NICKEL BOYS
Screenplay by
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Based on the novel by
Colson Whitehead
WHITE Production Draft
Date 04.30.2023
1 OMITTED 1
2 OMITTED 2
2A EXT. CURTIS HOME - YARD - FRENCHTOWN FL - 1958 - DAY (D1) 2A
ELWOOD (6-8ish) POV of the midday sky where the moon is
visible against its blue hue. The underside of a lemon tree
with lemons is also in view.
EVELYN (O.S.)
(calling out)
Elwood? Elwood! (louder) El!
He tilts his head toward the house, his arm outstretched in
the same direction in the unruly tropical backyard of the
family house.
HATTIE (O.S.)
He's out back, looking like he fell
out.
3 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1958 - NIGHT (N2) 3
SOUND of music playing.
ELWOOD's POV from where he's sitting on his mother's lap, is
concentrated on a drop of condensation on a can of beer on
the table before him. Lights reflect on and off the aluminum.
A party is winding down. Cigarette butts in the ashtray.
His mother EVELYN (late 20s, slim, tired eyes) and his father
PERCY (30s, fit and restless) play gin rummy with friends. A
couple in the background is swaying in a boozy slow dance.
The dew drop begins to slide down the side of the beer can.
Percy throws a discarded card face down.
PERCY
Knock knock.
He splays his hand on the table. Picks up the can of beer.
Evelyn's unmatched cards are of equal value to his, she
starts discarding them.
PERCY (CONT'D)
Just gonna lay `em all off?
He sets down the now empty can.
(CONTINUED)
2.
3 CONTINUED: 3
ANOTHER ADULT VOICE (O.S.)
She undercut ya.
PERCY
You ain't lying. Damn Ev.
EVELYN (O.S.)
Gin is gin... you know Percy can't
count and drink at the same time.
Some chuckling from people O.S.
PERCY
(yawning)
Just go `head and deal 'em.
His large hand slams down on the beer can, crushing it.
Elwood's gaze jolts a little but holds on the can in its new
form, then turns to look at Evelyn's hand, nails done but
worn down, gripping a tumbler glass, swirling whiskey into a
whirlpool at the bottom.
Someone sweeps up the cards and shuffles the deck.
EVELYN (O.S.)
(chuckles)
You too tiiired Percy, after this
next loss I'ma have to hear your
mouth all the way to Cali.
PERCY
She know she ain't even driving,
already complaining about
somethin'. What you need to do is
put that boy to bed.
An older woman's hands start to tidy up and collect glasses.
EVELYN
What you need to do is mind your
business and get what's coming to
ya. I'll clear it, Mama. Elwood,
get down now.
Elwood gets down. Evelyn sets the tumbler on the table and
starts to follows his grandmother HATTIE (50s, a hummingbird)
out of the room.
PERCY (O.S.)
(as she passes out the
door)
Come back and help me win, Evelyn.
You hear?
(CONTINUED)
3.
3 CONTINUED: (2) 3
The women's voices can be faintly heard from the kitchen.
EVELYN (O.S.)
I said I'd do the washing up, Mama.
HATTIE (O.S.)
At least tell the child you're
leaving.
4 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1958 - NIGHT (N3) 4
SOUND of Christmas music on a radio in the background. It's
Christmas Eve.
ELWOOD POV from where he's lying on the floor, on a
threadbare patterned carpet, looking up through the branches
of a small spruce pine, moving to get a good view of Hattie.
She hums along to "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", having
noticed that Elwood is watching her.
HATTIE
(humming)
He knows if you've been bad or
good, so be good for goodness sake-
She `accidentally' drops an ornament ball that falls through
the branches and toward the POV. It just misses Elwood.
ELWOOD
(startled)
Nanna!
Hattie looks down and smiles and keeps humming.
HATTIE
(humming)
...you better not cry, you better
not pout, I'm tellin' you why..
SOUND of her humming continues...
5 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1958 - DAY (D4) 5
...until overtaken by the SOUND of a roller coaster ride,
children exclaiming. It's an ad on the radio for the
"FunTown" amusement park.
RADIO AD (O.S.)
This holiday season, try the Crazy
Daisy! Strap into the Atomic Rocket
for a Trip to the Moon!
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
4.
5 CONTINUED: 5
RADIO AD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Try your putting skills against Dad
at Goofy Golf! A straight-As report
card gets you in free, to Funtown!
Elwood POV, blurred, up close to black skin, his gaze pulling
back a bit and focusing on the subtle pulsing of a blood
vessel in Hattie's neck. She is looking off to the left and
light softly outlines her cheek bone.
6 OMITTED 6
7 EXT. PARK PLAYGROUND - TALAHASSEE FL - 1958 - DAY (D5) 7
ELWOOD POV from under a jungle gym in the park playground, on
a GIRL (10) above, sticking her tongue way out and holding it
there. OTHER KIDS, 5 or 6 of them, dart around playing tag.
She turns and looks down at him. Her eyes widen, then she
turns back.
Elwood looks left toward the girl and then right toward a BOY
(8) who holds open a loop on a dangling string. She paws it
away playfully, then sticks out her tongue again.
He gently places the loop around the girl's tongue, and pulls
it tight without hurting her. Elwood watches the boy then
stick his tongue out and place a loop on the other end of the
string around his own tongue, bringing his face and the
girl's within a few inches of each other, tied together.
After a beat, Elwood turns in the direction of the boy,
panning quickly across the boy's face- and then Elwood is up
and running off into the brighter light of the playground.
8 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HOTEL RICHMOND - TALLAHASSEE - 8
1958 - DAY (D6)
Elwood POV from where he's seated on a stool in a hotel
kitchen that overlooks the dining room, reading a Hardy Boys
mystery. SOUND of staff clanking around, pots and pans,
cutlery, voices as the breakfast shift winds down and they
prep for lunch.
PREP COOK (O.S.)
Got to always look for the pearl.
Elwood looks over the top of the book, toward an older man, a
PREP COOK (60s) sitting at the counter shucking oysters in a
big bucket of ice.
(CONTINUED)
5.
8 CONTINUED: 8
With weathered, scarred hands, he inserts the knife tip into
the hinge of the oyster, and with a quick twist, opens it,
then shucks the oyster's foot from the shell. He peeks under
it (no pearl) then proffers it to Elwood.
Elwood leans back away from the oyster.
PREP COOK (CONT'D)
What? You don't want it? You ever
try an oyster? No?
Nearby a lanky DISH WASHER (20s) is rinsing and drying.
PREP COOK (CONT'D)
(to dish washer; still
holding the oyster)
This boy never ate an oyster.
The dish washer turns and snatches it from the Prep Cook.
PREP COOK (CONT'D)
(good-humoredly)
Boyyy!
SOUND of a glass breaking somewhere. Elwood looks out into
the dining room where there are several tables, one with a
white family, and one with a white couple finishing
breakfast.
PREP COOK (CONT'D)
(slurping down an oyster
himself)
Mmmhmh! Bet he never ate something
else neither. Taste like last
night.
The men chuckle.
Elwood sees Hattie in the dining room in her hotel uniform,
coming up from behind a table, placing large pieces of broken
glass on a tray, then picking up a broom and sweeping the
rug, a rug with the same pattern as the one in her living
room at home.
Elwood returns his gaze to the Prep Cook who struggles with
an unyielding oyster, and then slides it to the side.
8A INT. HOTEL ROOM - RICHMOND HOTEL - 1958 - DAY (D7) 8A
Elwood POV from where he's lying on a hotel bed as a fresh
white bedsheet is tossed in the air above and over him onto
the bed.
(CONTINUED)
6.
8A CONTINUED: 8A
Hattie (O.S.) hums as she goes around the bed tucking it in
with Elwood beneath it. It grows tauter and tauter around
him. Elwood stifles a giggle.
A heavier blanket or comforter is thrown over the sheet.
Elwood giggles in the dark.
HATTIE (O.S.)
(playing)
Hmm. Coulda sworn I heard... Must
be mice.
9 INT. CURTIS HOME - HATTIE'S BEDROOM - 1958 - NIGHT (N8) 9
Elwood POV as he pads down the dark upstairs hallway, turning
a corner and peeking through the slit of the door and frame
to Hattie's bedroom, slowly pushing it open.
He watches Hattie while she sleeps, drawing closer,
fascinated by the shiny tip of a machete blade showing from
under the top rear of her pillow. Elwood inches closer and
closer. He seems to be checking her breathing.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(softly)
Nanna. (pause) Nanna. (pause, more
loudly) Harriet!
Hattie springs awake in fear, yanking the big machete blade
from under the pillow.
Elwood jolts and retreats, but his gaze remains fixed on
Hattie as she sits upright on the bed.
Hattie realizes it's Elwood. Falls back, relieved.
HATTIE
El...
She puts the machete down, pulls him into her arms.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
Shhh... I ain't going nowhere,
baby.
10 OMITTED 10
7.
10A INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - HOTEL RICHMOND - 1958 - DAY (D9) 10A
Elwood POV of Hattie's strong hand steering an iron across
the wrinkles in a cotton hotel pillowcase on an ironing board
in the laundry room. Hotel towels and sheets are drying on
lines and a large linen cart is already filled with pressed
sheets.
As the steaming iron slowly passes back and forth across his
gaze, Elwood is revealed in the reflection of the chrome
base.
11 INT. CURTIS HOME - HALLWAY/BA THROOM - 1958 - EVENING (E9) 11
Elwood POV as he turns the corner in the hallway, drawn to
the glow of yellow light from the slit of the nearly shut
door of the bathroom.
He stands at the doorway and looks at Hattie submerged in a
hot bath, leaning back relaxing with her face covered by a
wet rag. His gaze pans to rest on the two islands of her
upright knees in the milky, soapy water of the tub. They're
worn from years of scrubbing floors. He looks back at her
face covered with a wet rag, then back to her knees.
She makes a happy SIGH. A knee sinks into the water.
Elwood turns to leave, careful not to disturb her, his gaze
slowly rotating to the right and out the door.
12 EXT. TALLAHASSEE STREET - SIDEWALK - 1965 - DAY (D10) 12
Elwood (POV) up at a store window full of stacked TVs just as
the screens go blank to static, zap to a bar that stretches
out then bounces back to a dot on each before going dark.
SOUND of the busy street and voices of women on the sidewalk
behind Elwood.
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
(teasing, impressed)
Hattie, don't you look "mod"!
WOMAN 2 (O.S.)
Nobody gon' call her grandma!
SOUND of the women chuckling.
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
Still, I'd be glad to have a
grandson carry my shopping.
(CONTINUED)
8.
12 CONTINUED: 12
A BLACK EMPLOYEE is visible tinkering behind the TVs through
the window, trying to fix the outage.
WOMAN 2 (O.S.)
How'd you raise such a fine boy
Hattie?
HATTIE (O.S.)
Elwood didn't need much rightin'.
Spends more time reading than
anything else...
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
You hear what they did in Selma?
Rack focus of POV and Elwood (11-13ish) is reflected in the
window holding his grandmother's shopping. To the right
Hattie is reflected with two local WOMEN (60s, full-figured).
WOMAN 2 (O.S.)
Mr. Parker tellin' us not to talk
about political things on the
clock. Said `that don't got nothing
to do with you all.'
HATTIE (O.S.)
Hell if it don't.
The TVs suddenly light back up. On a screen at the center,
REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. is giving a speech to a
large crowd from the State Capitol of Montgomery, AL. On the
other TVs, images of Black joy, (archival) home movie footage
of children living their lives with their families. The AUDIO
comes in and out, something is still wrong with it.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
...I know you are asking today,
"How long will it take?" (Speak,
sir)... Somebody's asking, "When
will wounded justice...
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
Long as we working I don't see how
it makes a difference.
WOMAN 2 (O.S.)
We work hard, too.
HATTIE (O.S.)
Jim Crow ain't going to just slink
off his wicked self.
In the window reflection, more Black people are visible
walking up to watch the display.
(CONTINUED)
9.
12 CONTINUED: (2) 12
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
...Somebody's asking, "When will
the radiant star of hope be plunged
against the nocturnal bosom of this
lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak)
plucked from weary souls with
chains of fear and the manacles of
death?
Through the store window, Elwood sees the WHITE STORE OWNER
come running out of the back room, having noticed what's
going on. He starts yelling at the Black employee, who then
starts pulling out the plugs of the TVs. As the speech
continues, one by one, the TVs zap off.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (CONT'D)
...(Yes, sir) How long? Not long,
(Yes, sir) because no lie can live
forever. (Yes, sir) How long? Not
long, (All right. How long?)
because-
White hands at the edge of the window are hurriedly pulling
the cords that bring the curtains together across the window.
Elwood's reflection comes back into focus, Hattie now
standing beside him, stylish and very put-together.
13 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1965 - DAY (D11) 13
Elwood POV standing in the living room, looking at his arm
stretched out in front of him. He watches intently as his
skin rises into goose pimples, the hairs at attention... then
they recede and the hairs go flat. Elwood adjusts his arm to
find the best angle for the show.
14 OMITTED 14
15 INT. FRENCHTOWN STREET - CITY BUS - 1966 - DAY (D12) 15
Elwood (15ish) POV from where he is seated in a city bus: his
reflection is visible in half of the window frame as he leans
his head against the glass, now a teen.
Through the window, the city sidewalk moves from left to
right. As the bus stops at a traffic light, Elwood lifts his
head, and turns to look out the window. His reflection
disappears and he focuses on THREE BLACK TEENAGE BOYS walking
merrily down the sidewalk. An OLDER WHITE COUPLE are walking
in the opposite direction.
(CONTINUED)
10.
15 CONTINUED: 15
When they are about ten feet from each other, the boys hop
off the sidewalk, letting the white couple pass. They hop
back on the sidewalk after, as if this is totally routine.
Elwood looks backward toward the white couple walking on, as
the bus continues down the road.
16 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO - FRENCHTOWN - 1966 - DAY (D13) 16
Sound of a radio playing in the background. Elwood POV from
where he is standing by the magazine racks in Marconi's
Tobacco Shop, reading a comic.
Up front, MR. MARCONI (50s, Italian) banters with his WIFE
who is somewhere O.S. in the back, as he arranges his stock
of cigars. The shop is otherwise simple, penny candies,
newspapers, dry goods.
MRS. MARCONI (O.S.)
Again with the cigar boxes, Mr.
Marconi?
MR. MARCONI (O.S.)
Cuban puros are embargoed, Mrs.
Marconi, I have to do something to
attract the eye. (approaching
Elwood) Besides, order and
packaging is important, it excites
the happy part of the human brain.
(to Elwood) Doesn't it?
Elwood turns to take in Mr. Marconi (squat, with a low
pompadour and thin mustache) standing beside him.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Sir?
MR. MARCONI
Why you read through all of them
like that, if you're going to buy
them anyway?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Just making sure.
Marconi studies him a beat.
MR. MARCONI
You need a job?
Elwood closes the Journey into Mystery that he's reading.
11.
17 INT. LINCOLN H.S. CLASSROOM - TALLAHASSEE (1966) - DAY 17
(D14)
Elwood POV of a few used, scattered pencils on the floor near
his desk. It's the first day of the semester and a new
teacher, MR. HILL, (late 20s, kind face above a bow tie, scar
over an eye), walks the aisles, handing out black markers.
MR. HILL
The first order of business in my
class will be to strike out all the
bad words they left for you.
Beat.
MR. HILL (CONT'D)
September is the tutorial in the
latest epithets of white youth,
which like hemlines and haircuts
vary from year to year, and are
quite imaginative.
SOUND of a ruffling.
Elwood turns to the right, looking past the person sitting
next to him, over to the textbook of his neighbor's neighbor,
a BOY who is RUFFLING the edges of a second-hand text book
from the white high school. A series of crude flip-book
drawings animate a lynching: a stick figure with a black face
is being lifted by two other stick figures into a noose. The
boy ruffles it three times, then stops.
STUDENT (O.S.)
Mr. Hill, you a Freedom Rider?
Elwood looks at Mr. Hill.
MR. HILL
Yes, I am.
STUDENT (O.S.)
That how you got that scar over
your eye?
Mr. Hill suddenly leans in- right in front of Elwood- to
speak to the student who asked, the scar visible in CU.
Elwood instinctively shudders backward.
MR. HILL
Nashville. White man slugged me
with a tire iron.
(CONTINUED)
12.
17 CONTINUED: 17
As he withdraws, he hands Elwood a black marker. Elwood
watches Mr. Hill walk back to the front of the class, before
looking down at the book before him: American History.
18 OMITTED 18
18A INT. CITY BUS - FRENCHTOWN - 1966 - DAY (D15) 18A
Elwood POV seated in the city bus, Hattie (O.S.) beside him,
reading the Selected Poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. As Hattie's
hand turns a page, Elwood sees a LITTLE GIRL slide herself
feet first from under their seat forward into the space
between his own shoes, all the way until her face is visible.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Well, hello. Where'd you come from?
She smiles up at Elwood then starts sliding backward the way
she came.
Elwood bends all the way forward and looks under his seat,
watching the kid slide backwards under other seats, past the
legs and shoes of passengers toward the back of the bus.
19 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO SHOP - 1966 - DAY (D16) 19
Elwood POV from a stool in Marconi's shop, as he looks up to
see TWO WOMEN (30s, one Black, one white in curlers) browsing
the single small aisle. Both are magnificently dressed in big-
patterned dresses.
The white woman is closer to him and the Black woman is a bit
further. They both lean in to take items on opposite sides of
the aisle, creating a balletic synchronization. Both pause
for a moment before returning to their upright browsing
positions and moving on.
20 INT. CURTIS HOME - ELWOOD'S BEDROOM - 1966 - DAY (D17) 20
Elwood POV as he raises his left arm, rotating his shoulder,
attempting to get the best angle to see the hair follicles
stretching from out of his armpit.
His hand twists and pulls this newly discovered hair, then he
moves in close to sniff his armpit, the image blurring. Then
he leans back and reaches for another twist of the new hair
under his arm.
13.
21 EXT. FRENCHTOWN STREET - 1966 - DAY (D18) 21
Elwood POV on the curb of a street near Marconi's, waiting at
a crosswalk for the light to change. He is looking down at
the untied shoelaces of a LITTLE GIRL in a school dress, who
is holding her MOTHER'S hand ahead of him. The bottom fabric
of the little girl's dress is blowing in the wind.
As they start walking across the street, Elwood's shifts to
an older GIRL, SIMONE, who walks on the other side of her
sister. She's also wearing a dress and his gaze moves from
her backside up to the back of her head.
As Elwood crosses the street behind them, the family walks
faster than he does and pulls away. The older girl looks back
over her shoulder, meeting Elwood's gaze, smiling
flirtatiously at him.
22 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO SHOP - 1966 - DAY (D19) 22
Elwood POV from a short step-ladder near the magazine rack.
He is popping his knuckles and stretching his fingers,
rotating his wrist and flexing his hand while looking at the
darkly grooved life lines in his palm.
On his lap is a pile of magazines. On top, LIFE magazine with
young people his age on the cover, young men's ties straight
black arrows in the whirl of violence. The curves of the
women's perfect hairdos float against the squares of the
protest signs. Open above them, his current preoccupation, is
a Marvel comic book, Silver Surfer. He picks it back up and
begins to read just as the bells above the door jingle and
someone enters.
Elwood looks up to see Mr. Hill having a word with Mr.
Marconi. Elwood watches as Mr. Hill approaches with a smile
on his face, no bow-tie, plaid shirt open on his undershirt,
hip sunglasses.
MR. HILL
Hi Elwood. I came to see you.
(beat) Don't worry, good news.
You know the colored college just
south of Tallahassee- Melvin Griggs
Technical School? They've just
opened courses to high-achieving
high school students. I thought of
you right off the bat.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
That sounds great, Mr. Hill. But I
don't know if we have the money for
classes like that.
(CONTINUED)
14.
22 CONTINUED: 22
MR. HILL
That's the thing- they're free.
He hands Elwood a PAMPHLET from the college.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(looking at it)
They are?
MR. HILL
This fall at least, so word gets
out in the community.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(with barely contained
excitement)
I'll have to ask my grandmother-
MR. HILL
You do that, Elwood. And I can talk
to her, too if need be. Main thing
is, it's perfect for a young man
like you. You're the type of
student they came up with this for.
Elwood watches Mr. Hill walk out the door...
MR. HILL (CONT'D)
(over his shoulder)
Imagine a textbook with nothing to
cross out.
