar reward.
He saved fifty-four people because
something inside him, some
fundamental love for his fellow man,
made him rush into that plane when
"good sense" told him otherwise.
He was willing to settle for some
credit cards he sold to LaPlante....
(to Bernie)
For how much, LaPlante? A couple
of bucks? Did you give him enough
for a decent meal?
BERNIE, who's been listening to the description of his own deeds
with slack-jawed amazement, is too taken aback to answer.
The van zips past dark city streets populated by DERELICTS and
HOMELESS PEOPLE as GALE continues her emotional outpouring.
GALE
All this is off the record, Chucky,
because if John Bubber lives, Mister
LaPlante is going to give him his
assurance that there will be no more
"misbehavior" on his part. What's
more he's going to apologize.
BERNIE
I'm going to apologize to Bubber?
GALE
I could deny I had those credit
cards on the plane with me,
LaPlante...
BERNIE
(amazed)
Lie, you mean...
GALE
Well, maybe I wouldn't lie...but
I could tell the story the way I
did just now, so that people could
understand that John is even more
of a hero, and that you...
you're the lowest thing that ever
crawled. Your name will be
synonymous with cynical opportunism
and blackmail. You won't get a
cent.
BERNIE
(alarmed)
I got a kid, you know. I'm a
person, for Chrissake.
GALE
Well, for your child's sake, show
some decency then, rise above your
sleazy instincts.
(a sob)
You may have already killed him!
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
POLICE buck the tide of the excited CROWD, making a wedge to
get GALE, CHUCKY, and BERNIE to the hotel entrance. A COP grabs
BERNIE, thinking him a spectator.
GALE
No! He's with us, Officer.
REPORTERS, on the fringe of the crowd, address their cameras.
CHANNEL 8/CHANNEL 13/CONKLIN
Police are escorting Reporter Gale
Gayley to the fifteenth floor where
she will be able to talk to Bubber.
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - CROWD'S POV OF BUBBER ON LEDGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON BUBBER
A tiny figure on a narrow ledge fifteen floors up.
INT. SUITE/DRAKE - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
GALE rushes into the suite now jammed with POLICE, FIREMEN, and
DIGNITARIES and heads straight for the open window, dragging
BERNIE with her. CHUCKY follows, Vidcam raised.
At the window she encounters the POLICE CHIEF and a PRIEST.
POLICE CHIEF
He'll only talk to you, Ms Gayley.
Just lean out and we'll hold you
from behind.
EXT. LEDGE/FIFTEENTH STORY/DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
Alone on the ledge twenty feet from the open window, BUBBER is
looking down at the CROWD below. They're chanting...
EXT. LEDGE - BUBBER'S P.O.V. OF CROWD - NIGHT
CROWD
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
EXT. LEDGE - DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
GALE
John! Don't do it! Everything's
okay.
BUBBER has tears in his eyes. He turns at the sound of GALE'S
voice and sees her leaning out the window, calling to him.
Pulling an envelope from his pocket, BUBBER moves a couple of
steps toward GALE and bends down to place the envelope on the
ledge.
BUBBER
Gale! This is for you. I want you
to know I never meant to hurt you.
This will explain everything.
GALE
John, I know all about it.
BUBBER
(horrified)
You do?
Straightening up, he... LOSES HIS BALANCE!
CROWD
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!
GALE
It's all right, John! It's nothing!
A little mistake. Everybody will
understand!
BUBBER
"A little mistake"!
GALE
No, John, you're too hard on
yourself. I've got the creep here,
the guy who's...
GALE breaks off as BERNIE suddenly shoulders his way to the
window...
BERNIE
Hold on! Hold on! Lemme talk to
him for Chrissake!
INT. SUITE/DRAKE
BERNIE pushes past the astonished GALE and scrambles awkwardly
out onto' the ledge, kicking back at the FIREMEN who grab at his
ankles until...
ANGLE ON FIREMEN
exchanging a look, the FIREMEN realize their efforts are more
likely to knock BERNIE off than save him.
EXT. LEDGE/HOTEL
BUBBER stares in amazement as BERNIE emerges onto the ledge on
all fours, yelling toward him.
BERNIE
Hey, Bubber, c'mere! I gotta talk
to you, buddy.
BUBBER
LaPlante!
BERNIE
Come on, John, don't be an asshole.
I don't like heights.
Hastily, BUBBER backs further from the window (and the envelope
lying on the ledge).
BUBBER
Listen, LaPlante, I'm really sorry.
It's all in my letter to Ga... uh,
Miss Gayley. I was all wrong.
INT. SUITE/DRAKE - NIGHT
CHUCKY is wedged beside GALE in the window, pointing his vidpak
at BERNIE'S ass. Suddenly BERNIE sees BUBBER looking past him
at the cameras and, turning awkwardly, he snaps at GALE...
BERNIE
Turn that thing off! You want him
to jump?
GALE and the OTHERS step back from the window hastily.
