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FADE IN: EXT. THE SKY - DAY OPEN ON A BOEING 787 DREAMLINER streaming across the sky. INT. DREAMLINER/CABIN LOUNGE - DAY A lounge area with posh seating accommodations in a luxury private plane. A FLIGHT ATTENDANT in a well tailored uniform closes a door to a rear cabin and walks through the lounge with a tray and two empty drinks in her hand. She bends down to pick up another glass and then heads toward the front of the plane. On the way she passes in front of a plasma TV showing a White House press conference. On TV the WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY fields questions from REPORTERS: REPORTER (on TV) The President campaigned on a platform that included government support for stem cell research. Why now is she holding back on approval of the bill? PRESS SECRETARY (on TV) I'm going to let the President's Chief of Staff answer that one. The Press Secretary steps aside and the WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF steps forward. CHIEF OF STAFF (on TV) The President continues to be a strong supporter of stem cell research. She just believes that the science should be closely regulated so that it doesn't get abused... INT. COCKPIT - MOMENTS LATER The Flight Attendant enters the cockpit, where the PILOT and CO-PILOT are flying the plane. PILOT Everything okay back there? FLIGHT ATTENDANT I'd say. PILOT You could probably take a breather. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Yeah. Doesn't look like there'll be any more calls for a while. The CO-PILOT turns to the PILOT, slightly concerned. CO-PILOT We seem to be losing some power in the starboard engine. DISSOLVE INTO: INT. LUXURY CABIN - DAY - CONTINUOUS An attractive and athletic couple are making love in a Jacuzzi. The MAN is around forty, the GIRL, who looks like a model, is in her twenties. PULL BACK TO SHOW the Jacuzzi is in a LUXURY BEDROOM CABIN on the plane. PILOT (O.S.) (over speaker system) Just a cautionary warning sir. We're having a bit of engine irregularity. Until we clear this up I'd advise you to return to your secure seating. In the midst of a kiss the couple reluctantly pause. MAN Hold that thought. I'm sure it's nothing. The Man and Girl slowly get up from the hot tub, and start to dry each other off... CUT TO: COCKPIT - DAY - MOMENTS LATER The Co-pilot and Pilot are totally confused. CO-PILOT The fuel delivery systems have failed in both engines. PILOT How the hell could that happen? CUT TO: LUXURY CABIN - MOMENTS LATER Alarms, heavy turbulence. The plane, no longer level, is heading down. Still wet and in panic, the lovers throw on robes while they struggle to keep their balance. The Man grabs the Girl around her waist and hurries her in the direction of the rear chamber. MAN This way! The Girl grabs onto the Man as they hurry through the rear chamber doorway. GIRL I'm scared! INT. POD CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS The chamber contains two large, egg shaped, specialized impact chamber pods with doors in them. MAN In here. Don't worry! Still struggling, the Man helps the Girl into her pod. He kisses her and she grabs to hug him briefly. She looks petrified as he urges her back onto the pod cushioned seat. He slams the pod door shut and presses a small recessed button on the chamber which produces a whooshing sound inside. He then gets into his own. Again another whooshing sound inside his chamber. Safe... but wait! Part of the girl's robe is caught in her pod chamber door. EXT. THE SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS The plane emits black smoke and heads downward, spinning into free fall. IN THE POD CABIN Alarms and heavy turbulence continue. The pods eject. CUT TO: EXT. THE SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS The pod parachutes release. One door pops open. DISSOLVE INTO: INT. CHARLIE CARR'S OFFICE - DAY --a photo of a handsome young journalist receiving a Pulitzer Prize. A crushed paper ball hits the photo. CHARLIE (O.S.) Ross, you know what the five C's that define a copy editor's job stand for? PULL BACK to show CHARLIE CARR (40) bent over a pile of copy he's been editing on his desk. Several