22A EXT. SIDEWALK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D20) 22A
Elwood POV standing in a line-up of local Black TEEN BOYS
against a wall along the sidewalk. He looks to his right and
downward as the rubber tip of a cane taps the right, then
left, pants pocket of the boy next to the boy next to him.
Then it pokes into the stomach of the boy next to him.
Elwood's gaze remains fixed on the cane, moving along it and
up to the hand and arm of the OLD WHITE MAN holding it, then
to his face.
A white POLICE OFFICER is standing at an angle behind him,
blurred in the background, arms crossed.
Elwood's gaze focuses on the cop's face before swinging down
just in time to see the cane pushing into his own stomach.
Elwood buckles slightly. The old man moves on to the next boy
and Elwood watches as he presses his cane into stomach after
stomach down the line.
(CONTINUED)
15.
22A CONTINUED: 22A
On the last boy, Elwood's gaze moves from the stomach to the
boy's face, across the old man's face and then to the cop,
who stands there matter of factly, an orange soda pop with a
straw in it in his hand, as if this were routine. Elwood's
gaze holds there, as the other boys now scurry off. The cop
meets his gaze with total ambivalence.
23A OMITTED 23A
23 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1966 - DAY (D21) 23
The curtains are partly pulled. Elwood POV from the couch
where he's lying looking up at the fan wobble on the ceiling
as the light from a small black and white television flickers
in the room. It bounces off a celebratory helium balloon on a
long string that Elwood is tugging rhythmically to prevent
contact with the fan blades. He's been at this game awhile.
SOUND of a NASA space rocket lifting off, with news
commentary.
24 INT. LINCOLN H.S. - CLASSROOM - 1966 - DAY (D22) 24
Sound of someone RAPPING their knuckles on a desk, creating a
rhythm that stops and starts seemingly without warning. The
bell RINGS. Elwood's POV of his fellow classmates trickling
into the classroom from recess.
At the front of the room, Mr. Hill is at a portable record
player, studying the liner notes on the cover of an LP of Dr.
King's 1962 Mount Zion speech, while he tries to drop the
needle on the right place in the speech he wants to play.
This act spontaneously syncs with the rapping on the desk,
stopping and starting as Mr. Hill searches the record.
MR. HILL
(muttering to himself)
Side A, groove 3...
He drops the needle down here and there and Elwood gets just
fragments of it, as the kids continue to enter, including
where Dr. King starts to tell the story of his daughter
longing to visit the amusement park in Atlanta: "Funtown".
(CONTINUED)
16.
24 CONTINUED: 24
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
(from the LP recording)
We must believe in our souls that
we are somebody, that we are
significant, that we are worthful,
and we must walk the street of life
with this sense of dignity and this
sense of somebody-ness.
Suddenly a PENCIL drops from the ceiling right onto the desk
in front of Elwood. The rapping stops. Mildly startled, he
looks to the right, where his CLASSMATE, the one rapping,
looks back in amusement. Elwood looks to the water-stained
ceiling above his desk, which has a patch of pencils stuck in
it from being darted upward.
As students seat themselves in the classroom, Elwood looks to
the front and finds Mr. Hill looking right at him. He smiles.
25 EXT. SIDEWALK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D22) 25
Elwood POV at a bus stop, looking across the street at a
parked Lincoln with a freshly dry-cleaned suit on a hanger
hung on the outside. Headlights streak across the suit as
cars go by in different directions, making it dance with the
breeze they make. Then it returns to rest.
26 OMITTED 26
27 EXT. ABANDONED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY
27
(D23)
Elwood POV looking down at the interlaced legs of two
BROTHERS (teenagers) lying perpendicular to each other on the
floor of a derelict classroom in an abandoned school. They're
dressed well, wearing ties.
OLDER GUY (O.S.)
We're breaking the chain reaction
of evil.
Elwood turns and looks at an OLDER GUY standing beside him.
He's tall, athletic, wearing a pressed shirt and a tie now
loosened in his open collar. The outline of a slate
blackboard is visible on the wall it was pried away from
years ago.
(CONTINUED)
17.
27 CONTINUED: 27
OLDER GUY (CONT'D)
Some of us went here when we were
kids. Before other folks decided to
paint our town red.
Elwood surveys the clusters of young people talking around
the room. The mood is serious.
Two people are listening to static-y transistor radio.
RADIO NEWS (V.O.)
"...so many arrests of Negro
students that the Leon County
Fairgrounds have become an overflow
jail site for the protest that took
place today..."
SOUND of sticks clacking behind Elwood. He turns and sees
protest placards tossed in a pile on the ground, as more
people arrive:
EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW
NON-VIOLENCE IS OUR WATCHWORD
ARE YOU THE UGLY AMERICAN ?????
WE SHALL WIN BY LOVE
The Older Guy waves to some other teenagers trickling in from
the protest.
OLDER GUY
Mr. Hill said you might come. We're
organizing bail, can we count on
you Elwood?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Uh, yes. I can give half my
paycheck.
OLDER GUY
Glad you felt the need to stand up.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I'll be back next week.
He moves off to greet the others. Elwood watches him, his
gaze drifting to an OLDER GIRL (teen, pretty) in a striped
sweater. She cocks her head at him approvingly.
18.
28 EXT. SIDEWALK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D24) 28
Elwood POV as he walks down the sidewalk. SOUND of a coin
being kicked. He stops and sees a gleam a few feet away. He
walks over, spying a bright copper penny, and bends to pick
it up. When he notices it's "tails" he hesitates, then picks
it up anyway. He flips it over, surprised to find the other
side is tails, too. He turns it over again, and again. Tails.
28A INT. PHOTO BOOTH - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY 28A
Elwood POV seated in a photo booth. He looks down at his lap,
then looks leftward to his hand resting on his leg. A teen
girl's hand reaches over and puts her hand on his. They grasp
each other's hands. Elwood looks up at Simone, the older girl
who flirted with him on the street, who is smiling at him.
She leans in for a kiss. FLASH! A photo is taken.
Elwood POV as Simone, now seated on his lap turns her head
and looks back over her shoulder at him, gently leaning into
him. FLASH! A photo is taken.
28B EXT. PHOTO BOOTH - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY 28B
Elwood POV (CLOSE ON) the strip of photos emerging from the
automated slot just outside the photo booth.
28C CREATED ARCHIVAL STILLS 28C
Full screen. The series of photos of Elwood and Simone taken
in the photo booth in various joyful, affectionate poses.
29 INT. CURTIS HOME - KITCHEN - 1966 - DAY (D25) 29
SOUND of a radio news station in the background.
Elwood POV at the kitchen table, staring at the Melvin Griggs
pamphlet hanging from a magnet that is sliding very slowly
down the front of the fridge.
To his left he can see Hattie talking to a friend on the
phone in the adjoining room, her conversation competing
slightly with the radio.
HATTIE
...I hope it's a good photograph of
him at least? I'm not reading The
Register, they haven't said one
right thing about these protests.
(CONTINUED)
19.
29 CONTINUED: 29
She's looking at The Register as she speaks. Elwood POV
remains focused on the pamphlet succumbing to gravity.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
Has everyone in Leon County gone
crazy? Course I'm proud he was
there! Evelyn'd be proud, too. You
know that theater was showing The
Ugly American and Invaders from
Mars? Now ain't that something?
Elwood's gaze slowly leaves the descending pamphlet and tilts
up to a decorative fridge magnet which doesn't move at all.
Hattie hangs up the phone.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Nanna, next time I want to do the
civil disobedience part.
She turns and looks at him.
HATTIE
I love you Elwood.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I love you, too, Nanna.
HATTIE
You hungry?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
No, I'm okay.
She smiles and crosses into the living room. SOUND of her
changing the radio station from news to GOSPEL, "I Love the
Lord, He Heard my Cry".
The kitchen light flickers a bit.
30 INT. MARCONI'S TOBACCO SHOP - 1966 - DAY (D26) 30
Sound of a radio in the background.
Elwood POV from the register in Marconi's. He sees two
neighborhood boys, TITUS and PERLIE, sliding comics under
their shirts.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Put it back.
The boys stiffen, turn, look at him.
(CONTINUED)
20.
30 CONTINUED: 30
ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(evenly)
Put it back.
Perlie's expression shifts from shocked to sinister. He
smiles menacingly and nods with this-ain't-the-end-of-this
certainty.
Mr. Marconi comes out, sizes up the situation. He tilts his
head to indicate "that's enough", to Elwood.
The boys return the comics to the shelves and leave,
smoldering as they pass by the register. They slam the door
on their way out. The bells jingle loudly.
MR. MARCONI
Look Elwood... kids take a comic or
a candy today, their friends and
parents spend money in the store
for years.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
So... letting them steal is an
investment?
MR. MARCONI
Way I see it. (taps his temple)
Immigrant perspective.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Doesn't that diminish all of us?
MR. MARCONI
Don't take it personal.
31 EXT. SIDEWALK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - NIGHT (N26) 31
Elwood POV walking down the sidewalk in the commercial
district of town, scanning the opposite side of the street.
He keeps turning to look back over his shoulder, then walks
backward a beat, then continues turning right, 180 degrees
then all 360 degrees. Anxious something's going to happen.
He peers forward and to the left, before recommitting to
looking across the street to the right.
Elwood's gaze begins to slowly orient forward, looking up the
street more and more, as he abruptly comes to a halt. A large
ALLIGATOR lumbers out from an alleyway, crossing the street
in the light of a street lamp, which flickers, goes dark,
then comes back on with a buzzing sound. Elwood watches the
gator as it lumbers off.
21.
32 INT. CURTIS HOME - LIVING AREA - 1966 - NIGHT (N26) 32
Elwood POV lying on the couch, as Hattie moves into view with
a cloth bag of ice in hand. She peers down at him with a look
of concern, moving his face from side to side.
HATTIE
Ok...shh now. Hold still. They got
you good.
Her jawline tightens, she blinks back a tear, as she puts the
bag of ice over one of his eyes.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(muffled)
Ow.
The settling cubes sound like bones.
33 EXT. RURAL ROAD - NEAR TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY - (D27) 33
Bright sun. Elwood POV walking down a country road, looking
to hitch a ride. Two vehicles whiz past. As he walks on, he
continues to glance back, thumb out.
A battered pickup truck with a giant, oversized cross in the
back comes into view going the other way, trailing a rope of
sparks as the weight of the cross forces the tow hitch to
drag against the asphalt.
SOUND of some faint music approaching. He turns and sees an
brilliant emerald `65 Chevy Impala.
It slows beside him and RODNEY (30s), stylish in a gray and
purple pinstripe suit, leans toward the window.
RODNEY
Going North.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(keeping up alongside)
Yes sir.
RODNEY
Where you headed?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Melvin Griggs Technical College.
RODNEY
Never heard of that one.
The car stops, he opens the passenger door.
22.
34 INT. CHEVY CAR - TALAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D27) 34
The emerald vinyl seats squeak as Elwood slides inside. He
shakes Elwood's hand, the rings on his fingers biting into
Elwood's.
Elwood puts his satchel between his legs and looks over the
space-age dashboard, all the pushbuttons sticking out of the
silver detailing. Rodney taps at the radio.
RODNEY
This always gives me trouble. Can
you find something else?
Elwood stabs at the buttons, pauses on a Gospel station, then
decides instead on R&B. Rodney nods.
RODNEY (CONT'D)
Good, good. What's your name?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Elwood Curtis, sir.
RODNEY
Sir? I like that. You like my
wheels? Just got `em. Headed up to
New York to see my lady.
Elwood keeps his eyes down and periodically looks up through
the windshield.
RODNEY (CONT'D)
You ain't but what, 15 by the look
of you? And already a college boy?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I'm almost 17, sir.
RODNEY
Still and all... young. (whistles)
You making our race proud, boy.
When I was your age, I worked at a
catfish factory.
The radio plays on. Elwood turns his head and looks out the
right side window as the landscape passes by. He is partially
visible in the side mirror.
Rodney turns up the radio, the deejay rattling off info for a
Sunday swap meet. Then a "Funtown" commercial comes on and
Elwood hums along.
RODNEY (CONT'D)
What's this?
(CONTINUED)
23.
34 CONTINUED: 34
He exhales loudly and curses, running his hand over his conk.
Elwood can see the red light of a prowl car spinning in the
sideview mirror.
Rodney mutters and pulls over. Elwood pulls his satchel up
onto his lap, unconsciously protecting himself.
RODNEY (CONT'D)
Don't look back. Keep cool.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Huh?
RODNEY
You don't know me, do you?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
No. I mean, we just met.
The cop car parks a few yards behind them. The WHITE DEPUTY
(30s) puts his left hand on his holster and walks up. He
takes off his sunglasses and puts them in his chest pocket.
RODNEY
I'll tell him that.
Elwood looks at his feet and begins toying nervously with the
leather tie on his satchel, wrapping it around his finger.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
What do you mean?
RODNEY
Shh. Let me handle this.
Elwood watches as the deputy raps on Rodney's window and
motions for him to roll it down. Only the deputy's uniform,
utility belt, and holstered revolver are visible now.
A meaty white hand reaches in and twists Rodney by the ear,
pulling him toward the utility belt's buckle.
DEPUTY (O.S.)
Well looky here. First thing I
thought when they said to keep an
eye out for an emerald turquoise
Impala: only a spook'd steal that.
35 INT. CURTIS HOME - ELWOOD'S BEDROOM - 1966 - DAY (D28) 35
Elwood POV, his gaze so still with a dead humming silence
that it feels less like an establishing of an empty room.
(CONTINUED)
24.
35 CONTINUED: 35
His hand comes into view with a tremor, a thin black string
wound around his ring finger, palm facing him, the rest of
his fingers curled into a fist. He stretches the ring finger,
accentuating the tightness of the string. Hattie's voice is
audible in snatches, from somewhere in the house, on the
phone.
HATTIE (O.S.)
(on a phone, distraught)
I am telling you Sergeant, he
didn't know the man. (pause) He was
walking. The man pulled up and
offered him a ride. He was heading
off to college. Melvin Griggs
Technical College. (pause) You can
call- (interrupted) I have the
acceptance letter right-
(interrupted). He just got in the
wrong car! Why would he- Sergeant,
he's smart enough to know that
would be risking throwing his life
away!
He pulls the string tighter with his other hand, then loosens
it, then wraps it all the way to the tip of his finger, even
tighter, making the skin bulge and go pale.
Pain: the only sensation that overrides fear in the face of
incalculable loss.
Elwood continues to look at his finger, trying to bend it,
trying to bring the pad of his fingertip to the palm.
36 INT. CURTIS HOME - DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - 1966 - DAY (D29) 36
Elwood POV walking down the hallway to the kitchen in his
pajamas. The radio is on, tuned to GOSPEL music, but the
signal is spotty so there is static interference.
HATTIE (O.S.)
(loudly calling; not the
first time)
Elwood!
Elwood slows his pace and peeks around the corner to see his
grandmother in the midst of a ballet of disoriented
disbelief. Standing in the middle of the cabinet area of
their kitchen, mid-turn, Hattie rotates 180 degrees, and
walks over to a row of cabinets on her left. She bends down
to open one-
HATTIE (CONT'D)
Elwood!
(CONTINUED)
25.
36 CONTINUED: 36
-stopping abruptly as she begins, the cabinet opening only
about four inches. She closes the cabinet, stands straight
up, and walks over to the opposite side of the kitchen to
search another. She doesn't know what to do with her hands.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
El-wood!
In an eerie way, it seems like she is looking for him in the
cabinets.
Most of the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen are open to
some extent. She crosses to the fridge, distracted, no idea
what she's doing, losing the order of operations....
37 INT. CURTIS HOME - ELWOOD'S BEDROOM - 1966 - DAY (D30) 37
Elwood POV lying on the bed under the covers looking toward
the window, which seems unusually far away, as if the room
was just slightly... stretching.
Sunlight moves across the room as the earth turns.
HATTIE (O.S.)
(calling from downstairs)
Mr. Hill is by, he wants to see you
before you go!
MR. HILL (O.S.)
(calling out)
Elwood?
38 EXT. PARK - TALLAHASSEE - 1966 - DAY (D31) 38
Elwood POV sitting on a bench. He stares down at his own
body, slumped with despair. He sees his shadow at an angle on
the ground. The shadow disappears slowly - the light flattens
as clouds pass overhead - and then his shadow reappears as
the sun remerges.
39 OMITTED 39
40 INT. CURTIS HOME - DINING AREA - 1966 - EVENING (E32) 40
Sound of a radio playing Gospel in the background.
Elwood POV as he turns the corner hallway and walks toward
the dining area.
(CONTINUED)
26.
40 CONTINUED: 40
Hattie's at the dining table, her back toward him, putting
out a large, lopsided, heavily icing-ed cake, made by a
person clearly demented with grief.
HATTIE
(talking to herself)
Act above your station and you will
pay. Act above your station and you
will pay. White lady accused my
daddy. Big, cheerful daddy, walking
to his second job. I'd just waved
to you across the street, going
home from school. Said you didn't
get outta her way.
She pulls out a large knife and cuts into it, cutting very
large, generous pieces.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
Two days later, still waiting to
see the judge. Hanged in your cell.
God the judge that day. Lord!
Elwood approaches her slowly.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
I ain't take more than my portion!
White man teach me never to ask for
more crumbs than he wants to give.
Nope, I paid. My daddy paid. My
Monty paid. Paid protecting others
from paying. Percy paid when he
came back. Army don't protect you
here, Percy. Why? Your portion is
pain.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Nanna-
She doesn't appear to hear him.
HATTIE
(shaking her head, loud)
Not Elwood, Lord.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Nanna, I'll be back soon.
HATTIE
(focusing; gesturing)
Yeah? Look what Mr. Hill brought
you.
(CONTINUED)
27.
40 CONTINUED: (2) 40
Mr. Hill has left the LP of Dr. King's 1962 Mount Zion speech
on the table for him.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
Ain't that nice? ... Sit down, have
some cake with Nanna.
She pushes a plate with a large piece toward him.
41 INT. POLICE CAR - RURAL ROAD - FLORIDA - 1966 - DAY (D33) 41
Elwood POV of a passing Florida landscape, out the backseat
window of a moving Department of Corrections police car.
Light SOUND of a sawing, as through leather.
Elwood turns to glance back into the car from where he's
seated behind a white Department of Corrections POLICE
OFFICER (40s): a good old boy who's eating some greasy fried
chicken as he drives. A wire cage divider separates the cop
from the back seat. Elwood's gaze drifts back out the window.
Light SOUND of sawing continues.
Elwood turns from the window and looks back into the car
again. There are two other teenage boys in the back. WHITE
BOY 1 (eyes punched purple; lips scabbed) is next to him in
the middle back seat, and WHITE BOY 2 (freckles, crewcut red
hair) sits behind the passenger side. The two white boys
ignore him.
The police officer glances in the rearview mirror.
POLICE OFFICER
This a repeat for you, young man?
WHITE BOY 1
I'm "recalcitrant".
Elwood looks over at the boys.
WHITE BOY 2
Wassat?
He's holding what looks like a serrated SHARK TOOTH, and he's
been sawing at the back of the front passenger seat.
WHITE BOY 1
Hell if I'm gonna explain it to
you.
Elwood stifles a grim laugh and looks up at the rearview. The
officer glances at him in the mirror, rolls a chicken bone
around in his mouth, then chucks it out the window.
(CONTINUED)
28.
41 CONTINUED: 41
POLICE OFFICER
You two are sitting next to a
bonafide car thief.
The white boys try not to be impressed.
The officer pulls off the road into a ditch. As the car hits
a BUMP, Elwood's leg touches White Boy 1's next to his. He
sees the white boy jerk his leg away, as if electro-shocked.
The officer licks his fingers clean, opens the door and gets
out. Elwood's gaze follows him as he walks around the front
of the car to the other side to take a piss.
SOUND of a RIPPING. Elwood's gaze moves to White Boy 2 and
fixates on the deep slash he's carved into the back of the
front seat with the shark tooth.
42 INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - NYC - 2018 - DAY (D-FF1) 42
Brightly colored ground penetrating radar (GPR) images of
unmarked graves where bodies have been buried and discovered
with this technology are up on a computer screen. SOUND of a
mouse click and the image changes. Someone [ADULT ELWOOD] is
on a computer looking at these. Click, it changes again.
43 INT. POLICE CAR - NICKEL ACADEMY - MARIANNA FL - 1966 - 43
DAY (D33)
Elwood POV from the back seat of the car as it pulls into the
Nickel Academy school grounds.