EXT. LEDGE/DRAKE - NIGHT
BERNIE turns back to BUBBER.
BERNIE
I just wanna talk with you for a
minute. Then you can jump. You
can jump twice for all I care.
BUBBER
Talk from there. You can talk from
there.
BERNIE
In private. They got cameras and
alla that crap in there.
Microphones.
INT. HOTEL SUITE/DRAKE - NIGHT
Rather than leaning out the window, GALE and OTHERS in the suite
are following the drama on the TV monitor.
GALE'S P.O.V.: TV IMAGE (EXT. LEDGE - FROM BELOW - NIGHT)
CONKLIN narrates while the SHAKY CAMERA FOCUSES on BERNIE and
BUBBER who are continuing to argue on the ledge, BERNIE
motioning for BUBBER to come closer, BUBBER resisting.
CONKLIN/TV (V.O.)
It looks like someone is out on the
ledge with John Bubber. We can only
presume this is a rescue specialist
of some kind from the police or fire
department.
(excited)
He... he's moving toward Bubber,
crawling. He does not appear to
have a safety rope tied to him and,
as we've explained, the fire
department has been unable to rig
a net.
INT. SUITE/DRAKE - NIGHT
BACK TO GALE
Ironically, she's "seeing the events" happening fifteen feet
from her on a monitor showing...
ON THE TV SCREEN (EXT. HOTEL - P.O.V. OF LEDGE - NIGHT)
a camera angle fifteen stories below, a SHAKY ZOOM attempting
to isolate BERNIE on the ledge.
INT. SUITE/DRAKE - NIGHT
Her face shows surprise at BERNIE'S courage. Did she misjudge?
EXT. LEDGE/HOTEL
Inching forward, BERNIE is just reaching the letter BUBBER left
on the ledge.
BUBBER
(indicating the letter)
That's for Ga... Ms. Gayley.
BERNIE
What am I, a goddamn postman? I'm
way the fuck up here, I'm scared
a heights, and you want me to
deliver a letter? Put a stamp on
it for Chrissake!
BUBBER
That's close enough. It's a
confession. The truth. Jesus, I'm
sorry, LaPlante. I had the shoe,
you said you didn't want, publicity
because of your legal problems.
BERNIE
I don't recall saying I didn't want
a million bucks...
BUBBER
I never really thought they'd go
for it. And then... you didn't come
forward, they investigated my war
record... I kept expecting you to
show up and expose me...
BERNIE
I was in the can, for Chrissake.
BUBBER
The bathroom! For two days?
BERNIE
Jail! Listen, Bubber...
(looks down, fifteen
stories)
This is crazy. We could fall off
of here.
BUBBER
You should go in. You're risking
your life again...
BERNIE
(sweating, trembling)
I'm beginning to... be aware of
that, John. Listen, I'm not gonna
do nothing heroic here, you can
trust me on that, buddy. Whaddaya
say we just sit down for a while.
I don't have no tricks, I'm not that
smart. You could, like, rest up for
the jump.
BUBBER considers the situation, relaxes, lowers himself till
he's sitting beside BERNIE. Then he helps BERNIE off his knees
into a sitting position so they're sitting side by side on the
ledge. BUBBER shakes his head sadly.
BUBBER
What have I done? I was dirt poor
and useless... but I was honest.
BERNIE
Lighten up, John. You think you
got problems for Chrissake?
BERNIE wipes the sweat from his forehead, unaware that he's
smearing his face with black soot from the ledge.
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL
In front of the hotel in the midst of the confusion of emergency
vehicles, POLICE, and ONLOOKERS, a cherry-picker has arrived
and a TV CAMERAMAN from Channel 4 is riding in the rising
pulpit.
TELEVISION IMAGE (EXT. DRAKE HOTEL P.O.V. - NIGHT)
A shaky long lens shot from fifteen stories below shows BERNIE
sitting beside BUBBER on the ledge while the REPORTER narrates
urgently...
CONKLIN/TV (V.O.)
-- still don't know why John BUbber,
hero to the nation, stepped out onto
the ledge fifteen stories above
the street more than an hour ago.
INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
JOEY, wearing pajamas and headphones, is staring breathlessly
at the TV from the bed in his darkened bedroom.
ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN (EXT. DRAKE FRONT STEPS - NIGHT)
CONKLIN/TV (V.O.)
(continuing)
But we now have the identity of the
man who has been talking to him for
the last fifteen minutes at great
personal risk. He has been
identified as Bernard LaPlante,
former employee of Gumley's Carpet
Care.
INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
ANGLE ON JOEY
JOEY'S jaw sags and he sits up in bed as the REPORTER continues
on the TV.
ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN (EXT. LEDGE FROM BELOW - NIGHT)
the lens ZOOMS TIGHTER, and therefore SHAKIER, offering a jerky
image in which BUBBER and BERNIE are semi-identifiable as they
sit on the ledge.
CONKLIN/TV (V.O.)
There is speculation that LaPlante
is an old friend of Bubber's,
perhaps a war buddy.
INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
JOEY has already sprinted out of the room, leaving the TV
playing to his empty bedroom.
JOEY'S VOICE (O.S.)
MOM! MOM! IT'S MY FATHER! MOM!
INT. DRAKE/PRESIDENTIAL SUITE
GALE is giving way at the window to CHUCKY who's leaning out
to try and get a shot. Jammed in by the CROWD, her view
blocked, she glimpses a TV monitor nearby.
GALE'S POV - TV MONITOR/VIDEO IMAGE (EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT)
The SHAKY CLOSE-UP of BERNIE'S face, smeared with soot, fills
the screen. The angle is very reminiscent of the glimpse GALE
got of BERNIE in the crashed plane!
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
An arc light is switched on, lighting up BERNIE'S face.
INT. DRAKE SUITE - NIGHT
BACK TO GALE,
stunned. Just then CHUCKY taps her on his way out of the room.
CHUCKY
I'm gonna grab the high ground, get
a hot overhead angle.
EXT. LEDGE/FIFTEENTH FLOOR/DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
Spotlights illuminate BERNIE and BUBBER as they sit on the ledge
and converse, like a couple of guys on a park bench somewhere,
oblivious to the CROWD below.
BUBBER
(flabbergasted)
You stole her purse! While you were
saving her?
BERNIE
What's the big deal? You decided
to pretend you were me. A little
moment of weakness, right? So I
sorta swiped her purse. I got feet
of clay too, bUddy.
BUBBER
And she thinks you're blackmailing
me?
BERNIE
Right.
BUBBER actually sees humor in this, but BERNIE is thinking...
BERNIE
Which don't sound like such a bad
goddamn idea, John.
BUBBER
Huh? Whadda you mean?
BERNIE
Well, we gotta work this thing out,
John. It's a goddamn mess an' I'm
halfway to doing serious time in
the joint an' the TV lady's so stuck
on you she don't want it to come
out you stole her purse because it
might break the heart of millions.
(indicating the chanting
crowd below)
Looka those maniacs, willya? They
love you, for Chrissake!
BUBBER
I don't need to be a hero, LaPlante,
but I can't face people... the looks
in their eyes... after the trust
they gave me!
BERNIE
Great! You make this big goddamn
mess, then ya jump. Beautiful!
Listen, John, I was there at the
hospital today, I seen you with
those little bastards (pardon my
vulgarity).
BUBBER
It was you! I thought I heard...
BERNIE
I'm not saying I hate sick people
or anything but I hate being around
them if you know what I mean. There
you go, you inspire this kid to
live. I probably woulda vomited
on him.
BUBBER
(stunned)
Allen? He... he's okay?
BUBBBR is visibly affected by the news about ALLEN but BERNIE
doesn't notice, rattles on...
BERNIE
See what I mean? You remember his
name for Chrissake! I mean, I
remember my own kid's name... but
I'm always forgetting his birthday.
Plus when they stick cameras in your
face and ask all these stupid
questions, you smile at them. You
got a kinda... a kinda... "gift,"
there, John, if ya know what I mean.
People wanna be saved by you. Even
me! If I was gonna be saved I
wouldn't wanna see Bernie LaPlante
comin' outta the goddamn smoke an'
darkness an' fear an' stuff. I'd
wanna see John God Damn Bubber!
BUBBER is moved... but still has doubts.
BUBBER
You got those people out of the
plane, LaPlante, not me.
BERNIE
You woulda gone in there, you
wouldn'ta thought twice... Trust
me on that, that's the kinda guy
you are. For a guy like me, it's
a momentary loss of sanity. I
wasn't thinking clearly. Listen,
I'm no hero, John. I just want some
dough and maybe a little favor.
How much didja spend already on all
that do-gooder bullshit? You didn't
spend it all didja?
BUBBER
Well, I donated a lot to different
causes, uh... La...
BERNIE
Bernie. Call me Bernie.
BUBBER
--but there's a lot of it still
left, uh, Bernie. Almost half.
BERNIE'S eyes glitter with interest.
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE/TV STATION
Several monitors show a variety of coverage of the drama on the
ledge on their screens while, nearby, WALLACE hovers anxiously
over DEAKINS' shoulder as DEAKINS rants into the phone...
DEAKINS
Whaddaya mean what do I wanna know?
I wanna know everything. Who's this
screwball LaPlante for Pete's sake,
what the hell's he doing out there,
auditioning for the priesthood?
You're supposed to be on top of
this, Gale, don't...
(he stops, listens,
explodes)
"Quit!" You can't quit! It's
unprofessional!
WALLACE
(alarmed)
Quit? She wants to quit?
DEAKINS
(ignoring Wallace)
Listen, Gale, I know you're
emotionally involved. Don't be
emotionally involved, be
professional.
(listens, then...)
No, Gale, you are not a hardbitten,
cynical hard-ass, you just think
you are. You are a goddamn cream
puff! Try and be a hard-ass!