POLICE OFFICER
Look lively back there. Welcome to
the famous Nickel Academy.
Not what Elwood imagined. The place is lush green and dotted
with buildings of red brick. It's a perversion of the college
he was intended for.
The police car drives up the road to the main administration
building with an American flag and a statue, passing a field
where some white boys are scrimmaging and yelping.
WHITE BOY 1
(pleased)
All right.
(CONTINUED)
29.
43 CONTINUED: 43
The car stops outside the building and the officer gets out.
Elwood watches as he opens the side door. The white boys
scooch out. Elwood starts to follow.
POLICE OFFICER
Not yet.
He shuts the door. Elwood observes him hand off the white
boys to a white male school official in a uniform.
The officer gets back in the car and drives Elwood further up
the hill to the other side of the school: same basic look,
but fewer athletic facilities and there are more buildings
purposed for labor. A cement block works, a smokehouse, a
laundry, and a small lone sugar cube of a building known as
the WHITE HOUSE, with rust stains like vines falling across
its white walls. It's the only building with a patch of uncut
grass encircling it. They pull into a Nickel parking lot.
44 OMITTED 44
44A INT. INTAKE BUILDING - NICKEL ACADEMY - 1966 - DAY (D33) 44A
Elwood POV from where he's seated in the intake room. It's a
stark contrast to the well-maintained outside: run-down,
cracked paint, water stained ceilings. The walls are scuffed
and scratched. A COMMANDING MALE VOICE is carrying loudly.
SPENCER (O.S.)
When Trevor Nickel passed the baton
to the current Director Hardee, he
devised four ranks of behavior
here: start as a Grub, work your
way up to Explorer, then Pioneer,
and finally, Ace.
Elwood looks around at the eleven other Black boys, as
MAYNARD SPENCER (50s) writes "Ace" on the chalkboard next to
the other ranks. Spencer is a white man with bits of silver
in his cropped black hair. He wears a fastidious dark blue
Nickel uniform with every crease sharp enough to cut, and a
large ring of keys on his belt.
Spencer turns around, his COLD STEEL EYES now visible under
thick eyebrows. Elwood notices the boys are restless,
shifting in their seats, not knowing what to expect.
SPENCER (CONT'D)
Earn merits for acting right, and
you move on up the ladder.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
30.
44A CONTINUED: 44A
SPENCER (CONT'D)
Achieve the highest rank of Ace,
and then you graduate and go home
to your families. (If they'll have
you, but that's between y'all.)
(beat) An Ace listens to the house
men and his house father, he does
his work without shirking or
malingering, and he applies himself
to his studies. An Ace does not
roughhouse, he does not cuss, he
does not blaspheme and carry on. He
works to reform himself from
sunrise to sunset. (beat) It's up
to you how much time you spend with
us. We don't mess around here with
idiots. It you mess up, we have a
place for you, and you will not
like it. I'll see to it personally.
He touches the enormous key ring on his belt, and the corners
of his mouth twitch into a smile. He points to a smaller,
rabbit-faced boy, COREY.
SPENCER (CONT'D)
Tell them, Corey, since you've come
back for a second taste of Nickel.
COREY
(stuttering VERY badly)
Yes s-s-s-sir.
SPENCER
Why don't you stand up.
COREY
(standing makes it worse)
You d-d-d-d-d-do-don'-
SPENCER
(nodding)
That's right.
COREY
(starting again)
You sh-sh-shouldn't s-s-s-s-s-s-st-
step over the line, in here.
Without looking at him, Spencer gestures for Corey to sit
back down. Then he looks at each boy in turn, takes notes in
his head, and walks out of the room.
The ring of keys on his belt jangles as he walks off down the
hall, like spurs in a western. It's his signature sound.
Elwood POV looks at the list on the board.
31.
45 INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - NYC - 2018 - NIGHT (N-FF2) 45
More GPR images of unmarked graves and their contents on
Adult Elwood's computer screen. Just enough SOUND of keyboard
and mouse clicking to signal he's been calling up these
images online, then searching out more information about a
horrific discovery and the start of an exhumation of graves
at the Nickel Academy in Marianna, FL.
From somewhere else in the apartment, his wife MILLIE calls
out in a loving tone.
MILLIE (O.S.)
Hey, babe? You all right? When you
going to give that computer a
break?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
A few more minutes. You go on ahead
and start without me.
46 OMITTED 46
47 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - DAY (D33) 47
Elwood POV standing in the dorm room, staring at the floor.
BLAKELEY (O.S.)
That's you over there.
BLAKELEY (60s, white hair, mirthful eyes, a drinker) is the
House Father of Elwood's assigned dorm.
Blakeley gestures toward an empty bed beside two boys,
DESMOND (round head, chubby) and a LANKIER BOY. Elwood looks
up in their direction. Three rows of beds stretch over the
blue linoleum, each row with ten beds, each bed with a small
trunk at the foot of it.
All the boys in the room wear a school uniform: denim pants,
gray work shirts which are threadbare, and brown brogues they
must keep polished.
BLAKELEY (CONT'D)
Desmond, show him the ropes.
DESMOND
Yes sir, Mr. Blakeley.
(CONTINUED)
32.
47 CONTINUED: 47
BLAKELEY
(to Elwood)
You know when to say yes sir- which
is always- you'll be okay.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Yes sir.
BLAKELEY
(to Desmond)
Don't think I won't be watching
you.
Blakeley leaves.
Elwood looks around. Each boy in the dorm takes Elwood's
measure, some of them conferring quietly with their buddies
and others filing away their appraisals for later.
A large boy, GRIFF, looks like a 30-year old man, but Elwood
knows that's impossible because they let you out when you
turn 20. Griff walks past another boy, CHICKIE PETE, who has
a bald spot, like he's been pulling his own hair out, and
smacks him in the back of the head. He continues to his bunk
while staring at Elwood.
Desmond and the lanky boy return to their Negro League
baseball cards. Elwood moves toward his bunk.
48 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 48
SILENT. Institutional-style footage of an old reform school
for boys, Deep South. The Black boys are well-dressed and the
classroom is orderly. The "ideal" setting for learning.
49 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - SHOWERS - 1966 - DAY (D34) 49
SOUND of showers, boys' voices. Elwood POV moving from the
line-up for the showers into place in front of a tile wall.
Blakeley is beside him.
BLAKELEY
You get two minutes.
Elwood turns his head over his shoulder, his gaze roving and
slightly out of focus as he turns from the tile wall he is
facing, to the boys to the rear of him. Everyone's naked.
BLAKELEY (CONT'D)
You won't want more.
Blakeley turns the water on. It's freezing.
(CONTINUED)
33.
49 CONTINUED: 49
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(shivering, heavy
breathing)
Svvv, ahhh...
The blurry shapes of naked boys comes into focus. There are
more than 5, and 3 of them have long scars on their backs.
Others have lumpy lines of scars that look like burn marks.
He's about to start soaping himself when a hand reaches out
and snatches his soap. Elwood follows the retracting hand,
his gaze moving up to the face of the SHOWER BOY.
BLAKELEY (O.S.)
Give him back his soap!
Another SHOWER BOY 2 tries to take the soap from the first
thief. As he turns his back to Elwood, he displays scars like
scribbles, which causes Elwood to jump back.
The boys tussle over his soap now, and Elwood watches in awe.
BLAKELEY (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(somewhere in the
background)
Knock it off now!
50 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D35) 50
Elwood POV walking in between some buildings. His gaze is
fixed on the back of the head of the boy just in front of
him, Chickie Pete, the boy with the bald spot, then he shifts
focus to the two other boys ahead of him.
The SOUND of an engine approaching, muffled voices of boys
under it, causes Elwood to look back over his shoulder. He's
amazed by the sight of a TRACTOR BOY (young teen) driving an
old tractor that pulls a wooden trailer full of boys
returning from hard work in the fields. Tractor Boy looks
serene in his big seat, his charges filthy and sluggish with
fatigue as they jump out.
Elwood keeps walking, then turns around again to look over
his shoulder... There are still, impossibly, boys hopping out
of the back of the trailer.
51 OMITTED 51
34.
52 ARCHIVAL IMAGE 52
SILENT. A black and white still image of boys from the Arthur
G. Dozier School for Boys in Florida (the actual Nickel).
CUT TO:
CU, somewhat blurred, of one of the boy's faces.
CUT TO:
CU, blurred, of another boy's eyes, filling the entire frame.
CUT TO:
ECU, blurred, of the iris of the one of the boy's eyes...
52A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 52A
Time-lapse footage from the inside of a railway boxcar, a
flat Florida landscape passes by. The changing sky and
changing landscapes as the train heads North fade to night,
then back to the light of morning.
Cue music.
53 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D35) 53
Elwood POV outside a building on the Black side of campus,
tracking an object in the sky falling toward earth in the
distance.
Elwood's gaze follows the object, which we can now make out
is a football, as it heads toward a small group of WHITE
BOYS, on the white side of the Nickel campus down the hill in
a grassy field. The SOUND of the boys playing "500" aka
Jackpot Football starts when they come into view, jockeying
to catch it.
A sturdy black-haired boy, JAIME (Mexican, darker than the
other boys) runs faster than anyone else and catches it
triumphantly.
Just then Spencer appears, walking over to the sideline of
the field with a big black man, EARL (40s, brick house).
As Jaime trots back to the other side of the field with the
ball to take up his position as the new thrower, Spencer
sends Earl from the sideline out to intercept him on the
field. They have a word.
(CONTINUED)
35.
53 CONTINUED: 53
The white boys GROAN as Jaime turns toward them and shrugs.
He kicks the football straight up into the sky with all his
might before walking off the field.
JAIME
Jackpot.
Elwood's gaze tilts upward to watch the ball as it streaks
upward and carries over to...
54 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DINING HALL - 1966 - MORNING (D35B) 54
...Elwood's POV of an orange rolling around on his tray as he
walks through the mess hall with a bowl of lumpy oatmeal.
The mess hall is loud and rowdy, full of boys serving up
their morning round of nonsense.
He finds an empty seat at one of the long tables. When he
nears, an OLDER BOY AT DINING HALL slaps his hand "saved!" on
the bench.
The next table over is filled with younger kids but when
Elwood puts his tray down they look at him like he's crazy.
YOUNG BOY AT DINING HALL
Big kids aren't allowed to sit at
the little kids' table.
Elwood lowers his eyes and moves off. He sits down quickly at
the next free spot he sees, and to head off rebuke doesn't
make eye contact. He just looks at the bowl before him, picks
up his spoon and starts to wolf his oatmeal.
CUT TO:
SOMEONE ELSE'S POV of ELWOOD digging dedicatedly into a bowl
of oatmeal with a spoon.
At the table behind Elwood, their backs to him, a few GROWN
MEN are interspersed among the boys, wearing the same Nickel
uniform.
TURNER (O.S.)
You eat that oatmeal like your mama
made it.
ELWOOD
(looking up, prickly)
What?
We are looking at Elwood for the first time, from someone
else's POV.
(CONTINUED)
36.
54 CONTINUED: 54
TURNER (O.S.)
I ain't never seen someone eat this
food like that- like they liked it.
ELWOOD
(a beat; considered
response)
Dumped a lot of cinnamon in it.
TURNER (O.S.)
(a beat; also considered)
I'm Turner.
Confirmed. We are in Turner's POV and are seeing Elwood
clearly for the first time. He carries himself upright, no
trace of slouch, vigilant, taking the measure...
ELWOOD
I'm Elwood. (beat) From
Tallahassee. Frenchtown.
GRIFF (O.S.)
(mimicking; sissy voice)
Frenchtown.
Elwood turns.
CUT TO:
We're back in Elwood's POV. There are three of them: GRIFF,
broad chested and hunched like a brown hear, the kid who
looked so mature in the dorm. BLACK MIKE, wiry, restless. He
sits on his hands to keep them from flying off. And a kid
with a patchy mustache and bulldog face.
The seats between are empty: everyone else knows better.
TURNER
I don't know why you so loud, you
know they got their eye on you this
week.
Griff makes a BARKING noise at Turner. The other two boys
laugh and also start barking.
Turner (16) peels his own orange, ignoring them til they get
bored and turn back to their `morning meeting'.
TURNER (CONT'D)
I'm from Houston myself. That's a
real city. None of this country
shit y'all got up here.
(CONTINUED)
37.
54 CONTINUED: (2) 54
The mess hall is loud with the rumble and roil of juvenile
activity, but this boy bobs in his own pocket of calm.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(tipping his head toward
the bullies)
Thanks for that.
Turner gets up, picking up his tray.
TURNER
I didn't do shit.
55 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - CLASSROOM - 1966 - DAY (D35B) 55
Elwood POV looking at a couple of dusty, dried up terrariums
and an aquarium, long abandoned, the water cloudy. Elwood
focuses briefly on the gravel at the bottom, greenish with
algae, fish scales, dead bits of plants, a cat's eye marble
and other debris, then he shifts focus through the glass to
out the window behind the aquarium, abstracting into the sky.
He's startled when someone (O.S.) throws a balled up piece of
paper into the aquarium and it slowly unfurls in the water.
56 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - NIGHT (D35B) 56
Elwood POV, turning from the pillow case that smells like
vinegar, up to the ceiling of the dormitory room where water
marks seem to contract and expand like a colony of jellyfish.
Paint rinds hang like tendrils from the ceiling.
Outside, katydids and crickets screech in waves, soft then
loud, back and forth.
Suddenly a roaring SOUND commences. It comes from outside, a
forbidding mechanical and- torrential- rush, with no clue to
its origin.
BLACK MIKE (O.S.)
(from across the room)
Iccceeee creammm.
He strikes a match, which illuminates him briefly in a
ghoulish way. Another boy strikes a match on a bunk the other
side of the room.
Then another boy follows suit, also in a screechy voice.
BLACK BOY 1 (O.S.)
Iiicccceee cccrrrreeeeamm.
(CONTINUED)
38.
56 CONTINUED: 56
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(anxious)
What is that?
Another match is struck elsewhere in the room.
BLACK BOY 2 (O.S.)
I scrrreeeeeeeeeamm.
A few boys snicker.
Elwood turns to look across the beds, but the sooty windows
make the dorm room dim as the matches die out.
57 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 57
Full-screen. The Defiant Ones, opening scene of the film
including original credits. Sidney Poitier sings "Long
gone... ain't he lucky... Long gone... to Kentucky" a
cappella...
58 OMITTED 58
59 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - CLASSROOM - 1966 - DAY (D36) 59
Elwood POV from the third row of a crammed eight-row
arrangement, staring at the back of the teacher MR. GOODALL
(white, 60s) with tortoise shell glasses and white hair. He's
facing the blackboard, explaining basic addition.
SOUND of Griff and his cronies playing cards, snickering,
O.S. at the back of the classroom.
MR. GOODALL (O.S.)
(oblivious)
...and On Tuesday, he made 50
dollars. Finally, on Wednesday, he
made 100 dollars. How much has he
made so far?
The posters on the walls feature bespectacled owls hooting
out the alphabet next to bright drawings of elementary nouns:
house, cat, barn. Little kid stuff.
One boy is reading a wrinkled Marvel comic. He glances at
Elwood, shrugs and turns the page. Desmond is asleep on a
desk, his neck at a painful angle.
A heavy burping kid next to Elwood starts a dumb game of tug-
of-war with the math primer they have to share.
(CONTINUED)
39.
59 CONTINUED: 59
At the board Mr. Goodall has drawn the equation.
MR. GOODALL (O.S.) (CONT'D)
...carry the one. You carry the
one, see.
He makes a little arrow on the chalkboard illustrating the
process. Elwood gives up the primer.
TURNER (O.S.)
Not what you expected?
Elwood turns around at the sound of Turner's voice, finding
him a couple rows behind on the other side of the classroom,
diligently folding a paper on his desk. Turner ignores him,
as if he never asked the question.
Elwood looks back toward the chalk board.
MR. GOODALL (O.S.)
(at the board)
And we get 300.
A paper airplane (thrown by Turner) glides gently by him.
Elwood watches as it floats briefly suspended in the air.
60 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - BATHROOM - 1966 - AFTERNOON (D37) 60
Elwood POV from inside a bathroom stall through the gap
between the stall door and frame of Black Mike shoving Corey,
the stutterer, into a corner, back to the walls. Black Mike
squeezes Corey's face cheeks together with one hand while
Corey breathes hard. He lets go and takes a step back. Corey,
barely gathering himself, takes a step forward as Black Mike
shoves Corey back against the wall. He falls to his knees and
Black Mike steps forward, hands on his crotch, intentions
clear.
Elwood jets out of the stall and steps between them.
ELWOOD
Eh!
Black Mike spins around and slugs him, knocking him back
against the sink. Elwood rolls over, falls, a copper penny
flying from his shirt pocket as he flails his arm out and
knocks open the stall door he came out of.
Just then Desmond opens the door to the bathroom, sees what's
happening-
DESMOND
Oh shit!
(CONTINUED)
40.
60 CONTINUED: 60
-and runs off.
DESMOND (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(racing down the hall)
Fight ! Fight !
Black Mike grimaces and looks down at Elwood.
LONNIE (O.S.)
Damn Mike, why'd you have to hit
him so hard. Shit.
Blakeley enters. He takes in the situation and also looks
down at Elwood who is groaning.
BLAKELEY
Ain't you the new boy?
BLACK MIKE (O.S.)
His fault. He started it.
BLAKELEY
Nuh-uh, I don't care who's at
fault, who started it, or why.
Elwood looks up to the moving ceiling as Blakeley drags him
out of the bathroom. In the corner of his eye he sees Black
Mike bend to pick up the penny that flew from his pocket.
BLACK MIKE
(looking at it, surprised)
Hey-
BLAKELEY
(to all of them)
Mr. Spencer will take this up.
Elwood sees the boys look at each other.
LONNIE (O.S.)
(upset)
Spencer? Shit. Now you done it.
61 ARCHIVAL IMAGES 61
SILENT. Consecutive images of actual exhumed student graves
and some of their contents: marbles, buttons, pennies, belt
buckles, a comb.
41.
62 EXT. CITRUS GROVE - NICKEL PLANTATIONS - 1966 - DAY (D38) 62
Elwood POV walking through a grove on a work detail behind
Desmond, who turns to swiftly check if Elwood's there.
They walk between rows of trees, Elwood looking right and
left at the SOUND of boys' voices all around him. There are
harvest baskets with oranges beside every tree.
From somewhere up ahead in the grove, a loud TARZAN yell. An
orange is tossed from tree to tree by unseen boys.
Elwood searches the leafy branches as they catch up to the
work gang, then sees the boys picking oranges and tossing
them into the baskets on the ground.
He sees FOUR MEN ON STILTS striding through the groves,
moving like strange beasts, checking on the thoroughness of
the work. One pauses at a tree, peaks into the upper
branches, then continues on.
Elwood walks toward the approaching stilt men. He sees one of
the boys scramble back to a tree, reaching up for a lone
orange that was missed.
The stilt men pass by above Elwood.
STILT MAN (O.S.)
(calling out)
Don't bruise `em!
DESMOND
(trying unsuccessfully to
get his attention)
Boss! Boss!
Desmond turns to Elwood.
DESMOND (CONT'D)
Okay El, start with the ones on the
bottom, and fill the basket by the
trees. Take `em to the truck down
at the end of the row. That's it.
He walks off. An orange thuds on the ground near Elwood.
JAIME (O.S.)
(cursing to himself)
Cabrón- !
Elwood watches it roll to a halt. He turns around and looks
over to see Jaime, the same boy Spencer pulled from the
football field, peeking out through the branches. He looks at
Elwood, friendly.
(CONTINUED)
42.
62 CONTINUED: 62
JAIME (CONT'D)
Cuidado, chico.
63 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966- NIGHT (N38) 63
Elwood POV as he awakens in his bunk to the SOUND of tires
grinding gravel outside, car doors opening, feet thumping up
the stairs.
The men's flashlights dance. Earl, the large black man who
helped Spencer on the football field, and a couple of WHITE
MEN search the bunks. They make sure to get the right boys by
shining flashlights in their faces.
Others peek out from under their sheets as they grab Black
Mike, Corey and then Elwood, and lead them from the room.
64 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - "WHITE HOUSE" - 1966 - NIGHT (N38) 64
Elwood POV as the boys follow Earl in the darkness along a
pathway toward the white rust-stained sugar cube building
Elwood noticed when he first arrived at Nickel.
Off to the side a figure is leaning against a parked Cadillac
Eldorado convertible, unnoticed in the darkness until his
cigar tip glows briefly orange-red. Shortly thereafter the
boys hear the SOUND of keys JANGLING as he draws near them.