DEAKINS hangs up the phone angrily and faces WALLACE...
WALLACE
She wants to quit?
DEAKINS
She can't quit.
INT. JOEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
EVELYN is staring dumbfounded at the TV screen, the volume full
now, no longer coming through the headphones.
EVELYN
My God! It... it is him!
JOEY
Wh-why's he... why's he up there,
mom?
EVELYN looks pale and stricken. Instead of answering, she makes
a decision...
EVELYN
Where's your coat? Get your coat!
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - NIGHT
DEAKINS and WALLACE are watching a CHANNEL EIGHT REPORTER on
one of the monitors.
TV IMAGE (EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT)
CHANNEL 8 REPORTER/TV
-- just learned that LaPlante is
a convicted felon due to be
sentenced tomorrow for trafficking
in stolen goods. According to our
sources, LaPlante knowingly
purchased twelve cases of stolen
latex paint which he subsequently
sold to...
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON DEAKINS AND WALLACE
DEAKINS
Gale shoulda aired that bit first,
she's the one who found this clown
LaPlante! She let Channel Eight
get a beat on us.
WALLACE
(worried)
Listen, Deak, what if Bubber has
got something to hide? What if he's
the wrong guy, not really the
hero...?
DEAKINS
Helluva story!
WALLACE
(suddenly firm)
No, Deak, not a great story. We
backed this guy, he's our boy! We
gave him a vote of confidence, we
gave him a million dollars.
DEAKINS is chastened. He "gets it." Just then, excitement from
the Channel Four monitor.
DEAKINS
Now what?
CONKLIN'S VOICE/TV
(excited)
Something's going on, Bubber is
communicating something. Both men
are...
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
Excitement in the CROWD, looking up, yelling. Something's
happening. CONKLIN is speaking into his mike even as the surge
of the CROWD engulfs him...
CONKLIN
-- still sitting on the ledge but
Bubber is motioning to someone in
the window, he seems to be calling
out to them and now... now he's
holding up two fingers. He's
signalling something, holding up
two fingers.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
A Ford station wagon speeds toward the city.
INT. MOVING FORD/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
EVELYN is at the wheel, JOEY beside her, the RADIO on...
EVELYN
If I gave you the impression I hated
him I didn't mean to. I... I hate
the way he behaves... he's selfish
and self-centered and cynical...
JOEY
What's "cynical"?
EVELYN
It's when you say, "Everybody else
cheats why shouldn't I?"
(emotional)
But I don't -- I don't hate -- him.
I... loved him once, Joey. Very
much. I just got... tired. Maybe
it wasn't all his fault. He...
What's happening? Oh, my God...
EVELYN is reacting to the live radio broadcast, a sudden urgency
in the REPORTER'S VOICE, CROWD SOUNDS...
RADIO
-- FIREMEN LEANING OUT THE WINDOW!
THEY HAVE WHAT APPEAR TO BE LONG
POLES AND THEY'RE REACHING THE POLES
TOWARD THE TWO MEN ON THE LEDGE,
JOHN BUBBER AND HIS COMPANION,
BERNARD LAPLANTE!
EVELYN
What's happening? What are they
doing...?
RADIO
(continuing)
LAPLANTE AND BUBBER ARE REACHING
FOR THE POLES! THERE'S SOMETHING
AT THE TIP OF THE POLES. THEY'RE
TAKING SOMETHING FROM THE POLES!
IT LOOKS LIKE -- IT LOOKS LIKE...
I THINK IT'S... WAIT A MINUTE, I
HAVE A REPORT HERE...
EVELYN and JOEY are breathless, mesmerized, waiting to hear...
RADIO
COFFEE! IT'S COFFEE! WE'RE TOLD
THAT BUBBER AND LAPLANTE ASKED FOR
TWO CUPS OF COFFEE.
EVELYN
(relief)
Coffee! Just like your father to
request something totally
inappropriate. Thousands of people
watching and he wants a cup of
coffee.
(remembering)
I remember when you were in the
hospital, when you had the
appendicitis, your father stayed
all night by your bed... and he
hates hospitals, always thinks he's
going to catch something... and then
that time when your Uncle Howard
got hurt... It seems like your
father is at his best in a crisis...
when things go really wrong or
there's some kind of emergency, your
father forgets to be Bernie LaPlante
and acts sort of like... a human
being.
There are tears in her eyes as she drives. The RADIO continues.
RADIO
We've learned that the devices the
firemen used to "deliver" the
coffee... I described them as
"poles"... are, in fact, oversized
tongs used by the hotel staff to
change difficult-to-reach
lightbulbs...
EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT
BERNIE and BUBBER are distant figures sitting on a ledge as if
it was a park bench, sipping coffee and visibly negotiating as
in a pantomime.
EXT. LEDGE/HOTEL
Closer now, we can hear BERNIE and BUBBER wrapping up the deal.
BERNIE
You got it? Four year scholarship
to a top college, plus Medical
School or Law School or whatever
Joey wants; pay off the $2,500 to
my attorney, plus pay her fee in
full, plus my annual consulting
fee...
BUBBER
And give a deposition to the jUdge.
BERNIE
(sudden thought)
Listen, John, you better double my
attorney's fee. She's very
inexperienced, but she done a great
job for me. And give her your
autograph. She thinks you're some
kinda holy man.
BUBBER
On the deposition for the jUdge,
Bernie... I mean there's no way
I can promise anything. I can't
tell him what we're up to...
BERNIE
You'll tell him I talked you out
of jumping, right? Just keep me
outta prison.
BUBBER
I... I'll do the best I can, Bernie.
BERNIE
That's good enough for me. You
better take that "letter" there and
get rid of it.
BERNIE indicates the envelope on the ledge and BUBBER slides
the envelope into his pocket surreptitiously.
BERNIE and BUBBER are shaking hands. Then they start to get
cautiously to their feet.
INT. DRAKE HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT
GALE is watching the action on a TV monitor, trying to figure
out what's going on.
GALE'S P.O.V./TV MONITOR (EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT)
BERNIE and BUBBER are shaking hands. Then they start to get
cautiously to their feet.
EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT
The CROWD reacts to the action on the ledge while TV REPORTERS
including CONKLIN chatter into their mikes...
REPORTERS
They're getting to their feet.
They're standing up!
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
BERNIE is on his feet, unsteady, terrified of the drop.
BUBBER, much more graceful, not as wobbly, is speaking to him.
BUBBER
After what I did, how do you know
I'll come through? How do you know
you can trust me?
Shakily, BERNIE indicates the CROWD far below...
BERNIE
Cause, bottom line, John, I ain't
no different than all those dumb
assholes down there. We all trust
you for Chrissake! We...
ANGLE ON THE DROP/BERNIE'S P.O.V.
Straight down, fifteen floors. A CROWD of "ants." Firetrucks,
Police cars, TV vans.
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
Suddenly BERNIE starts shaking like a leaf, trying to smear his
body against the side of the building as he inches along the
narrow ledge toward the window with BUBBER right behind him.
BERNIE
Th-this was really dumb, coming out
here.
EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT
As the CROWD looks up breathlessly, WE DISCOVER EVELYN pulling
JOEY through the CROWD toward the hotel steps, their eyes on
BERNIE and BUBBER.
EXT. ROOF - NIGHT
CHUCKY is cautiously moving under the neon sign on the roof,
first on all fours, then on his belly, moving toward the edge.
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
BUBBER is steering BERNIE toward the window.
BUBBER
Slow and easy, Bernie.
BERNIE takes a cautious step. BUBBER tries to distract BERNIE
from the drop by talking to him.
BUBBER
What made you do it, Bernie? Go
in the plane?
Another cautious step.
BERNIE
I dunno. It was... an impulse.
Me, wearing my good shoes.
BUBBER
Same with me, pretending I was you.
An impulse. Why not? I had this
shoe.
BERNIE
There was this kid there saying,
"Go in there and save my father,
mister." And I'm thinking about my
boy Joey and this goddamn fireman
my wife's seeing. It was like I was
supposed to save myself.
BUBBER
Yeah, and with me it was like I was
supposed to pretend the shoe was
mine.
BERNIE
So now you gotta wear it, you poor
bastard. Everyday you gotta be
everybody's hero. People watching
you all the time. Waiting for you
to make... a slip. Slip up.
BERNIE glances down to indicate the CROWD and... takes a
misstep.
EXT. DRAKE FRONT STEPS - NIGHT
A single audible gasp from the CROWD below as BERNIE, fifteen
stories up, staggers.
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
BERNIE struggles to regain his balance.
BUBBER reaches out to help him.
BUBBER
Easy does it, partner. It's gonna
be fine.
BUBBER'S hand remains on BERNIE'S shoulder.
ANGLE ON GALE
Watching from the window, holding her breath. Is it possible
he's going to push BERNIE? What an opportunity!
GALE'S P.O.V.:
BUBBER'S hand on BERNIE'S shoulder.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
Sweating, pushing his foot cautiously forward.
BUBBER'S VOICE (O.S.)
Don't look down. Keep your eyes...
BERNIE looks down!
BERNIE'S P.O.V. (EXT. P.O.V. OF CROWD - NIGHT)
AHHHHHHHHHH! He sees the tiny PEOPLE below and he STARTS TO
FALL.
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON BERNIE
Wobbling unsteadily, arms flailing, falling.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
His eyes! He's looking down.
BUBBER'S P.O.V.:
He sees BERNIE clutching the ledge with one hand, looking up
at him with pleading eyes as he dangles fifteen stories above
the ground.
ANGLE ON BERNIE'S HAND
It's slipping! He can't hold!
ANGLE ON BUBBER'S EYES!
staring at BERNIE'S hand. It must occur to him that life would
be better without BERNIE.