Spencer walks through the boys on the path, pauses at the
door in the darkness to find the key on his enormous key
ring, and opens the two padlocks.
65 INT. "WHITE HOUSE" - 1966 - NIGHT [CONTINUOUS] (N38) 65
Elwood POV as they enter. The stench is fierce. Urine, feces
and fear are soaked into the concrete and they all react to
it as they enter. A naked bulb buzzes on in the hallway.
Spencer and Earl lead them to a room at the front of the
building, where a line of bolted-together chairs waits, and a
table. The sitting room faces the beating room, where Elwood
sees a wooden barn pommel with a rail behind it.
Spencer and Earl take Black Mike in first.
SPENCER
Thought you'd be done after the
last time.
They shut the door.
(CONTINUED)
43.
65 CONTINUED: 65
EARL (O.S.)
Piss himself again.
The roar SOUND begins. Elwood's chair vibrates with the
energy. Some sort of machine is loud enough to cover Black
Mike's screams and the smack of the strap on his body. Elwood
closes his eyes and tries to count. The SCREEN goes BLACK.
COREY (O.S.)
(terrified)
I'm-a hold on and be s-s-s-s-s-s-st-
I'm-a hold on and be st-st-still.
SOUND of Corey sobbing as they drag Black Mike out.
EARL (O.S.)
Shut up, punk.
They take Corey.
SPENCER (O.S.)
Alright Corey, c'mon.
Elwood opens his eyes and sees a Bible on the table.
66 INT. "WHITE HOUSE" - BEATING ROOM - 1966 - NIGHT [CONT] 66
(N38)
Elwood POV, there it is: the gigantic industrial fan that is
the source of the ROARING sound that travels all over campus.
As he is brought closer to the pommel he can see fresh
splatter on the concrete block wall where the fan has whipped
blood in its gusting. And there's a weird thing with the
acoustics, where the fan covers the screams outside, but
right next to him, Elwood can hear Spencer's instructions
perfectly.
SPENCER
Elwood Curtis.
The tone of his voice is chillingly amused, as if he's
putting Elwood onto a ride at an amusement park.
SPENCER (CONT'D)
Hold on to the rail and don't let
go. Shhhh. Don't make a sound.
(pause) You'll get more.
Elwood bends over the pommel and grips the rail, his focus on
the concrete blocks which he can now make out are each
stamped N I C K E L. The beating starts, and with it the
ROARING SOUND of the FunTown roller coaster ride, children
exclaiming. Elwood's POV freezes into a STILL.
44.
67 ARCHIVAL IMAGES 67
A slow series of up to ten pairs of STILL portraits, which
change (though not always synced) with the SOUND of each blow
of the whip. Child. Adult. Child. Adult. We gradually realize
that we're looking at portraits of children followed
immediately by their portraits as adults.
HATTIE (V.O.)
Elwood honey, blink.
68 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INFIRMARY - 1966 - DAY (D39) 68
Elwood POV lying on his stomach in an infirmary bed as his
eyes flutter open, his focus blurred as he looks down at his
fingers dangling over the side of the bed.
He GROANS in pain.
NURSE SCARLETT (O.S.
(reading from the Bible;
Romans 8)
...who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?
SOUND of her turning a page.
NURSE SCARLETT (O.S.) (CONT'D)
As it is written, For thy sake we
are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the
slaughter.
Elwood turns his head in the other direction. He now sees the
NURSE SCARLETT (white, 40s) across the simple ward in partial
silhouette, her back turned to him. She wears a starched
white uniform, white shoes and stockings, and has a red
bouffant. She's seated at a bedside behind a partly drawn
curtain, reading the Bible to a WHITE BOY in the infirmary.
Elwood can just make out a bandage covering the boy's head
and most of his face.
NURSE SCARLETT (CONT'D)
Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him
that loved us.
The boy never says anything, never moves. Nurse Scarlett
reaches out to take his limp hand. SOUND of her turning a
page.
(CONTINUED)
45.
68 CONTINUED: 68
NURSE SCARLETT (CONT'D)
For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature... shall be able to
separate us from the love of God...
69 EXT. NICKEL FIELD - COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - 1966 - DAY 69
(D40)
From the front passenger seat of the van as it drives across
a grassy field, Turner's POV looking in the side view mirror
at himself as he blows a large Bazooka bubble.
An open white hand reaches across and SMACKS Turner,
playfully popping the bubble but also making contact with
Turner's mouth.
Turner turns and looks at HARPER (early 20s), a lanky white
boy with greasy blond hair who sits beside him behind the
wheel of the white "Community Service" van. Harper makes a
"pop" sound with his lips and smiles at him.
70 OMITTED 70
70A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1960S 70A
SILENT. In the front yard of a suburban home with a white
picket fence, two young Black brothers play. One helps launch
the other into a back flip.
71 EXT. NICKEL - COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - 1966 - DAY (D40) 71
Turner POV from the passenger seat of the van as it moves
through campus. Up ahead he sees Jaime sitting at a picnic
table outside a small wooden building beside a grassy corral,
waiting. Anxious.
Jaime meets Turner's gaze, holding it a beat, then averts his
eyes, as if ashamed.
As the van passes, Turner sees a boy exiting the building. A
WHITE GUARD with a suspiciously heavy arm gripped around the
boy's shoulder has a word with him before he releases him.
(CONTINUED)
46.
71 CONTINUED: 71
The boy's head is lowered and he walks away quickly but with
an awkward, pained, gait. From the back, Turner can discern
the bald spot of CHICKIE PETE.
SOUND of Harper sucking his teeth, Turner turns to find him
shaking his head disapprovingly.
HARPER
Sat down to dinner at that guard's
house once. Roast beef. His wife
made an angel food cake. I was in
the scouts with his sons. He taught
us how to make a fire.
The van continues on, Turner turns away from Harper and looks
back out the window, disturbed.
72 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 72
TBD
73 EXT. MARIANNA FL - BACK ALLEY - 1966 - DAY (D41) 73
Turner POV as he's getting into the passenger seat of the van
when the BUTCHER (50s), a porky white man whose apron is a
palimpsest of stains, passes a smeared envelope of cash
through the driver's side window to Harper.
Turner watches as the Butcher SLAPS the roof too hard, and
backs away from the van into an open doorway.
HARPER
That don't bode well. I can't help
it if we don't got every can of
beans he asked for.
Harper opens the envelope.
TURNER (O.S.)
Fiver?
He takes a ten from the wad of bills then folds the dirty
envelope in half and snaps a rubber band around it.
HARPER
Ten for stress. I got my draft
notice this morning. You're lucky
to be in Nickel.
He tosses it in the glove compartment with a whole stack.
(CONTINUED)
47.
73 CONTINUED: 73
TURNER (O.S.)
Gonna miss your girl.
HARPER
(nods)
We got molasses back there? BBQ
joint's next.
74 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INFIRMARY - 1966 - DAY (D42) 74
Elwood POV lying on his stomach on the bed. He can hear
Nurse Scarlett coming, her shoes squeaking on the linoleum
tiles and her uniform making a scratching sound.
Her white shoes and panty-hosed legs walk back forth, as she
collects bedpans and brings clean ones to the few other
patients on the ward.
Elwood peers over the edge of his bed and looks down at his
bedpan harboring feces in a pond of urine.
Her white shoes finally appear beside his bed. She slides a
clean bedpan next to the full one with her foot, then turns
and walks away without collecting Elwood's waste.
75 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D43) 75
SOUND of a lawnmower, louder and louder as it approaches.
Turner POV as he walks along a path that winds through the
campus. On the grass alongside him, a WHITE BOY pushes a hand
mower into frame, keeping pace, messing with him. The noise
is deafening.
An older Black woman walks past them, demeanor downcast.
Turner throws a look over his shoulder at the woman: she's an
unusual sight. The motor cuts off abruptly as it hits a
fallen branch. The woman pauses, as if struck by a thought,
and turns: it's HATTIE. She walks back to Turner.
HATTIE
Young man, do you know a student
named Elwood Curtis?
TURNER (O.S.)
Yessum, I do.
The white boy yanks at the pull cord to restart the mower,
revving the motor each time.
(CONTINUED)
48.
75 CONTINUED: 75
HATTIE
(distraught)
They told me that he... (mower) I
just want... (mower) Would you
please...
She pulls a MANILA ENVELOPE from her bag-
Just then the motor catches a constant hum. Hattie pauses to
compose herself. Turner looks past Hattie at the white boy
who is jeering in his disruptive power.
Turner returns his gaze to Hattie and nods yes as the white
boy loses interest and goes off mowing.
TURNER (O.S.)
Yes ma'am.
HATTIE
I've come all this way... it's a
crime to keep me from him, a crime.
(beat) I don't know what kind of
place this is, I don't understand
why they can't let me see him.
TURNER (O.S.)
I'm sorry, ma'am.
HATTIE
(beat) )
Thank you young man, thank you.
What is your name?
TURNER (O.S.)
Turner, ma'am.
HATTIE
Nice to know I can count on
somebody round here, Turner.
She gives him the manila envelope.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
When's the last time you had family
visit, Turner?
This is perhaps the last question Turner expected. As the
lawn mower ROARS past again, the scar tissue suturing the
wound of his parentless childhood opens for a brief moment,
his quick wit and charisma lost to the unexpected surge of
emotion.
(CONTINUED)
49.
75 CONTINUED: (2) 75
TURNER (O.S.)
(looking down)
...They... well, my kin, my
parents, I mean my ma, she...
Hattie peers into him, as only a grandmother can,
understanding instantly the implications of his hesitancy.
HATTIE
Well I came all this way. I can't
hug Elwood, so you'll have to do.
Hattie steps forward and embraces Turner, pulling him in
close and tight. The SOUND of the lawn mower has trailed off
in the background. Turner's gaze is fixed on the space
between her ear and neck. They separate after some time.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
What are they feeding you all in
here? I know you can muster a
better hug than that.
Turner laughs.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
I'll expect it the next time,
Turner. The world needs strong
young men like you.
She turns and walks off toward a bus stop down the hill,
Turner's gaze following her.
76 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INFIRMARY - 1966 - DAY (D43) 76
SOUND of someone whistling, cheerful and fluttering.
Elwood POV, still lying on his stomach, opens his eyes and
sees an old wooden polio wheelchair with a boy in it get
pushed clackety-clack past his bed by Nurse Scarlett. The
boy's whistling is interrupted by deep sighs and groans.
Nurse Scarlett walks past again going the other direction,
pulling a pack of menthol cigarettes from her uniform pocket.
TURNER (O.S.)
How you making out here, hero?
Elwood turns over slowly, painfully, to see Turner now in a
wheelchair by the bed opposite him. A new pair of denim
dungarees hang over the back of a chair.
(CONTINUED)
50.
76 CONTINUED: 76
TURNER (CONT'D)
There's four ways out of Nickel and
you were almost awarded one for
"ineffective heroism".
ELWOOD (O.S.)
What are the other ways?
TURNER
(enumerating)
Serve your time (or age out). Court
might intervene (if you believe in
miracles). You could die (they
could kill you). You could run.
Elwood turns away to brood. He sees DOCTOR COOKE (white, 30s)
walk past, go to a glass case of bottles and boxes of
medicine, unlock it, and reach for the big bucket of aspirin.
Then he walks down the row of beds to a white boy who's
moaning. He pulls a thermometer from the boy's mouth, glances
at it, drops 2 aspirin in the kid's palm and exits through a
white curtain.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
How you like that witch doctor.
Turner rolls up to Elwood, clackety-clack in the wheelchair.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Come in here with your damn head
cut off and he'd give you aspirin.
Elwood laughs, but it hurts.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Come in here, head cut off, both
legs, both arms cut off, and that
witch doctor would be like, `You
want one tablet, or two?'
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(half laughing)
How'd you get in here?
TURNER
Ate some soap powder, an hour of
stomach ache for a whole day off.
Or two. I know how to sell it. Got
some more powder hidden in my sock,
too. Thought I'd take me a
vacation.
(CONTINUED)
51.
76 CONTINUED: (2) 76
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Aren't you worried they'll know
you're faking it? Whistling happy
like that?
TURNER
I ain't faking- that soap powder is
awful. But it's me choosing, not
anyone else.
He coaxes the stuck wheels of the chair and huffs away as Dr.
Cooke comes over on his rounds.
DR. COOKE
Turner, you again? I told you not
to eat the food!
TURNER
What else am I supposed to eat,
Mister Cooke?
Cooke gives him an aspirin.
DR. COOKE
Doctor.
He looks at Elwood.
DR. COOKE (CONT'D)
Yeah, they got you good.
He walks off, exiting. SOUND of a radio being turned on
somewhere behind it, unexpectedly tuned to classical music.
Elwood shifts painfully around in the bed.
CUT TO:
TURNER POV as he glimpses the blood on Elwood's sheets. He
stifles a gasp.
Elwood turns swiftly to look at him, just as Turner looks
away, pretending not to have seen.
The invalid boy behind the curtain suddenly makes a HEAVY
SIGH and Elwood and Turner startle.
ELWOOD
Go look. See who it is. Ask what's
wrong with him.
TURNER (O.S.)
I ain't asking nobody shit.
(CONTINUED)
52.
76 CONTINUED: (3) 76
ELWOOD
Scared?
TURNER (O.S.)
Damn, you don't know. Pop back
there for a look, maybe you have to
trade places with him. Like in a
ghost story.
Elwood laughs at him. Turner starts to wheel himself over to
pull back the curtain, when they suddenly he hear Spencer's
JANGLING keys and his voice.
SPENCER (O.S.)
(from down the ward)
Where's Dr. Cooke? I need to talk
with him.
Turner watches Elwood curl into a ball on the bed, sweating,
covering himself completely with a sheet.
ELWOOD
(quietly)
Do they do it like that to
everybody?
TURNER (O.S.)
(quietly; confessing)
I never been sent down to the White
House. I got smacked across the
face for smoking once.
ELWOOD
I have a lawyer. He can do
something.
TURNER (O.S.)
You already got off lucky.
ELWOOD
How?
TURNER (O.S.)
Sometimes they throw you in Hell. A
sweatbox up in the eaves below that
tar roof. Sweat your soul outta
you.
ELWOOD
Huh.
TURNER (O.S.)
Sometimes they take you and we
never see your ass again.
(CONTINUED)
53.
76 CONTINUED: (4) 76
ELWOOD
What?
TURNER (O.S.)
Your family asks the school what
happened and they say you ran away.
I'll show you sometime, show you
something that's not in books,
where it is. Boot Hill.
Elwood takes this in.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Problem is Elwood, you didn't know
how it works. You wanted to do some
Lone Ranger shit- run up and save a
boy. Mike and them punked out Corey
a long time ago. They play rough.
That's how they do.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I saw his face, he was scared.
TURNER
You don't know what makes him tick.
You won't know what makes anybody
tick. I used to think out there is
out there, and once you're in here,
you're in here. But now that I been
out and I been brought back, I
know. In here and out there are the
same, but in here no one has to act
fake anymore.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
If everyone looks the other way,
then everybody's in on it. If I
look the other way, I'm as
implicated as the rest.
Turner is silent.
ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
It's not how it's supposed to be.
TURNER
Don't nobody care about s'posed to.
The fix has always been in- game's
rigged.
(CONTINUED)
54.
76 CONTINUED: (5) 76
ELWOOD (O.S.)
That's what I'm telling you.
It's not like the old days. We can
stand up for ourselves.
TURNER
That shit barely works out there-
what do you think it's going to do
in here?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
You say that because there's no one
out there sticking up for you.
I got my grandmother, I got a
lawyer.
Turner is cut to the quick- a flash of pain, even jealousy.
Any intent he had to give Elwood the manila envelope from
Hattie, dissolves. He rolls clickety-clack across the room,
dodging obstacles as he speaks about them.
TURNER
(deliberately hurtful)
Yeah? How long it been since you
heard from them? You got to watch
how people act, what they do, and
then you got to figure out how to
get around them like an obstacle
course. If you want to walk out of
here.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Graduate.
Turner spins the wheelchair in a circle-
TURNER
Walk out of here. You think you can
do that? Watch and think and plan?
Cuz nobody else is going to get you
out- not your grandma, not your
lawyer. Just you.
- then pulls back the curtain around the invalid boy. Both
Turner and Elwood are surprised to see the bed is empty.
77 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1960S 77
SILENT. A Black man runs a shell game on the surface of a
makeshift table set up on a city sidewalk, luring a small
crowd of gamblers and onlookers.
55.
78 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - STAIRWELL - 1966 - DAY (D44) 78
Elwood POV walking up the stairs at Nickel. He's about eight
steps from the landing and a turn to the next staircase when
Griff appears coming down the stairs above, hugging close to
the railing. He passes Elwood, moving through him- hard- with
his huge shoulder.
He body-checks Elwood, who is spun 180 degrees. Elwood grabs
the rail and stops in his place, and watches Griff continue
down the stairs.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I'm not scared of you.
Just before he turns the corner, Griff looks back and SMILES,
giving him a nod of respect. Then he disappears from sight.
79 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - BEHIND A BUILDING - 1966 - DAY (D45) 79
Elwood POV, seated on the grass, leaning against a wall, legs
splayed on the ground, left arm resting on his thigh, right
hand weaving a gauze bandage around the fingers of his left
hand, twisting them into a weird shape, then pulling it taut.
80 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - SMALL GYMNASIUM - 1966 - DAY (D46) 80
Turner POV looking up into the raised boxing ring from his
position standing on the ground beside it. Two or three other
boys also look on. Turner's gaze is centered and absently
focused on Griff sparring with Black Mike. He's quick and
lithe but he's getting clobbered by Griff.
Turner's gaze focuses on Black Mike's back and shoulder as it
presses against the ropes of the ring, moving forward and
back. Each time he presses against the rope, there's a little
impression left in his shoulder. Black Mike takes a
pummeling, wavers and sinks on his ass.
Griff spits out the mouthpiece and bellows, raising a gloved
hand. He gestures to Turner, waving him in.
GRIFF
You know you miss it.
TURNER (O.S.)
(shaking his head)
Oh no, all you Griff.
Griff climbs out through the ropes, unspent energy to spare
as the others unlace his gloves.
(CONTINUED)
56.
80 CONTINUED: 80
He feints a punch right at Turner's face. Turner dodges it
insanely fast. Griff smirks. Uh-huh.
81 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D47) 81
Elwood POV waiting with a group of boys as the old tractor
that will haul them out to the fields in the wooden trailer
backs up toward them. Blakeley is lecturing them.
BLAKELEY
Boys, you gotta toughen up. Spider
bite, busted ankle, what's next?
The count's been off. We can't have
those inspectors coming out here
thinking that y'all are lazy or
that I'm not working you hard
enough.
TURNER (O.S.)
(calling out)
Mr. Blakeley. Mr. Blakeley, sir!
Elwood turns with Blakeley to see Turner approaching.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Elwood's been reassigned.
BLAKELEY
Reassigned by who?
TURNER
Harper. Mr. Harper sir. We're short
of hands.
He points to the Community Service van behind him. Harper is
waving to Blakeley from outside the driver's side.
BLAKELEY
Well we're short of hands too, son.
TURNER
Can we take him, sir ?
BLAKELEY
(sighing; to Elwood)
You keep your nose clean.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Yessir.
(CONTINUED)
57.
81 CONTINUED: 81
Elwood follows Turner. They approach the white van from
behind. A large BLOOM OF RUST is visible on the front fender.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV as he turns around and walks backward,
registering that Elwood is walking with difficulty from the
beating he got. In the background, behind Elwood and
interspersed among the waiting group of boys, are some GROWN
MEN wearing the Nickel uniform.
82 INT. COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - NICKEL ACADEMY - 1966 - DAY 82
[CONTINUOUS] (D47)
Elwood POV as they climb into the van's front seat bench,
Elwood beside the window, Turner in the middle, Harper at the
wheel. Harper looks over at Elwood as he pulls out.
HARPER
Turner here says you can keep your
mouth shut, and that you're not a
math dummy.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
What are we doing?
Elwood looks over his shoulder at the back of the van: boxes
of NOTEBOOKS, pencils, erasers, toothpaste and etc. All
issued by the GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
TURNER
It's taking things and making sure
they end up where they're supposed
to end up in the end.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Uh-huh.
TURNER
Sometimes the State gives us more
than we strictly need. So we pass
it on.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
For a fee?
TURNER
"Community Service".