ANGLE ON GALE
watching from the window, terrified.
EXT. DRAKE HOTEL - NIGHT
EVELYN and JOEY are looking up, love and fear in their eyes.
EVELYN
Oh my God! Bernie!
JOEY
Dad!
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
A FIREMAN is leaning out the window, reaching for BUBBER.
FIREMAN
Get in here, buddy. You can't help
him.
ANGLE ON BERNIE'S HAND
Slipping.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
BUBBER is looking into BERNIE'S eyes as BERNIE'S hand slips.
ANGLE ON THE FIREMAN
Leaning out the window, holding a rescue noose toward BUBBER.
FIREMAN
Don't reach out. He'll pull you
over!
ANGLE ON BUBBER
BUBBER ignores the FIREMAN, his hand reaching out toward
BERNIE.
CLOSE UP: HAND
reaching out to grab BERNIE.
INT. DEAKINS OFFICE - NIGHT
WALLACE screams at the TV set.
WALLACE
NO! NEVER REACH OUT!
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON GALE
reacting, head out the window...
ANGLE ON FIREMAN
Reaching a NOOSE-DEVICE toward BUBBER.
FIREMAN
Grab this! Now! Save yourself,
you can't help him, he'll pull you
over!
EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT
The CROWD reacts.
EXT. LEDGE - NIGHT
BUBBER is sitting, bracing himself.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
His hand slipping, his eyes full of fear.
ANGLE ON GALE
reacting.
ANGLE ON BERNIE'S HAND
losing his grip... when BUBBER'S HAND suddenly grabs his wrist.
ANGLE ON BERNIE
Looking up into BUBBER'S eyes. Their eyes lock.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
Holding BERNIE with great effort.
ANGLE ON THE FIREMAN
rescue noose in hand, crawling out the window.
FIREMAN
I'm gonna put this line around you.
BUBBER
(straining, indicates
BERNIE)
Put...the...line...on...him.
BUBBER leans back against the building, struggling to keep
BERNIE from plummeting fifteen stories.
FIREMAN
You can't hold him, he's gonna pull
you off.
BUBBER
If he doesn't make it... I...
don't... make it. Got it?
FIREMAN
(impressed)
Yessir! I got it! Loud and clear!
EXT. ROOF/DRAKE - NIGHT
CHUCKY has bellied out on the roof under the big neon sign and
he's pointing his camera straight down at the drama below while
he mutters under his breath...
CHUCKY
(his narrator voice)
Zooming in tighter yet, he captures
the stark drama at great personal
risk.
(humbly responding to
an imaginary
interviewer)
"Was I afraid? Well, you don't
think about yourself at moments like
that. You think about the f-stop,
you think about focus, you think
about the 11 o'clock news, everybody
counting on you."
VIDEO IMAGE (EXT. HOTEL/STRAIGHT DOWN FROM ROOF - NIGHT)
"CHUCKY'S SHOT" is a CLOSE UP of BERNIE'S desperate face looking
straight up, the enormous drop in the background.
A MONTAGE of different locations and TV sets featuring Chucky's
CLOSE-UP of BERNIE.
INT. THE SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT
CHICK stares at the screen incredulously...
CHICK
Bernie? Bernie?
INT. WINSTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
The television set shows the drama in garish otherworldly colors
as WINSTON mutters...
WINSTON
LaPlante, you crazy bastard!
INT. DONNA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
A stunned DONNA is in bed with her BOYFRIEND, stares at the TV.
BOYFRIEND
He's one of your clients?
INT. JUDGE GOINES BEDROOM - NIGHT
JUDGE GOINES frowns at the TV set, tries to place that name...
JUDGE GOINES
LaPlante. Mmmmmmmm. LaPlante.
VIDEO IMAGE (EXT. HOTEL/LOW ANGLE LOOKING UP AT BUBBER)
On the TV screen, a low shot looking up at BUBBER straining to
hold on to BERNIE replaces "CHUCKY'S ANGLE."
MONTAGE
A SERIES OF TV SETS AND WATCHING FACES ALL OVER AMERICA, YOUNG,
OLD, BLACK, WHITE, EVERYBODY IN AMERICA IS STARING AT THE SCREEN,
MESMERIZED...
-HOME
-MOTEL ROOM
-CHEAP HOTEL LOBBY
-BAR
-JAIL CELL
EXT. LEDGE/HOTEL - NIGHT
TWO FIREMEN have almost secured a rope around BERNIE while
BUBBER continues to hang on to BERNIE, speaking to him through
gritted teeth.
BUBBER
Looking... good, partner. Hang in
there.
BERNIE
(eye contact)
Y-you're a g-god damn saint, John.
INT. LIVING ROOM/DRAKE SUITE - LATER (NIGHT)
The suite is jammed with MEDIA PERSONNEL, many standing on
sofas, tables, and chairs, all of them (and their cameras)
focussed on JOHN BUBBER who's standing behind a bank of mikes
making a "statement" that sounds sincere (perhaps because it
is halting, awkward, painful...)