Elwood nods, leans back in his seat, as Harper drives through
the campus grounds.
Harper fiddles the radio dial to a staticky country station.
(CONTINUED)
58.
82 CONTINUED: 82
HARPER
It used to be worse in the old
days, from what my aunt says. But
the State cracked down and now we
only lay off the south campus
stuff.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
You mean the Negro students' stuff.
HARPER
We had this good ole boy who used
to run Nickel, Roberts, who
would've sold the air you breathe
if he could've. Now that was a
crook!
Elwood looks out the window. Conscious of Turner eyeing him.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
It had to end up somewhere.
TURNER
Beats the fields. If you ask me.
It's Elwood's first trip out in the free world since arrival.
The air is cool in his lungs and everything outside the
window dazzles, as they drive away from the Nickel campus.
HARPER
Beats getting mangled in a machine.
83 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - INTAKE BUILDING - 1966 - DAY (D48) 83
Elwood POV walking down a paved walk, following an alligator
at a distance as it takes and turn and lumbers toward the
intake building.
Elwood's gaze is steady on the reptile, but he is also
looking around for another witness as the alligator's TAIL
disappears inside the building.
SPENCER'S VOICE is audible coming from within as Elwood
approaches and stops to peek in from outside. He can only see
a bit of the INTAKE ROOM, but can make out the designations
on the chalkboard: Grub, Explorer, Pioneer, Ace. Spencer is
giving the talk to a new crop of Nickel boys.
SPENCER (O.S.)
...you boys are in charge of
everything.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
59.
83 CONTINUED: 83
SPENCER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Make the concrete blocks in all
these buildings you see here, lay
the bricks, take care of all this
grass. The State's increased our
acreage, and we'll have you
planting more citrus groves next.
Work keeps you level. (beat) And
oranges are good for you.
Elwood POV looks for the alligator. It seems long gone. But
when Elwood looks down at his feet, he finds it standing
right beside him.
84 OMITTED 84
85 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - REC ROOM - 1966 - DAY (D49) 85
Elwood POV writing in a NOTEBOOK he got from the back of the
Community Van. We get a glimpse of some dates, a list as
Elwood's gaze shifts to Black Mike crossing his field of
vision toward Turner.
CUT TO:
Turner POV reading a dilapidated comic book. A shadow creeps
over the page. He looks up to see Black Mike standing there,
deliberately blocking his light. He flips Elwood's penny.
TURNER (O.S.)
(sarcastic)
Bad penny?
Black Mike bucks at Turner, but Turner doesn't flinch. Black
Mike guffaws and walks away. Turner scans the room. A chess
set with the missing pieces replaced by some handmade from
soap; stuffing dribbling from the couches and armchairs;
initials and epithets gouged into tables.
His gaze lands on Elwood, who hasn't noticed anything and is
busily writing in a notebook.
Turner returns to his comic, turns the page.
85A INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - DAY (D49) 85A
Elwood POV from where he's seated on a bed, of Turner walking
a line of tiles on the dorm floor, trying to keep his balance
like it's a sobriety test. Jaime is also hanging out with
them.
(CONTINUED)
60.
85A CONTINUED: 85A
TURNER
(mimicking Blakeley)
"Keep your nose clean."
Elwood and Jaime laugh. Turner adjusts an imaginary tie.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I can smell it on him in the
morning. Whoo...
TURNER
(in Spanish)
Borracho.
JAIME
(nodding)
Enough reasons to drink here.
TURNER
You think he went here?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Huh?
TURNER
They say his name's in the
sweatbox.
86 OMITTED 86
86A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1960S - [DELIBERATELY REPEATED] 86A
SILENT. In the front yard of a suburban home with a white
picket fence, two young Black brothers play. One helps launch
the other into a back flip.
87 OMITTED 87
87A INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - REC ROOM - 1966 - DAY (D49) 87A
Two boys are playing ping pong in the rec room when a small
lizard suddenly runs across the table.
The lizard crawls up the pants of a boy.
61.
88 EXT. NICKEL - GROUNDS - 1966 - LATE AFTERNOON (D50) 88
Elwood POV sitting beside Turner on a lawn on the campus
grounds. They're just, sitting. SOUND of wind in the leaves.
Birds. Sun dappling. A breath of peace.
TURNER (O.S.)
My Aunt Mavis made sure I had nice
clothes for school and three meals.
A guy at the Houston airport
started seeing her. He taught me
how to box. The day I put myself
between Aunt Mavis and his fist, he
took me out for ice cream. "Bring
this boy the biggest sundae you
got." Every bite was like another
sock in the mouth.
ELWOOD
I guess I wouldn't want them to
visit, either. (pause) What about
your real father?
A GROUP OF FIVE BOYS spills out of the gymnasium. Boxers in
training, their hands still taped, they're supposed to go for
a run through campus. Instead, fooling around, they throw
some light punches and one BOY splashes water on a few of
them. They begin to chase the boy, who veers towards Elwood
and Turner.
All the boys are now charging toward them at full speed.
Turner starts to back up in alarm, Elwood tries to pull him
down as the boy being chased, then the other boys in pursuit
run right at them.
TURNER (O.S.)
(shouting)
Hey hey! Look out!
CUT TO:
Turner's POV, panicking as he looks past Elwood at the boys
charging. At the last moment Turner leans back and looks up
as two boys hurdle over them- and in that split second they
are not boys but two GROWN MEN in Nickel uniforms- and
continue their horseplay out of frame.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV as Turner leaps to his feet.
(CONTINUED)
62.
88 CONTINUED: 88
TURNER (CONT'D)
(completely freaking out)
Jackasses! They know I hate that
shit! Fuck y'all! Fuck!
Elwood reaches out and touches him. Turner whips his head
around to look at Elwood, tears in his eyes.
89 OMITTED 89
89A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1960S 89A
A television commercial promoting Florida, the "Sunshine
State" - happy white people frolicking on beaches, water
skiing, reeling in big fish, drinking orange juice.
90 EXT. HARDEE HOUSE - PORCH - MARIANNA - 1966 - DAY (D51) 90
Turner's POV as he and Elwood paint the weathered, faded grey
floorboards of a long porch than runs along the back of a big
pink house with white trim and pillars.
A sparkling blue swimming pool floats in a lush green lawn
surrounded by banana trees, palms and a few pool umbrellas.
An American flag sighs on a pole attached to the house.
A canvas tarp with painting supplies lies nearby.
A voluptuous white woman, MRS. HARDEE (30s, beehive), wearing
Jackie sunglasses and a patterned yellow dress walks toward
them with two glasses of iced orange juice on a platter.
MRS. HARDEE
(approaching)
This is so exciting.
She offers the boys the orange juice.
TURNER (O.S.)
Thank you, Mrs. Hardee, don't mind
if I do.
ELWOOD
Much obliged, ma'am.
MRS. HARDEE
My great-grandfather built this
place 106 years ago. My husband
proposed to me right there.
(CONTINUED)
63.
90 CONTINUED: 90
She points, then spots a bug on her shoulder and flicks it
off.
MRS. HARDEE (CONT'D)
You boys are so nice to help us out
here.
She turns to go, then pauses.
MRS. HARDEE (CONT'D)
Oh, almost forgot, I have a box of
books to donate to the Nickel
library.
ELWOOD
We can help you with that.
MRS. HARDEE
The box is in the garage-
She points to a garage near the house.
MRS. HARDEE (CONT'D)
It's Trollope and Austen and
Dickens and people with names like
that. (singsong) Ta-ta!
They watch her saunter back to the house, past a few BICYCLES
and a dusty tire pump leaning against the wall of the porch,
then return to their painting.
ELWOOD
My grandma once lent me out for ten
cents to give Mrs. Lamont's
outhouse a new coat.
TURNER (O.S.)
Used to be worse around here. When
you graduated you didn't go back to
your family, you had parole and
they sold your monkey ass to people
in the town. You had to work off
your debt.
ELWOOD
Debt from what?
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV.
TURNER
I never thought about it that way.
(CONTINUED)
64.
90 CONTINUED: (2) 90
Elwood shakes a new can of "Dixie White", pries it open and
stirs.
TURNER (CONT'D)
El, don't go too fast. This can be
a three-day job we play it right.
We till the garden and fix up her
house, she may even adopt our black
asses.
Elwood laughs.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Well not you, you got family. I'd
yessum her for a chance out of
Nickel.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
That ain't no freedom. Director
Hardee and his wife ain't supposed
to use us like we're slaves.
TURNER
All those guys on the school board
have us do chores. Sometimes it's
favors, sometimes it's for real
money.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
It's against the law.
TURNER
The law's one thing. You can march
and wave signs around and change a
law if you convince enough white
people. I saw the college kids in
Tampa with their nice shirts and
ties sitting at the Woolworth's. I
had to work, but they were out
protesting. And it happened, they
opened that counter. But I didn't
have the money to eat there either
way. Gotta change the economics of
all this, too.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
My grandma got me that lawyer, man.
Make a move there, first.
TURNER
The courts play both the white and
the black. They move us around when
they ready.
(CONTINUED)
65.
90 CONTINUED: (3) 90
ELWOOD (O.S.)
We have to be knights. Checkmate.
TURNER
How many people done that, El? Only
four ways outta Nickel.
Just then Harper appears, jogging across the lawn.
TURNER (CONT'D)
A hour late. Fly still open.
Elwood laughs.
91 INT. NICKEL - BARN - STALL/HIDING PLACE - 1966 - DAY (D52) 91
Faint SOUND of a ball game.
Elwood's POV, reading one of Mrs. Hardee's donated books in
Turner's secret hiding place in a stall of the school's
dilapidated horse barn. Light streams down through the slats.
Turner's made a nest on the dirt floor among crates of
industrial scrubbing powder, a pillow, and an army blanket.
He's got a transistor radio ear plug in his ear, listening to
a ball game.
TURNER
What's it about?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
A British mother is trying to marry
off her oldest daughter to keep
their estate and title.
TURNER
No one wants to marry her? She
ugly?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
She's described as having a
handsome face.
TURNER
Damn.
Pause.
TURNER (CONT'D)
I know my mother loved me. She just
loved liquor more.
Elwood looks over the top of his book at Turner.
66.
92 OMITTED 92
92A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 92A
TBD, two children playing.
93 EXT. HARDEE HOUSE - POOL - 1966 - DAY (D53) 93
Turner's POV from underwater as he swims in the Hardee's
pool. Through the surface he sees Mrs. Hardee sitting in a
chaise longue in a one-piece bathing suit, a floppy sun hat,
and the Jackie sunglasses. She is cooling her neck with a
paper fan. Elwood dips a foot in to check the temperature.
MRS. HARDEE (O.S.)
(very faintly audible)
Use the steps down here at the
shallow end if you can't swim like
your friend. Take your dungarees
off.
TURNER POV tracks Elwood as he gets up and walks to the
shallow end. A beat, and Turner sees Mrs. Hardee quickly get
up and walk across and out of FRAME, distressed.
Elwood sits on the edge, his legs floating to the surface.
Turner can see them from under the water. The scars on the
back are raised into a terrible maze. He reaches out
underwater, to touch one.
94 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1966 - DAY (D54) 94
Turner's POV as Blakeley, tipsy, enters the dorm room with
the monthly mail call. The boys are sitting on their beds,
trading Negro League baseball cards, playing rummy. Elwood's
writing in his notebook.
BLAKELEY
(Army style)
Desmond! Chickie Pete! Elwood!
Turner sees Elwood look up from his notebook and go to get an
envelope. Chickie Pete with his bald spot gets there before
him. Elwood's just about to take the envelope from Blakeley
when the house man snatches it back. Faint SOUND of a flask
sloshing somewhere in his pockets.
(CONTINUED)
67.
94 CONTINUED: 94
BLAKELEY (CONT'D)
(alcohol on his breath)
Ain't seen you much lately Elwood.
You keepin' your nose clean?
ELWOOD
Yes sir, Mr. Blakeley.
BLAKELEY
(unexpectedly quotes Dr.
King)
"You may have grand designs and
great dreams for yourself, but if
God has decided that your lot is
sweeping streets, work that broom
like Michelangelo painted ceilings,
attack that gutter the way
Beethoven attacked his Ninth
Symphony. Be a bush if you can't be
a tree. If you can't be a highway,
just be a trail. If you can't be a
sun, be a star. Be the best of
whatever you are."
He hands him the envelope and walks off.
Elwood looks at the envelope and his whole face lights up. He
tears it open and sinks onto his bunk already reading it.
Some newspaper articles are included, an account of a Dr.
King speech, and a color spread on the SPACE RACE. He starts
to read the letter and his face clouds over.
TURNER (O.S.)
(tentative; guilty)
Grandma ok?
ELWOOD
She says she visited and they
wouldn't let her see me. (reading)
"He's sick and can't have no
visitors." "What's wrong with him?"
"How the hell should I know, lady?"
(freaking out completely) How can
they do that! Sick? I'm sick?! Look
what they did to me!
95 OMITTED 95
95A OMITTED 95A
68.
96 EXT. NICKEL - BOOT HILL - 1966 - DAY (D55) 96
Elwood's POV as Turner leads him to the iron rings used to
restrain boys to two trees on Boot Hill. Elwood moves closer,
drawn by some discernible movement on them. There are ANTS
crawling in and around and on the iron.
TURNER
Bones'd break before they come
loose.
Beat.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
They've grown into the heart of the
wood.
97 INT. NICKEL - BARN - STALL/HIDING PLACE - 1966 - DAY (D56) 97
Turner POV. He and Elwood are hanging out in the secret
hiding place in the stall of the old horse barn.
ELWOOD
My mother's watch.
TURNER (O.S.)
A deck of marked cards.
ELWOOD
Percy's purple heart. Well, he
threw it away. Feels like I lost
it, though.
TURNER (O.S.)
My big toenail.
Beat.
ELWOOD
That's all you got?
TURNER (O.S.)
(joking)
Really got nothing left to lose,
ha.
ELWOOD
Makes you one dangerous mothaf-
GRIFF (O.S.)
-Yes, sir. (confused) Sir?
They freeze. SOUND of people entering the barn, talking.
(CONTINUED)
69.
97 CONTINUED: 97
SPENCER (O.S.)
...good sportsmanship means
sometimes letting the other team
win.
CUT TO:
Elwood POV as he and Turner look through the gaps between the
wooden boards of the stall. Griff and Spencer are visible
standing in the barn.
SPENCER (CONT'D)
Sometimes.
GRIFF
(not getting it)
I suppose that's right, Mr.
Spencer.
SPENCER
Griff, are you receiving me
clearly? You gotta take a dive in
the third round.
GRIFF
You mean- throw the fight? Lose?
Sir.
SPENCER
Third round. Am I getting through
to you? You got that now?
GRIFF
Yessir, Mr. Spencer.
SPENCER
All right then. You know you can
beat him. That'll have to be
enough...
Spencer herds Griff out of the barn.
SPENCER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
...spirit of the Season of Giving,
Griff.
Turner looks at Elwood.
TURNER
Ain't that some shit?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Don't people bet on this-
(CONTINUED)
70.
97 CONTINUED: (2) 97
TURNER
(angry)
Every year. That match tides us
through a whole 365 days of
humiliations.
98 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - CLASSROOM - 1966 - DAY (D57) 98
Elwood POV as he watches an ANT march along the window sill.
He looks out the window, through the trees, to the campus
statue that some kids are painting white, and beyond to the
pristine buildings of the white boys' side of campus.
98A OMITTED 98A
98B OMITTED 98B
99 OMITTED 99
100 INT. NICKEL - SMALL GYMNASIUM - BOXING MATCH - 1966 - 100
NIGHT (N58)
The roar of the crowd in the gym where the fight is already
underway. SOUND of the bell ending round "1".
From where he's seated in a row of chairs, Elwood's POV of
SPENCER across the ring on the other side as he stands up and
points into the crowd. Elwood turns to look where Spencer's
pointing: to the lone pale(r) face of JAIME on the Black
boys' side in the bleachers. In the row of chairs behind
Spencer, Harper jumps out of his seat and bounds up into the
bleachers.
The black boys HOLLER at Harper, as Jaime, shrugging
resignedly, is hauled over to the white boys' side.
The student body is crammed into small bleachers on all sides
of the ring and below them two rows of chairs are ringside,
with some kids squatting on the floor. White boys are on one
side and Black boys on the other.
Elwood catches a glimpse of EARL at the table ringside with
the trip-gong and the round number card displaying "2".
BLAKELEY is seated with him at the table in front of a mic.
The white REFEREE (30s) is talking with them. The two boxers
are sweating and toweling on stools in their corners.
(CONTINUED)
71.
100 CONTINUED: 100
The bell is RUNG. The fight resumes, round "2".
Elwood's POV follows Jamie's move to the white side of the
bleachers, the white boys clapping Jaime hard on the back,
welcoming him as one of their own.
The white boys start up a STOMPING with their feet on the
bleachers, which is picked up on by the Black boys, the
thunder bouncing off the walls as BIG CHET (white, huge)and
GRIFF collide and joust in the ring.
Through the out-of-focus legs and feet of the gladiators,
Elwood's POV searches the faces on the white side, entranced
by the froth and fury of their hate and enthusiasm.
WHITE BOY 3
(yelling out)
Send him to the undertaker, Big
Chet!
Smug and sure, Spencer takes a swig from a silver flask he
pulls from his jacket and surveys the crowd. His face settles
into a focused scowl.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV turning away from Elwood's profile, seated on
chair beside him, toward the invigorated faces of the Black
boys behind them. The combustion of this moment plays out in
their hollers, their sky-pumped fists, the collective torrent
of energy contorting their physical movements and gestures
into a wild kinesthesia.
ELWOOD
Damn... (pause) look at Griff
strut.
TURNER (O.S.)
If I got all this respect... when's
the next time fools who hate and
fear you are going to treat you
like Harry Belafonte?
SOUND of thuds and thumps as gloves meet bodies, skin on
sweating skin.
CUT TO:
Abstracted CU of boys hollering.
CUT TO:
(CONTINUED)
72.
100 CONTINUED: (2) 100
CU of a boy with his neighbor in a headlock, jumping up and
down.
CUT TO:
Abstracted CU of a boy's eyes full of haptic passion.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Do you think he'll knock him down?
CUT TO:
Abstracted CU of a boy's knees moving up and down like a
crank shaft.
CUT TO:
CU of a boy's face suspended in a sublime hope.
ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Turner, that's a hundred dollar
bill!
CUT TO:
Turner's wider angle POV, as he turns away from the crowd of
rowdy boys to Elwood, who meets his gaze.
TURNER (O.S.)
Yep. Fat cats from all three
counties. Stakes get higher every
year.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV catches, as he turns away from Turner and spies
across the ring and through the legs and bodies clashing in a
blur, the tail end of a bet being placed in the fat cat
section: a well-dressed white man hands a $100 bill to a
neighboring patron. SPENCER, DIRECTOR HARDEE and MRS. HARDEE
are beside them with a few Nickel staff.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Cracker looks like Frankenstein.
Square head, long arms. Look at
those arms, man. Those things are
pistons. Smoked hams.
Through the ropes, Elwood watches Spencer's line of
spectators across from them, their white faces cool and
composed with excitement, relishing the bloodsport.
SOUNDS of the fight. The crowd bellows and jeers.
(CONTINUED)
73.
100 CONTINUED: (3) 100
Elwood sees another White man lean over and whisper something
into his neighbor's ear, prompting him to reaching into the
breast pocket of his blazer and pull out a wad of cash, which
he immediately passes to the whispering man, who passes it to
the man beside him, who passes it then to the man who
accepted the $100 bill earlier.
TURNER (CONT'D)
Man, he's dancing and ducking... Go
right at it! Stick, stick, stick
and move'em.
SHOUTS from directly behind them:
BLACK BOY 3 (O.S.)
Griff's having ribs for dinner!
SHOUTS in response:
WHITE BOY 4 (O.S.)
C'mon Chet, spray that blood!
WHITE BOY 5 (O.S.)
Knock those white teeth outta that
black boy's mouth!
SOUND of the bell. The two boys slink over to their
respective corners. Elwood turns his attention away from the
fat cats to Earl, who flips the round number card to "3",
before reaching in his pocket, pulling out a wad of cash,
beginning to count.
Elwood's gaze returns to Spencer, who is lighting a cigar, as
if he just closed the business deal of the century.
TURNER (O.S.)
Third round. This is it.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Earl too, huh.
TURNER
This is it El.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV turning away from Elwood to look at the split
crowd of black boys and white boys directly behind Earl, the
line separating the two halves invisible, an interface none
the less between two fates, two statuses of citizen.
CUT TO:
(CONTINUED)
74.
100 CONTINUED: (4) 100
CU of a white boy mouthing "get that nigger" in slow motion
and silently.
CUT TO:
CU of a Black boy with both his hands pressing his face in
from each side, distressed at the uncertain outcome of the
final round.
CUT TO:
CU of a white boy with his head tilted, his hand raised over
his head, pulling on something invisible, miming hanging
himself.
SOUNDS of boxing and the crowd's roar.
CUT TO:
CU of a Black boy's face partly obscured by his hands in a
clasped position, almost praying, his gaze almost glazed over
in a petrified worry.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Damn. You don't think... Griff
could knock out Big Chet by
accident?
CUT TO:
Turner's POV in a wider shot of the half Black half white
sections, turns to Elwood who again meets his gaze.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV turns to Spencer, whose attention on the fight
appears the height of stoicism. His face menacing without
effort, his eyes tracking the movements of the fighters as an
apex predator would.
TURNER
Jab! Jab! Roll that shoulder. Left,
left hook, Griff!
Director Hardee hands someone a cigar. Mrs. Hardee takes one
and everyone watches her blow smoke. Elwood turns back to the
ring, where ringside Black Mike hangs on the ropes.
BLACK BOY 3 (O.S.)
Big Chet's gonna be toothless as my
granny!
(CONTINUED)
75.
100 CONTINUED: (5) 100
CHICKIE PETE
Witchdoctor give him the whole
bucket of aspirin and he'll still
have a headache!
WHITE BOY 3 (O.S.)
Send him to the undertaker!
BLACK MIKE
(screaming at Big Chet)
You knock-kneed piece of shit!
The Referee kicks their hands away.
TURNER
He's making it look good for sure.
Elwood turns and looks again across the brown worn floor of
the ring, through the blurred waltzing limbs of the boxers,
to Spencer and his patrons. Spencer's expression is clouding,
his cigar dangling out of his mouth, peevish.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
He's putting a hurt on that white
boy at least before he goes down,
makes me feel all right.
Elwood shakes his head. He looks at Jaime, sitting calmly
beside a stoic and controlled Harper. Jamie looks back at
Elwood. A line of BLOOD starts slowly leaking from one of
Jaime's nostrils.
Suddenly the white side rises to their feet, the Black side
following suit, as the steady increase of raw THUDS from the
ring rises to the level of a rhythmic smashing.
COREY
(stuttering)
KKKkkk's gonna be crying under
their hoods all week!
Elwood's POV is still fixed on Spencer, the noise ramps as a
temporal threshold is crossed.
TURNER
(expecting Griff to throw)
He's about to go. He's about to
fall.
Big Chet hauls off and squashes Griff's nose. The Black boys
GROAN. But Griff doesn't drop.
(CONTINUED)
76.
100 CONTINUED: (6) 100
Elwood's gaze leaves Spencer to whip over to the fat cats who
are visibly concerned. They lean forward to look periodically
at Spencer who stares at the fighters with a steaming rage.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Now.
But instead, Griff hits Big Chet hard with some body blows.
Chet stumbles backward, his feet partly obscuring Elwood's
view of Spencer. A steady increase in thuds has crept into
the soundscape: the SOUND of fist against wood, emanating
from the left of Elwood.
Elwood turns to look at Turner whose intensity is a strangled
pain. He looks down to see Turner punching the back of the
chair in front of them, alternating slowly: left... right...
left... right... left. His knuckles are bruised and dotted
with blood.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
... Turner-
A smashing, left... right... left... right... left...
The Black boys ROAR.
ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
...Turner!
The SOUND of the fight, the crowd, their cheers, their
stomps, the wet-leather pops of contact, all zero to a
distant atmospheric drone, a unified hum pushed into the
background, creating a sound vacuum around Elwood and Turner.
Finally hearing his name, Turner turns and looks at Elwood.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV as he stares back at his puzzled, concerned
friend. He looks down at his knuckles. A HOLLOW BELL rings
somewhere - the final bell. Turner fixes unflinchingly on
Elwood's face. The SOUND of the match and crowd comes ROARING
back.
ELWOOD (CONT'D)
(almost completely drowned
out; lips moving)
This, isn't the fight.
A beat. Turner nods almost imperceptibly, then turns back to
the fight to see both boxers leaning exhaustedly in their
corners, then looks at Elwood again who is also now looking
in that direction.
(CONTINUED)
77.
100 CONTINUED: (7) 100
ELWOOD (CONT'D)
(alarmed)
Damn.
Turner looks at Spencer, malevolent fury on his face. One of
the white men, red-faced, reaches over and grabs his arm,
barking something at him. Griff, as if suddenly realizing,
lumbers across the ring to the Referee, who consults with the
table man. The noise of the crowd drowns out his words.
Black Mike jumps in the ring to support Griff.
The Referee heads back to the center of the ring, grabbing
Griff's wrist to lead him, where he's joined by Big Chet. He
takes Griff's arm and thrusts it up into the air.
Griff panics, breaks away from his friends and jumps down
into the crowd, trying to move toward Spencer. It's no use,
the Black boys are clearing the stands and swarming their
champion. They smother and lift him.
GRIFF
(screaming to Spencer)
I thought it was still the second!
I thought it was the second!
He's still screaming as the Black boys carry him out,
CHEERING and WHOOPING. Griff is looking back over his
shoulder at Spencer, tears pouring from his swollen eyes.
FADE UP SOUND of:
Adult Elwood humming White Christmas along with a radio.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(humming only)
I'm, I'm dream-ing, dreaming of a
white, white Christmas. Just like
the ones I used to know-wo...
101 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HARLEM - 1968 - NIGHT (N-FF3) 101
... continuing over into Adult Elwood's (18) POV into the
large industrial sink of a Harlem NY restaurant kitchen. One
of his hands is underwater holding a plate up, and the other
is washing it in a circular motion. The radio is on a shelf
above him. Bustling restaurant kitchen SOUNDS all around him.
(CONTINUED)
78.
101 CONTINUED: 101
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(humming only)
...Honey, it's where the treetops,
treetops glisten Little bitty,
little bitty, little bitty
children, they'll try to listen...
He pauses to watch rainbows form on the surface of large
soapsud bubbles.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(humming only)
...To hear, hear for the sleigh
bells that are ringing in the snow-
wo-wo.
102 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DUSK (D59) 102
Elwood POV watching some Black boys sitting on each other's
shoulders circling a tall tree, garlanding Christmas tinsel
and colored lights around it, in a slow, impressive spiral
moving down the widening girth of the tree.
103 OMITTED 103
104 OMITTED 104
105 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1960S 105
Color 8mm home movie footage (47 sec) of a Christmas morning,
Black boys opening packages under a tree. Baseball gloves,
red sweaters or socks, bowties, boxes of tin army men... They
are boys from a nice house in a nice neighborhood where it's
quiet at night and nightmare-less.
ASTRONAUT (V.O.)
(Apollo 8, December 24th
1968, orbiting the moon)
I hope that all of you back on
Earth can see what we mean when we
say it's a rather foreboding
horizon. A rather stark and
unappetizing looking place. We're
now going over one of our future
landing sites selected in this
smooth region called The Sea of
Tranquility.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
79.
105 CONTINUED: 105
ASTRONAUT (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Smooth to make it easy for the
initial landing attempt, in order
to preclude having to dodge
mountains. Now you can see the long
shadows of the lunar sunrise.
SOUND of the static and crackles of the transmission from
Apollo 8, no voices, continues over into...
106 INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN - HARLEM - 1968 - NIGHT (N-FF3) 106
... and combines with the ever fainter background SOUNDS of a
busy kitchen around Adult Elwood POV. His hands are
underwater in a deep sink, watching one bubble in particular
that has grown in size and stands above the others. He moves
in a bit closer for a concentrated view of its curve.
The sound of silence and static of the lunar broadcast
continues for 10 seconds.
107 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1968 107
The Apollo 8 live feed orbiting the moon. The audio continues
through the three astronauts taking turns reading Genesis.
ASTRONAUTS (O.S.)
- In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth. And the earth
was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. And
God said, Let there be light: and
there was light. And God saw the
light, that it was good: and God
divided the light from the
darkness.
- And God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night. And
the evening and the morning were
the first day.
- And God said, Let there be a
firmament in the midst of the
waters, and let it divide the
waters from the waters. And God
made the firmament, and divided the
waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which
were above the firmament: and it
was so. And God called the
firmament Heaven.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
80.
107 CONTINUED: 107
ASTRONAUTS (O.S.) (CONT'D)
And the evening and the morning
were the second day.
- And God said, Let the waters
under the heavens be gathered
together unto one place, and let
the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth,
and the gathering together of the
waters called He the Seas: and God
saw that it was good.
- And so from the crew of Apollo 8,
we close with good night, good
luck, Merry Christmas, and God
bless all of you, all of you on the
good Earth.
The broadcast ends, the Apollo 8 color roll jiggles into
place:
WAITER (O.S.)
Saved 1968.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Ain't no saving 1968.
108 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - DAY (D60) 108
Turner's POV from a distance, of the torso of an enormous red
and white papier-mâché Santa Claus, with outstretched arms
and mittened hands, lying at the foot of a large oak tree.
Head nowhere in sight.
109 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1966 - NIGHT (N60) 109
Elwood POV standing near the base of a large tree waiting for
something. He watches five boys walking in the darkness
toward him down the large main drive of Nickel. In the
background, three white boys equipped with flashlights are
walking toward their side of campus. SOUND of distant voices
fading in the night, some excitement before a general quiet
falls across the campus.
Then there's a WHOOPING as the Christmas lights decorating
the campus are turned on. Elwood moves forward from the tree
to get a better view and catches a glimpse of Turner, who is
there with him.
TURNER (O.S.)
The first Christmas here is the
hardest.
(CONTINUED)
81.
109 CONTINUED: 109
Green, red and white bulbs sketch a route of holiday cheer
along the trees and the campus buildings. Far off in the
dark, the big Santa - with his papier-mâché head now on - is
lit up and glowing.
The sublime moment is interrupted by the Community Service
van pulling up behind Elwood, headlights on. Harper is behind
the wheel and looks at Turner, together with Elwood again, as
he cruises by slowly on his way out of campus. A Santa hat is
on his head.
110 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D61) 110
Elwood POV from where he's seated at an empty picnic table
he's staked out under a tree. Families are gathering at two
or three other tables on this warm winter afternoon. It's a
visiting day.
Elwood sees Hattie before she sees him. She looks years
older, walking slowly toward the area. She's thinner, her
collar bones trace a line across her green dress.
When she spots Elwood she halts briefly as Elwood gets up,
and then hurriedly sits down across from him.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Nanna.
They look at each other close, but she finds she can't hold
his gaze.
COREY (O.S.)
(no stutter)
Can we squeeze in with y'all?
Elwood looks up at Corey, but before he can answer, his
MOTHER (20s), heavily made-up, hair teased 60s-style and
manicured, smiles insecurely and sits down. They are LOUD and
HAPPY beside Hattie, who is church-quiet.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
It's been a long wait for some good
news.
Hattie nods, coughs (nervously).
HATTIE
Lyndon Johnson's carrying on
President Kennedy's civil rights
bill. And if that good old boy is
doing right, you know things is
changing. Be a whole different
thing when you come home, Elwood.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
82.
110 CONTINUED: 110
HATTIE (CONT'D)
You pick up right where you left
off, with no more hassle.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Huh, yeah.
HATTIE
I'm sure Melvin Briggs will have
you. And those books you were
reading ain't gone nowhere.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Hmm.
HATTIE
I've been taking less work and
spending more time at the church.
And I told the trash men to be
careful with that big truck, the
way they block the road and so
early in the morning, when you can
really hear everyone get out of
bed. Well not everybody. The house
across the way burned down. Burned
a whole day straight. The smoke was
something awful.
Corey's mother is jittery, looking at herself in a compact.
COREY
You look b-beautiful, mama.
She tucks the compact away, shakes her head, then smiles
unconvincingly.
Elwood reaches across the table and takes Hattie's hands. Her
fingers tremble, he stills them.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Nanna, what is it? What's wrong?
A beat.
HATTIE
El, he's gone. Mr. Andrews, you
know, our lawyer who's so
optimistic about your appeal- I
went downtown to see him, I took
the bus. I had paid him $200 which
wasn't enough.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
83.
110 CONTINUED: (2) 110
HATTIE (CONT'D)
But he was so adamant persuasive
with Mr. Marconi that he and his
wife kicked in another $100, and
then that was all right.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
You mean he's gone... he didn't...
after all this time...
HATTIE
The landlord was showing the office
to a dentist. When I asked for Mr.
Andrews they just looked through me
like I wasn't there neither. He
picked up stakes to Atlanta without
a word.
Elwood's attention ebbs with his spirit... his gaze drifts...
Hattie becomes blurry.
HATTIE (CONT'D)
He took that $300. And he knows, he
said, what we got on our hands is a
"classic miscarriage of justice". I
know we hoped to have you out of
here by now and I think...
ELWOOD (O.S.)
It's okay, Nanna.
HATTIE (O.S.)
I let you down, El.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
I'm okay Nanna. I'm hanging in
there.
HATTIE (O.S.)
You got any friends? How about
Turner?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(taken aback)
Turner? How d'you-
HATTIE
(oblivious)
I didn't know how I was gonna get
you that package, that day-
Elwood's gaze slowly fixates on the pulsing of the blood
vessel in his grandmother's neck.
(CONTINUED)
84.
110 CONTINUED: (3) 110
HATTIE (CONT'D)
(oblivious)
-and there he was. I like him, he's
polite, looked me in the eye. That
was a real kindness...
111 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D61) 111
Turner POV standing near a seated Elwood, watching as Elwood
twists an oak leaf and pulls the leafy parts off bit by bit.
TURNER (O.S.)
I'm sorry, El. I don't know why I
didn't give you that letter. I
guess I was...
ELWOOD
It's okay, Turner. Doesn't matter
now anyway.
He contemplates what remains of the leaf, the skeleton and
stem. Four sections torn away. A fifth section of leaf is
still there clinging to the stem, in the deafening silence.
Then Elwood turns his head and looks up at Turner.
CUT TO:
Elwood POV looking up at Turner's sorrowful face.
112 INT. WIDOWER APARTMENT - NEW YORK - 1975 - DAY (D-FF4) 112
Adult Elwood POV looking down through an empty bed frame at
the faded ghostly outline of a leaf, formed from being
pressed a very long time against the floor.
The bed starts to rise, as if levitating. Adult Elwood looks
up to see his colleague LARRY (20s, burly, Black) wearing a
jumpsuit that says Horizon Movers, picking up that side of
the bed frame. Adult Elwood picks up his side and they move
it from the bedroom, turning it sideways so it will fit
through the door.
LARRY
Elwood this might be solid brass,
man. (beat) I got dibs on this.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(shushing him)
Shh... somebody died.
(CONTINUED)
85.
112 CONTINUED: 112
LARRY
In this bed?
On their way through the apartment, they pass a WIDOWER
(70s), bewildered with grief. A YOUNG WOMAN, presumably his
daughter, takes him by the arm and tugs him gently out of
their way. She resembles a younger Hattie.
WIDOWER
(softly; directly to Adult
Elwood as he passes)
But where will we rest?
Adult Elwood looks back at them as he walks with the bed
frame, not seeing their faces again.
113 OMITTED 113
114 OMITTED 114
115 EXT. STREET [UNDER PORTICO] - MARIANNA - 1967 - DAY (D62) 115
Elwood POV is under a portico, looking up at himself and
Turner in the reflective surface of its underside.
ELWOOD
We can walk around?
TURNER
We don't got to make a scene, but
yeah. Don't look scared.
The white people of Marianna are eyeing them as they pass to
and fro on the sidewalk, trying to account for the two
unescorted Black boys in their state-issued uniforms but
dismissing the thought that it's beyond their control.
ELWOOD
It's weird being out here.
TURNER
Wait until you're out-out.
Turner looks around.
ELWOOD
How would you do it?
TURNER
(understanding the
question immediately)
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
86.
115 CONTINUED: 115
TURNER (CONT'D)
Well I wouldn't run into the swamp,
hide in there until the coast is
clear and hitch somewhere West or
North. That's how they get you. And
you can't wash no scent off, that's
only in movies.
Beat.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
... so what would you do?
TURNER
So I'd head out here into the free
world, snatch clothes from a wash
line. Head South, because they
ain't expecting it. Put as many
miles between me and the dogs as I
can, tire them out. The trick is
not doing what they know you going
to do.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Yeah, well why wouldn't they know
you trying not to do what they
think you going to-
Turner throws his arm around Elwood, pulling him closer, and
looks up into the reflective surface above them.
TURNER
-and don't take no one with you.
Not one of those dummies. They'll
take you down with them.
ELWOOD
(smiling)
Hmm.
TURNER
(smiling)
Gotta go it alone.
Elwood chuckles and they walk off, emerging from under the
portico into the sun.
115A EXT. MAIN STREET SIDEWALK - MARIANNA - 1967 - DAY (D62) 115A
Turner's POV walking with Elwood, sees Elwood's demeanor
change as he suddenly notices something on the other side of
the street. He darts into the road, moving through the
traffic diagonally across the street. A car HONKS at him.
(CONTINUED)
87.
115A CONTINUED: 115A
TURNER (O.S.)
(panicking)
Elwood! What-
He follows and sees the NOTEBOOK fall out of Elwood's jacket
into the road.
CUT TO:
Elwood'S POV rushing, maneuvering around the cars, toward
something on the opposite sidewalk. A few HONKs, as then he
slows down and stops abruptly at the sight of DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. being abruptly picked up by a white man in a
suit and tie and carried off. He's a cardboard cut-out.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV of Elwood looking amazed and confounded as he
catches up to him.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
What happened to not making a
scene? You think Rev'rend King's
out here in Mariana opening
supermarkets?
He holds out the notebook, which Elwood practically grabs
from him as Turner pulls Elwood along the sidewalk.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Why you got to carry that around?
Anyone'd think you a student.
ELWOOD
I've been writing everything down.
TURNER (O.S.)
Everything what?
ELWOOD
Our `community service' (beat) The
deliveries, the pay-offs, the yard
work, the chores. The names of
everybody and the dates.
TURNER (O.S.)
Why would you do a thing like that?
ELWOOD
You told me. No one else can get me
out of here, just me.
(CONTINUED)
88.
115A CONTINUED: (2) 115A
TURNER (O.S.)
Nobody ever listens to me, why you
got to start?
ELWOOD
It's not an obstacle course,
Turner. You can't go around it, you
have to go through it. Walk with
your head up no matter what they
throw at you.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV of Turner.
TURNER
I get it, you mad and need to get
it off your chest, that's cool, but-
ELWOOD (O.S.)
-I'm telling you. There's a fifth
way out: Get. Rid. Of. Nickel.
TURNER
They put us in the goddamn ground!
Turner jabs at Elwood. SOUND of a HONKING car HORN.
TURNER (CONT'D)
They going to take you out back,
and bury your ass. God! Then take
me out back, too. Elwood I vouched
for you man, the hell is wrong with
you?!
He watches Turner furiously walk off, then follows him. SOUND
of two loud, quick HONKED HORN blasts. The street noise
increases.
A WHITE WOMAN pushing a pram down the sidewalk toward them
gets visibly panicked and pulls the pram cover over her baby.
The HORN is insistent.
Turner and Elwood split up to walk around the carriage,
Turner ahead on one side, Elwood slightly behind on the
other. Harper pulls up on the other side of the road. He's
the one HONKING the horn, gesticulating urgently for them to
come back and get in.
116 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - REC ROOM - 1967 - DAY (D63) 116
Turner's POV, standing over a chessboard, as he holds out
first one clenched fist then another to Turner.
(CONTINUED)
89.
116 CONTINUED: 116
ELWOOD (O.S.)
This, or this?
Turner tilts his head up, looks at Elwood, then looks back
down at Elwood's balled fists.
Turner abruptly grabs one of Elwood's fists and PUNCHES him
with it. Elwood staggers backwards, stunned, his hands drop
the chess pieces he was holding. They are both black knights.
117 INT. LIVING AREA - TENEMENT APARTMENT - NYC - 1975 - DUSK 117
(D-FF5)
Adult Elwood (25) POV of a TV screen in the living area of a
tenement apartment. The local NYC station is playing the
sequence of images of 1970s New York landmarks at night that
opens the "Million Dollar Movie" of the week.