BUBBER
It was a moment of terrible
weakness. I was feeling... I guess
you'd call it "overwhelmed" by all
the pressures and... the
expectations of... fame...
celebrity. I just didn't feel...
adequate... to everybody's image
of me... so... I took my despair
out on that ledge with the intention
of... jumping...
ANGLES ON REPORTERS, CAMERAMEN
a collective reaction, breathless silence.
ANGLE ON GALE
jammed among REPORTERS near the bedroom door, her eyes on
BUBBER, frowning...
BUBBER
(continuing)
In doing that I endangered the lives
of hardworking policemen and firemen
who attempted to rescue me, not to
mention the life of my dear friend,
Bernard LaPlante...
BUBBER pauses and the room erupts in a chorus of REPORTERS'
VOICES...
REPORTERS
Who is Bernard LaPlante? Did you
know that LaPlante is a convicted
criminal? What is your relationship
with Bernard LaPlante...?
ANGLE ON GALE
glancing at the bedroom door guarded by a UNIFORMED COP.
ANGLE ON BUBBER
taking a deep breath, answering...
BUBBER
Bernard LaPlante is a close friend
who came to me in a time of need...
at considerable risk to himself.
INT. BEDROOM/DRAKE HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT
BUBBER is continuing on the TV set in the bedroom while BERNIE,
all alone in the huge bedroom, stares at the TV.
ON THE TV (INT. SUITE/HOTEL - NIGHT)
BUBBER/TV
(continuing)
I guess Bernie's made some
mistakes. I know I've made plenty
myself. In fact I don't know
anyone who hasn't. I think Bernie
wants to be a private person and I
I'm going to respect that.
INT. BEDROOM/DRAKE SUITE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON BERNIE
glances idly at the TV remote control... and pockets it almost
automatically, still watching TV.
ON THE TV (INT. SUITE/HOTEL - NIGHT)
REPORTERS erupt again in a CACOPHONY of QUESTIONS.
REPORTERS/TV
What'd he say to you? What'd you
talk about?
BUBBER/TV
Well, what he said to me was
private. But he gave me
confidence in myself. He told me
I had a special opportunity, the
chance to do some good in the
world.
INT. BEDROOM/DRAKE SUITE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON BERNIE
He raises his eyebrows. I said that? On impulse, he pulls
the remote from his pocket to return it. He's setting it down
when he turns suddenly to find he's not alone.
BERNIE
Hey! How'd you get in? Nobody's
supposed to come in here!
GALE has just entered the room. Did she see his action?
GALE
I snuck in.
BERNIE
You media people, you think you can
just go anywhere you want, spy on
people.
GALE
Listen, Mister LaPlante... uh,
Bernie... Who... are... you?
BERNIE
Who am I? You're asking me? You're
the big expert for Chrissake! I'm
what? The "Scumbag," right? The
sleazebag something or other, the
blackmailer, the...
GALE
(very intense)
Was it you? In the plane? Who
saved my life?
BERNIE
(rattled)
Me? Listen, I don't give no
interviews. That was John Bubber.
You wanna ask me questions, you
could talk to my attorney, Miss
O'Day.
GALE
(imploring)
Mister LaPlante... Bernie... I...
just for a few moments... I want
to be a human being, not a reporter.
I'm somebody who was going to die
in a burning plane and I looked up,
and some man came out of the smoke,
his face smeared with mud, and soot
and... and he... saved my... life.
Off the record. Was it you? Why
would you deny it if it was?
Because you took my purse? Why?
BERNIE looks at GALE. She looks very human, very real, the
reporter's veneer completely gone! He hesitates. How can he
not tell the truth at a moment like this? He takes a deep
breath...
BERNIE
Lady, do I look dumb enough to run
into a burning plane and save a
bunch of strangers? I ain't the
type.
GALE stares at him. BERNIE tries to hold her look, daring her
to doubt him. But he can't. His eyes "run." He's not a good
liar this time. But just then CONKLIN'S VOICE on the TV saying
Evelyn's name distracts BERNIE.
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
CONKLIN is hovering over EVELYN and JOEY who are standing in
a pool of TV lights while a CROWD presses close around them...
CONKLIN/TV
-- standing here in the lobby of
the hotel with Evelyn LaPlante who
says she is the wife of the
mysterious Bernie LaPlante who was
rescued from a fifteenth story
ledge twenty minutes ago by John
Bubber.
INT. BEDROOM/DRAKE SUITE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON BERNIE AND GALE
BERNIE
Oh shit! Ev! Joey! For Chrissake!
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
CONKLIN/TV
(continuing)
Mrs. LaPlante just told me that
Bernard LaPLante spoke to her
earlier today about "going away on
a long trip" and wanting to say
"goodbye" to his ten-year-old son,
Joey.