SOUNDS of the big city outside. It's a wintry day, the
radiator is CLANKING. Faint SOUND, almost an hallucination,
of a woman's voice calling out "Elwood! Elwood!"
DENISE (O.S.)
(entering)
You hear me outside?
His girlfriend DENISE (20s, Black) enters the apartment and
crosses his eye-line, going into the kitchen with the paper
bags of groceries she's carrying.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
What?
He gets up and turns down the volume.
DENISE
This rat ran across my feet and I
screamed. That was me.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Denise. Hathor. Scared of a little
ole rodent.
DENISE
Sh-, was big as a dog. (beat)
Barked like one too.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Maybe it was a dog.
ADULT ELWOOD uncrinkles a flyer from a laundromat.
(CONTINUED)
90.
117 CONTINUED: 117
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Found one, a `67 Econoline. Needs a
new finish, but the guys on 125th
owe me one. I can supplement the
Horizon shifts with my own jobs.
Weekends too. And bring on Larry.
Beat.
DENISE
You think you can really count on
him?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Larry bellyaching about this child
support is about as dependable as
US Steel. If there is one thing
he'll do, it's work.
Beat.
DENISE
That's great El. It's really
happening. What'll you call it?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Not sure yet, something easy to
find in the Yellow Pages.
She comes over with a steaming hot cocoa and kneads the spot
on his back where it hurts.
DENISE
There's some rum in that. I got us
some sandwiches, too.
She reaches for the TV trays next to the couch.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Baby, I'll get it.
DENISE
But your back?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Just keep those hands ready.
He puts the trays together.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Whoever invented these deserves a
Nobel prize. Now if they can just
work on this-
(CONTINUED)
91.
117 CONTINUED: (2) 117
The Defiant Ones is playing on the TV.
DENISE
Oh it already started.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
"You're married to me, now - here's
the ring."
DENISE
What?
118 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 118
Full-screen. The Defiant Ones: two escaped convicts, Sidney
Poitier and Tony Curtis, are bound together and arguing.
Poitier suggests the exact opposite of what Turner proposed
to Elwood about escape.
SIDNEY POITIER
(on the TV)
You're married to me, all right,
joker, and here's the ring. But I
ain't goin' South on no honeymoon
now.
He's holding up the chains that bind him to Tony Curtis.
DENISE (O.S.)
You should watch what you say, El.
(beat) I'd marry Sidney Poitier.
119 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - 1970S 119
Color footage of Black boys playing chess in Washington
Square Park NYC in the 1970s.
120 INT. COMMUNITY SERVICE VAN - GROUNDS - NICKEL - 1967 - 120
NIGHT (N64)
Elwood's POV from the front seat of the Community Service van
as they drive along a gravel road through fog on the Nickel
Grounds. Harper pulls up to a padlocked storehouse. Turner
gets out and walks away.
HARPER (O.S.)
Where's he going?
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(calling after him)
Turner!...
(CONTINUED)
92.
120 CONTINUED: 120
He ignores Elwood.
ELWOOD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Turner! (yelling) You have the key?
Turner keeps walking. Harper gets out the driver's side,
steps up on the floor of the van to lean on the top.
HARPER
(sharply)
Turner! Get your nig- (restarts)
get your ass back over here. You
have the key or not? I'm tired of
your shit.
Turner comes back, looking straight at Elwood only and SMACKS
the key on the dashboard, then turns on his heel and stalks
off.
HARPER (CONT'D)
(muttering in disbelief)
Goddamn baby. Waste of time, man.
Head full of stump water.
Elwood takes in Harper's fury.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
Give him a break.
HARPER
(whipping his head around
to him)
What are you, his girlfriend?
121 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1967 - NIGHT (N65) 121
Turner POV awakening to the ROAR of the White House fan. He
looks over to Elwood's bed across the room, and it's empty.
He walks across the room, looks under the bed, catching a
glimpse of the legs of someone who is sliding out and
climbing up to the top on the other side. Turner steps back
and sees a GROWN MAN climbing into Elwood's bed. After a
beat, the man rolls off the other side of the bed, crawling
back under, and Elwood, from the opposite side, climbs up and
replaces him.
TURNER (O.S.)
(shocked)
El... (beat) Elwood.
Turner looks into the wide-awake, alert face of Elwood on the
bed, but receives no reciprocal acknowledgement.
(CONTINUED)
93.
121 CONTINUED: 121
Elwood seems to take a half-second nap, eyes closing in
repose, then he pops awake and rolls off the bed and under it
again. No sooner does he disappear than the Grown Man rolls
up from the other side and takes his place.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(afraid)
Elwood? Elwood?
The Grown Man does not appear to see him. Turner slowly backs
away and gets a wider view of the room, and realizes that
this surreal rotation choreography is happening in EVERY bed
with boys and men spanning all ages.
122 OMITTED 122
123 INT. BAR - NEW YORK - 1988 - DAY (D-FF6) 123
Adult Elwood (38) POV seated on a stool watching a TV above
the bar that's showing the end of the NY Marathon. A steady
stream of sinewy runners is finishing. TV camera crews in
small vehicles trail them, white cops on motorcycles.
The spectators lining the course are all types of people:
Black, white, Puerto Rican, rich, poor, etc. They stand
pressed against the blue wooden police barriers, some on the
shoulders of daddies or boyfriends. SOUND of wolf whistles,
air horns, ghetto blasters.
SOUND of other people in the bar cheering them on, laughing.
A man [ADULT CHICKIE PETE] enters somewhere behind Adult
Elwood and ambles to the far end of the bar, in Adult
Elwood's peripheral vision. He leans over to ask the
BARTENDER (20s, white, pumped) a question, and gets a
negative shake of the head. Deflated, ADULT CHICKIE PETE
glances in Adult Elwood's direction.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
(surprised)
Hey... (moving closer) Hey, man!
Adult Elwood turns his head slowly away from the TV to take
the full measure of the man moving toward him, on crackhead
alert. The man is wearing a green Jets sweatshirt and red
track pants a size too big - borrowed.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
(grinning)
Hey man! Long time, long time! How
ya been!
(CONTINUED)
94.
123 CONTINUED: 123
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(guarded; trying to place
him)
Aight.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
It's me, man, Pete Evans... Chickie
Pete. How you doing?
Bingo.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Chickie Pete. You look good.
He has that too-raw thing people have when they just get out
of a clinic. Adult Chickie Pete slaps him five.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
Damn. Shit man. Been ages! Beer? On
me?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(shifting to stand)
I got an early morning-
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
Naw naw man, you gotta let me buy
you a beer.
Before Adult Elwood can respond, he signals the bartender,
holds up two fingers.
Adult Elwood's POV sweeps the bar. Among the regular patrons
(5), there are two boys (aged 8 & 10) and a man in running
gear with marathon race bibs on, as if they took a detour
from the course and are now watching their fellow runners
finish on the TV.
He follows their gaze back to the TV screen. Only the
stragglers are coming in now, half-walking or stumbling
across the finish line, not so much running the course as
running deep into their own character. A few have people
waiting to wrap them in thermal foil blankets, most don't.
The bartender placing pints on coasters in front of them
brings Adult Elwood's focus back to Adult Chickie Pete, who's
been talking.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
...I mighta played professional, if
things had been different.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
You think so?
(CONTINUED)
95.
123 CONTINUED: (2) 123
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
(smacks his lips)
For sure, man, I used to...
Adult Chickie Pete gently brings his hands up in a playing
motion, closes his eyes, tilts his head back and sways to an
imaginary TRUMPET solo. He looks truly majestic, a radiating
smile between lip movements. SOUND of a trumpet playing.
Adult Elwood glances to see if the bartender has noticed the
horn. It stops as Adult Chickie Pete drops his now shaking
hands to the bar, pops his knuckles, and nostalgically sways
his head as the dream disappears back into the never-was.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
... I coulda been in a funk band,
an orch-est-ra! Ha. Haydn, Bach
Vivaldi, backing up Miles... A
doctor inventing shit that saves
lives. I got ideas man. Nickel.
Damn. You know, I still remember
the periodic table of elements.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(fascinated)
Huh?
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
It's how I got started cooking.
You know one brotha dreamed that
whole thing up. Dmitri Mendeleev or
some shit. Ha. (beat) He also made
that Russian vodka 40 proof. I'm
not thankful for those times. That
was a long time ago. My hands man.
He holds up two crabbed fingers. These are not the same
inspired hands of a moment ago.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
I just spent 30 days drying out.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Oh...
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
It's okay I can handle it now. I
always drank. Then it was like the
more I tried to settle down, the
more I got blotto every night.
Couldn't sleep in the dark. Still
can't sleep in the dark.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
96.
123 CONTINUED: (3) 123
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
Last May I got into it with this
guy, the judge says either jail or
a program, no choice at all there.
I'm living with my sister in
Harlem. She's letting me stay while
I figure out my next move. I've
always liked it up there. But shit
man, you know Chickie Pete gon' be
awright. If it's one thing Nickel
taught me, it's how not to die. Ha.
(beat) What you up to?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
I got a moving company, trucks,
employees.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
My man! Moving on up! You got a
lady?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
No. I mean, I did, but it didn't
work out. "Denise." She said I had
a lotta work to do on myself.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
I hear you, I hear you. Hard to
find somebody who could understand.
ADULT ELWOOD
Yeah, I'm still looking for the
"one". Maybe some day.
Adult Chickie Pete orders another beer, outpacing him as the
bartender serves two underage BLONDE CO-EDs first.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
You seen any of the guys? I've ran
into some over the years. Black
Mike's a crook, Nelson's strung
out, Desmond lost an arm in `Nam.
Yeah. You got out in `67?
Beat.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(incredulous)
You don't remember?
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
Remember what?
(CONTINUED)
97.
123 CONTINUED: (4) 123
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(sore now)
You really don't remember?
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
What? Shit, I remember what they
did to Griff. Sshhitt. What they
did to me. (beat) When they stuffed
that kid in the big dryer. (dark
chuckle to himself) And the one
they made eat a lightbulb, ha. You
know what I remember?! The effing
ghost... man, slipping on skin,
flesh, whatever the hell it was in
the shower. Yeah. What else you
want me to remember?
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
(gate firmly shut)
-Nothing. Time served. And they
kicked me out. (beat) I went up to
Atlanta and then trained it going
north. You know, been here since
`68. Twenty years.
He drains his glass. All this time he's taken it as a given
that he was a Nickel legend.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
Yeah, that's nice. Everybody's
welcomed here... what happened to
that kid you used to hang around
with all the time?
Beat.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Which kid?
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
The kid, you know- y'all thought
that hiding place was so secret.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Hmm.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
Gotta take a leak, it'll come back
to me.
He goes off to the bathroom, makes a remark to the coeds at a
table. They laugh at him when he goes into the men's room.
(CONTINUED)
98.
123 CONTINUED: (5) 123
An ambulance goes by outside and in the dark mirror behind
the liquor, Adult Elwood has a blurred vision of himself, and
WE SEE HIM for the first time as well, outlined in a bright
red, a shimmering aura that marks him. The entire bar lights
up with the fluttering of blue and red.
He sweeps up a napkin and, one handed, quickly rolling it
into a thin tortilla, kneading it over in his palm with
intense pressure- is suddenly mad that an idiot like Chickie
Pete is still breathing and his friend isn't.
Adult Chickie Pete claps him on the shoulder. He turns.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
I got to go, man.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
No no, I hear you, me too. (pause)
I don't want to ask. But if you're
looking for a hand, I could use the
job. I'm sleeping on a couch.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Right.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
You have a card?
Adult Elwood pulls out his wallet, opens it and glances at
his ACE Movers business card: Mr. Elwood Curtis, President.
Then snaps it shut before Adult Chickie Pete sees it.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
Not on me.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE
I can handle the work, is what I'm
putting out there.
He writes up his sister's phone number on a red bar napkin.
ADULT CHICKIE PETE (CONT'D)
You ring me up- for the old days.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
I will.
Adult Elwood looks at Adult Chickie Pete as he leaves, sees
the familiar shape of his bald spot on the back of his head.
He considers whether to mention the bar tab, then reaches
into his wallet, and slaps a $20 on the bar.
(CONTINUED)
99.
123 CONTINUED: (6) 123
As he turns back toward the closing door, he sees an
ALLIGATOR TAIL slipping out. He walks out after it, tossing
the red napkin.
124 OMITTED 124
125 INT. NICKEL - INTAKE BUILDING - 1967 - DAY (D66) 125
Turner POV of the boys lining up in the basement of the
intake building, getting fresh uniforms from Nickel staff
under the oversight of Blakeley, who is unusually sober.
BLAKELEY
You boys mess up, it's your ass.
You know Mr. Spencer will have it
in for you if he catches your shirt
untucked or your dirty drawers
hanging out of a footlocker.
Turner scans a wall of open cubbyholes with the old clothes
of boys when they first arrived.
Blakeley walks past handing out a few shoe rags.
BLAKELEY (CONT'D)
They do this inspection shit, we
counting on you. Spit-shine `em
good.
126 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 126
Turner POV as he walks around the outside of a building
that's being painted. SOUND of a paint can falling from the
scaffolding behind him, accompanied by boys' voices.
Still walking, he does a 180 degree turn to look behind him.
Strangely there's no one there.
He turns back around and almost immediately THREE IDENTICAL
BLACK BOYS come around the corner of the building toward him,
covered in Dixie White paint. The boys don't appear to see
him. He freezes and stares at them as they pass by.
127 INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - NY - 2018 - DAY (D-FF7) 127
Adult Elwood's POV of an image on a computer screen:
A color newspaper photograph in the local Marianna newspaper
of a VERY OLD WHITE MAN, leaning on a cane on his porch.
(CONTINUED)
100.
127 CONTINUED: 127
The headline reads: "Good Citizen of the Year". The man is
decrepit but Spencer's cold steel eyes are unmistakable.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
They're asking people to come
forward.
SOUND of a mouse click.
CUT TO:
A group of Nickel Boys, in spotless, pressed, regular clothes
(not uniforms), hanging out together on the porch of a large
Southern home with white columns.
MILLIE
Babe, you found all this?
SOUND of a mouse click.
CUT TO:
A group of Nickel Boys in uniform, doing manual labor.
ADULT ELWOOD (O.S.)
They're digging. I'm digging.
SOUND of a mouse click.
CUT TO:
A GPR image, bright pulsing colors of blue, green and pink,
of GRAVES found in the grounds of Nickel Academy.
128 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 128
Turner's POV as he hauls a bucket of tools out of the back of
the Community Service van and brings them to Harper, who is
snappily dressed and leaning against the side of the truck,
striking a match and lighting a cigarette like he's James
Dean. Turner bends to set the bucket down beside Harper's
feet when there's a BRIGHT FLASH and click.
Turner straightens and turns to see a State Government WHITE
PHOTOGRAPHER, face obscured behind a Crown Graphic camera and
its distinct bellows, step forward, snapping another. Turner
moves his hand up to his face in reflex. The flash bulb is
blinding. Harper coolly smokes, and it's suddenly clear he's
been striking a pose.
101.
129 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DINING HALL - 1967 - DAY (D66) 129
Turner's POV seated at a table in the spick and span dining
hall, newly decorated by placards with messages of
inspiration and encouragement. The boys are looking smart
with fresh haircuts, uniforms, belts and gleaming shoes,
elated by the kind of meal they never get: fried chicken,
yellow corn cobs, mashed potatoes, steaming rolls and bright
red apples on their trays.
DESMOND
(shoveling food)
Ain't eaten like this since I don't
know when. (grabbing another roll)
They should inspect this place all
the time.
BLACK MIKE
Nobody talking now. Eat.
They're all digging in- plates being scraped, forks pinging
the metal trays. Turner's food is untouched before him, as
he surveys the circus. For him, it's an abomination.
Blakeley enters through the cafeteria door and stops with a
large tray stacked with small round cardboard containers.
Half of the dining hall reorients to this sight.
BOYS
(all at once)
ICE CREAM!!!!!!!
A chorus of "hoorays!" Some boys jump out of their seats,
others look manically at their peers to confirm reality.
BLAKELEY
Keep it down! You want them to
think this is some kind of circus
we're running here? (muttering)
Y'all act like you never had ice
cream before.
They haven't. At Nickel. But the bribe does its job and
Nickel appears like a joyful place.
Turner, nauseated by the ruse, looks across the dining hall
and finds Elwood, like a mirror, likewise sickened and
returning his gaze. Turner shakes his head at the tragedy.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV, meeting Turner's gaze and shaking his head with
the same sense of tragedy.
(CONTINUED)
102.
129 CONTINUED: 129
He is sitting with boys half his age, finding the sight of
them digging into the ice cream with little wooden paddles
unbearable.
Elwood gets up. Across the room, Turner is watching him like
a hawk. When Elwood gets up, Turner does, too.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV, as he swiftly follows Elwood.
TURNER (O.S.)
What you gonna do? (beat) Elwood...
Elwood keeps walking, doesn't turn around as Turner pursues.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
What you gonna do?
Elwood keeps walking.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
What you think they going to do?
You think they going to put your
picture on the cover of Life
magazine?
Elwood keeps walking.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
You think anyone cares what's going
on at Nickel?
Elwood keeps walking.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
This is just one place. There are
Nickels all over this country.
Elwood spins on him now.
ELWOOD
How long we got to keep murdering
ourselves?!
Turner takes a step back, shocked.
ELWOOD (CONT'D)
-It's on me Turner. I got this.
103.
130 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 130
Turner POV from a distance, of a wandering Black boy in
ragged, soiled clothes stumbling down from Boot Hill. From
the distance the figure is hard to make out. Turner turns and
begins walking away but stops and looks back. The boy is
standing still, looking straight up to the sky.
130A OMITTED 130A
131 EXT. NICKEL - FIELD - BLEACHERS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 131
Elwood POV from up on a scaffold next to the bleachers on the
field, which are turned upward on their side, repairing and
painting planks with some of the other boys. He hammers down
hard on a nail three times, forcing it flush against the new
plank of wood. The contrast is sharp between it and the old
splintery one below.
At the SOUND of cars turning onto the Nickel campus, he turns
his head quickly. A 100 nails bounce off the stands below.
DESMOND (O.S.)
(sucking his teeth)
What the hell.
Elwood looks down at Desmond working below, dodging the rain
of nails from the box he's knocked over.
Elwood now clocks THREE INSPECTORS walking up the cement
path, pointing at this or that. They pass the White House
without a glance, pass a basketball court where some white
boys are playing, pass a makeshift baseball diamond,
approaching the football end of the field.
The portly one looks like Jackie Gleason, and the tall one
like JFK: white teeth, tan and the haircut. The man in the
middle is practically a human mouse. They wear hats, but
their jackets are off and their short sleeve shirts and
clipped black ties make them look more NASA than G-men.
They're escorted by JAIME. Elwood starts to reorient to the
thought:
Maybe it's possible.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV from a scaffold near the set of bleachers
directly across the field from the ones Elwood is repairing.
He also spots that the Inspectors are escorted by Jaime.
(CONTINUED)
104.
131 CONTINUED: 131
He looks across to Elwood and sees Elwood realize the
opportunity: maybe it's possible.
TURNER (O.S.)
(to himself)
Elwood.
He sees Elwood descend the scaffold ladder. Sees him step
around Black Mike who is awkwardly setting a new pine plank
into place. Sees that Elwood has the right angle for the
interception and is on the move. He's fifty yards away, when-
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV as he moves forward, focused on intercepting the
inspectors, when-
HARPER (O.S.)
Hey Elwood.
Elwood doesn't register the voice as directed to him. He's
ten yards away now. Focused on JFK in the center.
HARPER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Elwood!
Elwood stops in his tracks, turning to see Harper.
HARPER (CONT'D)
Hold on a minute, Elwood.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
What is it Mr. Harper?
Elwood watches the men walk past a few yards behind Harper.
HARPER
I need you to head up to the farms
and find Mr. Gladwell. Those men
from the State aren't heading up
there today. They're going to send
some other experts for that. You
find him and tell him he can relax.
Elwood turns to where Harper points, up a dirt road that
leads to the farms.
ELWOOD
(talking too fast)
I like the bleacher repair. We
still need to paint, too. Can one
of the little kids go?
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
105.
131 CONTINUED: (2) 131
ELWOOD (CONT'D)
I don't even know what Mr. Gladwell
looks like, Mr. Harper, sir. Sir,
I'd rather work on the bleachers.
HARPER
(pissed)
Acting crazy today, all of you.
He's got a straw hat and a farmer
tan. You do what I asked you to do,
and on Friday it's back to usual.
He stalks off.
TURNER (O.S.)
I'll do it.
Elwood turns. Turner runs up beside him.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(exasperated)
What, Turner. What?
TURNER
That notebook you got in your
pocket. I'll get it to them, I'll
do it. Look at you, you look sick.
Elwood hesitates. A deep tremor runs through him. He looks at
Turner.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
I can slip it in their car window
when they're not looking. They
won't even see.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV. Elwood tries to contain his emotion, reaches in
his back pocket and gives Turner the notebook, all his
anguished hope in this moment. Then he turns, and runs.
Turner watches as Elwood runs towards the dirt road up to the
fields, toward the horizon.
132 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY (D66) 132
Turner POV from inside the Nickel Community Service van,
watching the three Inspectors and Hardee lean into each other
now that the State inspection is complete- conversing,
laughing, almost merging as they take their leave...
JFK, who is holding his hat, flicks it so it rolls up on his
arm and onto his head. The men all laugh: a well-oiled,
surreally choreographed, impenetrable Good Ole Boy machine.
(CONTINUED)
106.
132 CONTINUED: 132
TURNER (O.S.)
(to himself)
Goddam... C'mon. Now or never.
132A EXT. CURTIS HOME - FRENCHTOWN - 1967 - DAY (D-FF8) 132A
Adult Elwood (17) POV as his hand KNOCKS on the front door.
SOUND of footsteps within slowly approaching.
Hattie cracks opens the door, peeks out through the gap where
the door is chained. She quickly pulls the door shut. SOUND
of her sliding the chain off.
A beat.
She opens the door wide now. She stands there, looking at
him. Her eyes well, she starts to tremble with emotion.
133 EXT. NICKEL ACADEMY - BOOT HILL - 1967 - DAY (D66) 133
Elwood POV, walking, taking the long way back on the trail
that circumnavigates Boot Hill. Then he steps off the path
and walks through. Past the iron links embedded in the tree
trunks. He is slow with his steps...
Postponing the inevitable consequences ahead, he starts
whistling the Gospel song "I Love the Lord, He Heard my Cry"
to give himself courage.
A breeze rustles through Boot Hill, swaying tree branches. In
the distance ahead some fallen leaves spiral upward briefly
in a wind eddy.
134 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - SCHOOL HALLWAY - 1967 - DAY (D66) 134
Scene is B/W.
Turner POV walking down a school hallway when he encounters
the skinny, frail MULE. It stands there with a long piece of
straw in its mouth.
It looks at Turner, chewing the straw.
Unsure it's really there, Turner moves toward it and strokes
the animal, then moves closer and grasps its mane, slowly
twisting it to be sure it's real.
The mule looks at him, as if he's done something wrong.
107.
135 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - DORMITORY - 1967 - DUSK (D66) 135
Turner POV, in the middle of a card game. Other boys are
hanging out.
JAIME (O.S.)
(arriving)
Compas-
Turner turns as Jaime enters, having run from the white side
of campus.
JAIME (CONT'D)
They will take him tonight.
TURNER (O.S.)
Who? Elwood? Shit! I told him this
would happen!
He springs to his feet and goes to Desmond and Mike.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(alarmed)
I didn't hear nobody out for ice
cream? When did they get him?
The other boys look at him, grim.
BLACK MIKE
They got him right after lunch.
TURNER (O.S.)
Where is he?
Mike points upward.
DESMOND
Sweatbox.
He also points upward.
TURNER (O.S.)
He's been in there all day?
Turner slowly looks up to the ceiling, except there is no
ceiling... only a pitch dark sky, like he's looking up into
the heart of the universe. There is the seed of a faint
SOUND... a human-engine screaming... and everything in the
room begins subtly vibrating.
108.
136 INT. NICKEL - ATTIC SWEAT BOX - 1967 - DUSK (D66) 136
Elwood POV in darkness inside the sweatbox in the attic above
the dorm. The vibration increases gradually with the SOUND of
the human-engine SCREAM escalating and transforms into a
deeper ROAR... like the SOUND of a passenger jet falling in a
death spiral... keening and careening toward Earth...
137 OMITTED 137
137A OMITTED 137A
138 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 138
Mules and men, toppling, uprooting a colossal Southern tree.
139 INT. NICKEL ACADEMY - SWEAT BOX - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 139
Elwood's POV in the darkness of the sweat box,
claustrophobic, roving along the walls. SOUND of the door to
the stairwell in the attic scraping against the floor. Faint
footsteps outside. A shadow on the wall moves as a figure
outside blocks the little light coming into the space.
Elwood shifts, as if bracing himself. The bolt slides.
Light enters the darkness. There's a slim silhouette in the
doorway that backs away from the initial stench.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV as Elwood's head emerges from the sweat box. He
leans, like his head is too heavy for his neck, against the
doorframe.
In the dim light, Turner glimpses the graffiti etched in the
walls over the years. The desperate scratching and markings
of blind creatures trying to see into themselves in the dark.
TURNER (O.S.)
(whispering)
They're going to take you out back
tomorrow.
ELWOOD
Yeah.
Like Turner is talking about someone else.
(CONTINUED)
109.
139 CONTINUED: 139
TURNER (O.S.)
(whispering)
We got to get, man.
Elwood looks at him now, digesting the "we".
ELWOOD
Blakeley.
TURNER (O.S.)
(whispering)
C'mon.
Turner's hand reaches out and pulls Elwood up.
140 INT. NICKEL - HALLWAY - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 140
Turner's POV watching Elwood painfully try to put his arm
into the sleeve of the shirt that he arrived in Nickel at,
his dehydrated body stiff and weak from the confinement.
141 INT. NICKEL - ANOTHER HALLWAY - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 141
Elwood's POV of Turner creeping in front of him, also dressed
in his regular clothes.
Turner moves stealthily past a warm light coming through the
glazed panels in the door of an office. The voices of
Spencer, Blakeley, Earl are recognizable among others. An OS
poker game is going on in there. SOUND of cards being
shuffled, chips moved around.
BLAKELEY (V.O.)
How you always know?
SPENCER (V.O.)
Well I don't know, do I? You play
the hand you're dealt. It's a
lesson Blakeley. I learnt a long
time ago.
BLAKELEY (V.O.)
(suspicious)
Well you sure get dealt queens
often. And aces.
EARL (V.O.)
They gonna shut us down?
Turner peeps in.
(CONTINUED)
110.
141 CONTINUED: 141
SPENCER (V.O.)
I'll be god-damned if Tallahassee
tells me what to do. (to Earl) Open
the window, it's hot.
SOUND of a chair being pushed back. Turner ducks down as
Earl's shadow crosses the glazed window, then crosses back.
BLAKELEY (V.O.)
Move the button, let's go.
EARL (V.O.)
C'mon lady luck.
SPENCER (V.O.)
Didn't she leave you for another
man?
EARL (V.O.)
Shit's not funny guys, I ain't seen
my kids in six months.
BLAKELEY (V.O.)
Sounds lucky to me.
Laughter.
SPENCER (V.O.)
(resumes poker)
It is, it is. I call.
Elwood follows Turner past the door and around the corner.
Sound of the their voices fades, grows distant.
BLAKELEY (V.O.)
Call.
EARL (V.O.)
Raise, ten.
SPENCER (V.O.)
Call.
BLAKELEY
Fold. (meaning the queen) And there
she is. Careful Earl.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering; close)
Turner, why?
142 OMITTED 142
111.
143 EXT. HARDEE HOUSE - 1967 - NIGHT (N66) 143
Turner's POV, moving swiftly along the edge of the swimming
pool in the back yard of the Hardee house, glancing back at
Elwood. Moonlight creates a silky reflection on the pool
water.
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
Shit- they been running around like
bugs, all these lowlifes. Spencer.
Hardee. Jaime heard them talking
about taking you out back. That was
it. Tonight or not at all.
The lights are on in the house, the Hardees have guests for
dinner.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
Why you coming with me?
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
They snatch you up in a hot minute,
dumb as you are.
The matching BICYCLES are still there leaning on the porch.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV as Turner gets on a bike and slowly pedals off,
looking back over his shoulder.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
How long you been planning this?
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
No outfoxing the dogs once they on
your trail. Most you can do is get
far away as you can. Put miles
between you and them.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV of Elwood struggling to get on the other bike,
finally getting going.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
Tallahassee?
(CONTINUED)
112.
143 CONTINUED: 143
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
Yeah, good. We can jump a train,
and then those dogs going to need
wings to catch us.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
They were going to kill me and bury
me out there?
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
Sure as shit.
144 EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - NEAR MARIANNA - DAWN INTO DAY (D67) 144
Elwood's POV as they ride, Turner's ahead setting the pace.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
You got me out.
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
Yup.
TURNER (V.O.)
(whispering)
Can you ride it? We got to get far
by sun up.
ELWOOD (V.O.)
(whispering)
I can do it.
The sky is growing lighter in the East. The road is desolate
until the SOUND of a vehicle comes up behind them fast.
ELWOOD (O.S.)
(calling out)
Car.
They bike on. A red pick-up overtakes them and passes.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV, watching the car drive off as its lights fade
away. He looks back at Elwood who grins and doubles down.
He's sturdy, impressive, as the sun starts to come up.
113.
144A EXT. DIRT ROAD - CANES FIELDS - MORNING (D67) 144A
Elwood's POV of Turner riding in front of him on a dirt road
through the cane fields now, for awhile, this glorious sunny
morning. Turner looks back smiling at Elwood, he laughs,
joyful at the distance they've put between themselves and
Nickel.
Turner rides some more, glances back again, but this time his
expression changes.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV, he's looking at Elwood who is smiling, pushing
hard, elated and looking straight at him. Behind Elwood he
sees the Community Service Van flying toward them, closing
in, headlights on, a cloud of dust in its wake.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV of Turner veering his bike off the roadside,
dropping it and sprinting. Turner throws a look back at
Elwood.
TURNER
(yelling)
El! Follow me!
144B EXT. FURROWED CANE FIELD - MORNING [CONTINUOUS] (D67) 144B
Turner's POV running into a field of scorched cane, blackened
earth furrows, looking back to see Elwood pull his bike to
the side of the road, drop it and run as the Community Van
bears down. One of the scars on his legs has re-opened and
bled through his pants as the van pulls over to a roaring
stop behind him and both doors fly open.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV running across the furrows toward the woods
beyond. SOUND of rifle shots.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV as he turns to see Harper chasing fast, carrying
a RIFLE. The Nickel Guard remains by the van.
TURNER (O.S.)
Faster! We got it! Run zig zag El,
run zig zag!
Elwood pants, his mouth agape.
(CONTINUED)
114.
144B CONTINUED: 144B
Turner zigs-
The first rifle shot misses.
Turner zags- He looks back, Harper is holding his rifle like
his daddy taught him. HARPER LOOKS RIGHT AT HIM, MEETING HIS
GAZE. Then he smirks, and shifts the rifle barrel toward
Elwood.
TURNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(anguished yell)
No!!
Turner turns and stumbles, almost falling, just barely
regaining his footing. BOOM! SOUND of a dull, distanced rifle
shot. Turner doesn't look back, he runs.
CUT TO:
Elwood's POV from where he is lying on the ground looking at
the landscape beyond his outstretched arm, like he did in his
backyard when he was a little boy. Elwood turns to look up at
the sky and Harper walks into FRAME with his rifle slung
across his shoulders.
CUT TO:
Turner's POV, as he glances back instinctively, and sees
Harper standing over Elwood with his rifle pointed down. He
turns back around and runs for the woods. SOUND of two more
muffled, distant rifle shots.
Cue music: Ethiopiques, Tezata
The music ramps up until 8 seconds into the track, when it is
at full volume, yet still ramping internally. Turner's
breathing and footfalls as he runs overlay the track, with
music continuing over whole movement that follows...
145 OMITTED 145
145A ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 145A
Archival footage of a prison escape and pursuit. White men in
uniform find a hat, gather their bloodhounds, mount horses,
and begin a chase. Bloodhounds run through a swampy forest.
145B EXT. RURAL LANDSCAPE - FLORIDA - DUSK (D67) 145B
Turner POV as he runs through a grassy landscape at dusk.
(CONTINUED)
115.
145B CONTINUED: 145B
Various shots as he keeps running.
145C ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE 145C
The prison escape chase scene continues... white men on
horses galloping through wooded swampland, bloodhounds now
onto a scent. Two 60s era military planes flying in
formation. A bloodhound dog barking up a tree at the escapee-
a black man who swats down at the dog.
146 OMITTED 146
147 EXT. RURAL LANDSCAPE - FLORIDA - NIGHT (N67) 147
Turner POV running, through the darkness, through the night,
slowing down then starting up again... running straight out
of himself.
148 OMITTED 148
149 OMITTED 149
150 MONTAGE - TURNER'S STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS 150
A rapid series of (mainly) archival images (3 min duration):
A150 ARCHIVAL A150
NASA booster cameras of a space shuttle.
B150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE B150
Faded 16mm B/W footage of Turner as preteen.
C150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE C150
B&W time-lapse MRI brain imaging scans.
D150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE D150
A Black woman stepping backward and gracefully stumbling over
a picnic item on the ground.
116.
E150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE E150
A disembodied black arm rapidly feeding license plates into
an industrial license plate machine.
F150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE F150
Empty seats in an electric chair death penalty viewing room.
G150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE G150
A Black woman and shirtless Black man outside at a park lake,
spontaneously moving in sync.
H150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE H150
A shirtless young Black boy and Black man (same as in
previous) heartily shaking hands.
I150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE I150
A grandmother's gestural movement in a dimly lit kitchen.
J150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE J150
NASA booster cameras of a space shuttle.
K150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE K150
Electron microscope images of cells splitting, multiplying,
consumed by others, alternating with the sequence of Black
children below:
L150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE L150
A 10-image sequence (10x1 sec) CUs of Black children's eyes
as they look straight into CAMERA, radiant, then look away,
alternating with the above sequence of cells splitting.
M150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE M150
Institutional-style footage of an old reform school for boys,
Deep South. The boys are well-dressed and the classroom is
orderly. It appears like the ideal setting for learning.
117.
N150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE N150
A large displacement, as if by large dozers, of red-hued
earth.
X150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE X150
Black boys digging a pit that might be a grave. Red-hued
earth.
O150 ARCHIVAL STILL O150
1970 Fun Town ad: still of a Black family on a rollercoaster
ride, with a radio jingle (interrupting Ethiopiques briefly)
clearly aimed at Black families now.
P150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE P150
Exterior, a big blinking bowling alley sign.
Q150 CREATED STILL Q150
Elwood's birth certificate.
R150 CREATED STILL R150
Elwood's school report card, straight-As.
S150 CREATED STILL S150
Adult Elwood's social security card.
T150 OMITTED T150
U150 CREATED STILL U150
The back of a photograph with `Elwood, 11 years old,
Christmas' handwritten by Hattie on it.
V150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE V150
Christmas morning, Black boys opening packages under a tree.
Baseball gloves, red sweaters or socks, bowties, boxes of tin
army men... Boys from a nice house in a nice neighborhood...
118.
W150 EXT. CURTIS HOME - FRENCHTOWN FL - 1967 -DAY (D-FF8) W150
[Continuation of Scene 132A.]
Hattie has opened her front door, eyes welling, trembling,
she backs slowly away, shaking her head, unravelling, fending
off the news that is implied by the arrival of - we now
realize, TURNER, at her front door... that Elwood is dead.
Y150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE Y150
Interior of a railway boxcar: time-lapse of the monumental
figure standing framed in the doorway of the outside, passing
landscape.
Z150 CREATED ARCHIVAL Z150
The front page of The Register, a photo of Elwood protesting
with Black youths outside the Tallahassee movie theatre
playing The Ugly American and Invaders from Mars. Posters are
visible from the films What's New Pussycat? and The Greatest
Story Ever Told.
AA150 CREATED ARCHIVAL STILL AA150
The photo taken by the State photographer of Turner bending
down in front of Harper in a framing designed to make him
look subservient.
BB150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE (VIGNETTES) BB150
INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - 2002 - NYC
POV through a camcorder of ADULT TURNER (52) sitting on a
couch with a remote, flipping channels looking for a game.
His wife Millie (OC) is looking through a new digital
camcorder, trying it out.
INT. ADULT ELWOOD'S APARTMENT - 2002 - NYC
POV through a camcorder of ADULT TURNER (52) sleeping in bed.
He awakens to find Millie filming him, she laughs.
Adult Turner takes the camcorder and pulls her close,
lovingly, as they look into the monitor at themselves.
(CONTINUED)
119.
CONTINUED:
ADULT TURNER
(laughing)
What do you see?
MILLIE
(laughing)
Two beautiful beings.
ADULT TURNER
I love you, Millie.
MILLIE
(laughing)
Turner-
He aims the camera at both of them: heads together on the
pillow, and his wife Millie (late 40s) comes into view, they
are smiling together.
CC150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE CC150
That moment of stillness just before a massive mudslide. Then
the mudslide starts.
DD150 CREATED ARCHIVAL STILL DD150
The death notice for HARRIET JOHNSON (Hattie) in the
Frenchtown newspaper. No photo.
"Harriet Johnson (80) transitioned peacefully on December 25,
1998, surrounded by her family in Frenchtown, FL. A
participant, with her husband Montgomery Johnson, in the
Tallahassee Bus Boycotts of the 1960s. Beloved mother of
Evelyn Curtis and mother-in-law to Percy Curtis, pre-deceased
by her only grandchild Elwood Curtis. Memorial donations may
be made in Hattie's name to the Children's Defense Fund,
Washington DC."
EE150 CREATED ARCHIVAL STILL EE150
Still of the young woman from the stairwell scene with
Horizon Movers, who resembles a younger Hattie, at the
precise moment Adult Elwood (Turner) sees her.
FF150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE FF150
A glass-bottom boat in a Florida lake.
120.
GG150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE GG150
A young Black man and woman swimming underwater in the same
Florida lake, holding up a sign that says "Paradise" and
smiling for the camera.
HH150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE HH150
A Black man in a swimsuit diving off a board into a Hampton
Hotel pool in Florida, his family posed on lounge chairs
watching and smiling.
II150 ARCHIVAL STILL II150
Still of a white hotel owner dumping bleach into a pool where
a Black family is swimming.
JJ150 ARCHIVAL STILLS JJ150
Rapid series of stills from the Dozier School for Boys
forensic report documenting unearthed items - belt bucket,
marbles, buttons, penny, watch, etc.
KK150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE KK150
Created archival footage of the Nickel White House freshly
painted and pristine.
LL150 CREATED ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE LL150
Time-lapse footage from the bottom of a freshly dug grave,
looking up toward the night sky passing overhead.
MM150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE MM150
Wide shot of Florida orange groves.
NN150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE NN150
Oranges moving on an industrial conveyor belt.
OO150 CREATED ARCHIVAL STILL OO150
Promo photo of Spencer with a young Black Nickel boy on his
shoulders, showcasing his fatherly benevolence.
121.
PP150 ARCHIVAL STILL PP150
An illustrated postcard of a black boy being used as a bait
to lure an alligator toward a white hunter with a rifle.
QQ150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE OR STILLS QQ150
GPR images: actual bones and graves found in the ground at
the Dozier School for Boys.
RR150 CREATED STILLS RR150
Family photo of Elwood with Hattie, his mother Evelyn, his
father Percy.
CU Evelyn, CU Percy, CU Hattie, CU Elwood from the same
image.
SS150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE SS150
A helicopter searching a devastated landscape after a
mudslide.
TT150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE TT150
A person being rescued by another person during a natural
disaster.
Music begins fading out, a light breathing becomes AUDIBLE.
UU150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE UU150
NASA booster cameras of a space shuttle.
VV150 OMITTED VV150
WW150 ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE WW150
A grandmotherly woman, hugging her two children at either
side of her, smiling into camera.
GO TO BLACK.
MILLIE (V.O.)
Turner, what are you going to do?
Are you really going to go?
122.
YY150 EXT. NICKEL GROUNDS - 1967 - DAY YY150
Turner POV looking up at a beautiful canopy of trees in the
morning sunlight. Elwood enters frame above him and peers
down and laughs. He walks around the top of what's clearly an
open grave. He smiles and throws out his hand. Turner's hand
comes up to meet his, and he clasps it tight to pull Turner
out.
GO TO BLACK.
Cue music:
Sidney Poitier, singing Lost John / Long Gone acapella.
As credits roll, transition to another song.
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