EVELYN/TV
I didn't know Bernie'd try and jump
off a building. I didn't
understand. I just thought he was
up to his old... I mean, I didn't
even know...
BACK TO SCENE (INT. BEDROOM/HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT)
BERNIE
TV! Christ Almighty! You cannot
believe one word on TV! Not one
goddamn word!
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
CONKLIN/TV
What kind of man is your ex-husband
Mrs. LaPlante?
EVELYN/TV
(bursting into sobs)
Bernie LaPlante is a wonderful
decent human being. Deep down.
You just have to know him...
ANGLE ON BERNIE (INT. BEDROOM/SUITE - NIGHT)
BERNIE
It's all bullshit! I swear to God!
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
CONKLIN/TV
I guess you love your father too,
Joey?
ANGLE ON BERNIE (INT. BEDROOM/SUITE - NIGHT)
BERNIE
LEAVE MY BOY ALONE, YOU ASSHOLE!
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
JOEY
Yeah, my dad's great. He took me
to the zoo.
ANGLE ON BERNIE (INT. BEDROOM/SUITE - NIGHT)
BERNIE
(big love)
JOEY!
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. LOBBY/HOTEL - NIGHT)
CONKLIN/TV
How did you feel, Joey, seeing your
father up there on that ledge?
JOEY/TV
I was scared but... but... but...
CONKLIN/TV
But what, son?
JOEY/TV
But I knew John Bubber would save
him!
INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER (NIGHT)
Chaos. BUBBER is trying to get to the bedroom door, the news
conference over, but he's being mobbed by MEDIA PERSONNEL who
are SCREAMING questions, scrambling over furniture, blocking
his path, jamming CAMERAS and MIKES in his face...
VOICES
Were you afraid? Look this way,
John. John, over here. Mister
Bubber, do you believe in God?
BUBBER is struggling toward the bedroom door when he HEARS a
VOICE cutting through the other VOICES.
GALE'S VOICE (O.S.)
Mister Bubber! Mister Bubber!
JOHN!
BUBBER turns, sees GALE through a "forest" of heads. Their
eyes meet, she shouts a question.
GALE
John Bubber... how does a person
know when he's a hero... and when
he's not.
Their eyes are locked, as if they're the only two in this very
crowded room. A private question in a public place. The room
becomes quiet as everyone realizes BUBBER is going to respond.
BUBBER speaks soberly, directly to GALE.
BUBBER
Well, like. I said, Miss... uh,
Gale, I think we're all heroes.
If you catch us at the right
moment. We all have something
noble and decent in us trying to
get out... and we all have moments
of weakness.
GALE'S eyes are locked with his as he continues...
INT. DEAKINS' OFFICE - NIGHT
DEAKINS and WALLACE are watching BUBBER continue on their
monitor.
ANGLE ON TV SCREEN (INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT)
BUBBER continues to CAMERA, GALE off screen.
BUBBER
It's the media that notices one
moment and one person and not
another. I'm just another human
being like the next person, full
of frailty with some courage and
decency mixed in.
ANGLE ON DEAKINS (INT. DEAKINS OFFICE - NIGHT)
DEAKINS
What a crock of shit! Have you
ever heard more bullshit and
drivel from somebody who wasn't
President?
WALLACE
It's not unthinkable.
DEAKINS
What?
WALLACE
The Presidency. The public loves
him.
DEAKINS
For ten more minutes they love
him, Wally. I'm sick of him and
I'm always about ten minutes ahead
of the public.
INT. MONKEY CAGE/ZOO - DAY
A "public" of MONKEYS clap hands, applauding a MONKEY who's
making a "speech."
EXT. MONKEY CAGE/ZOO - DAY
BERNIE and JOEY appear, passing in front of the monkey cage,
deep in conversation...
BERNIE
You remember where I said how I
was gonna explain about life,
buddy? Well, the thing about life
is... it gets weird. See people
are always gonna be talking to you
about "truth." Everybody always
knows what the truth is, like it
was toilet paper or something and
they got a supply in the closet.
But what you learn as you get older
is, there ain't no truth.
All there is is bullshit (pardon
my vulgarity here). Layers of it.
One layer of bullshit on top of
another. So what you do in life,
like when you get older, is you pick
the layer of bullshit you prefer
and that's your bullshit, so to
speak. You got that?
JOEY
(totally confounded)
Uh, no.
BERNIE
Mmmmm. Well, it's complicated.
Maybe when you're older. Anyhow,
what I'm gonna tell you here is in
strict confidence, okay? It don't
go no further. What happened is,
you remember that night I was gonna
take you to the movies an' it was
raining like a sonofabitch,
(there's gonna be some
vulgarities)..?
BERNIE puts an affectionate arm around JOEY'S shoulder as we
NOTICE that BERNIE is wearing brand new shiny shoes very much
like his former good shoes, but different colors. As he and
JOEY walk off, BERNIE still talking, JOEY puts an arm around
his father and an audience of MONKEYS fills the foreground.
MONKEYS.
THE END