photos of him with his young daughter hang from the wall behind him along with a plaque that reads: "Please support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation." He draws a large line through another piece of copy, then crushes it into a ball and tosses it at the photo. It falls to an overflowing waste basket and then onto the floor. Sitting across from Charlie is ROSS WILLIAMS, (26), lunching on a batch of blue crabs and root beer, spread on top of a newspaper. A wooden mallet lays next to his hand. ROSS Why do I get the impression that I'm in for a let down. Ross pries open a crab with his knife, as Charlie crushes another copy ball. CHARLIE Clear, correct, concise, comprehensible, and consistent. Charlie throws the ball. ROSS Sounds like an assignment from grade school detention room. CHARLIE Or a life sentence. Ross readies a crab on the newspaper and picks up the mallet. ROSS I always hated grammar. Ross lets the mallet fall. BAM! Charlie's cell phone goes off. He picks it up and goes wide-eyed. CUT TO: INT. BALTIMORE SUN EDITORIAL OFFICES - CONTINUOUS CLOSE ON THE CELL PHONE beeping and flashing a text message: "BOEING 787 DREAMLINER CRASH" As new words appear on the cell phone screen, we PULL BACK TO SHOW Charlie as he rushes through the newspaper bullpen. He charges toward the door which reads: "Publisher and Editor in Chief." INT. DALTON WARD'S OFFICE DALTON WARD, (65), distinguished and hard-nosed, sits at his desk, reading the latest edition. Charlie rushes in. CHARLIE Plane crash. East of Bethesda. DALTON WARD Commercial? CHARLIE Looks like a private - a Dreamliner. DALTON WARD A private?! CHARLIE I got a mole in Air-Traffic-Control. We can beat everybody on this. DALTON WARD Not you. Give it to one of the staff. CHARLIE What? DALTON WARD Don't look at me like that. CHARLIE Dalton, help me out here. You know what I'm going through. DALTON WARD No way. Strictly copy. That was the deal. CHARLIE Come on, Dalton... DALTON WARD It's a plane crash Charlie - not Watergate. CHARLIE A private Dreamliner! I've got an instinct for this stuff and this one's right up my alley. DALTON WARD Pass it on, Charlie! Dalton picks up his phone. Abashed, Charlie turns and leaves. Dalton stares after him. INT. BALTIMORE SUN EDITORIAL OFFICES - CONTINUOUS Charlie exits Dalton's office then steadily increases his pace as he crosses back through the bullpen. INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS He storms into the office marked "Copy Editor" and grabs his suit jacket. He heads out to the RECEPTIONIST DESK --where Ross is hitting on the cute receptionist, CINDY. ROSS ...used to play bass for Gwen back in high school. CINDY Really, I thought she grew up in California... ROSS (to Charlie) Hey, what's the hurry? CHARLIE Heading over to the hospital to see Jennifer but need to make a stop along the way. Anyone asks, I'm at the Dentist with a mouth full of drills. Charlie takes off for the elevator. CUT TO: INT. FLOOR OF THE U.S. CONGRESS - DAY - CONTINUOUS Congresswoman MAXINE CARR (39), an attractive up-and-comer, dressed very much for the cameras, addresses the United States Congress. MAXINE I understand that soaring housing costs are a problem, especially for first time buyers. But raising taxes is just going to put the smaller construction companies out of business. We need housing starts, not taxes. EXT. STEPS OF CAPITOL BUILDING - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Maxine and a line of assistants with briefcases hurry down the steps to an awaiting limo as a wave of PRESS PEOPLE with CAMERAS and MICROPHONES jockey for position. REPORTERS (all at once) Congresswoman! REPORTER 1 Will you work with the President on the Stem Cell Bill? MAXINE I'm encouraged that the President has taken a firmer stand on regulation, but I can not support the bill in its current form. With the proliferation of scam operations in various countries, the reckless experimentation on humans and the growing list of unforeseen and potentially tragic complications, I feel that first the issues of risk and morality need to be resolved. She rushes to the open limo door. REPORTERS Congresswoman... CUT TO: EXT. CRASH SITE - DAY - LATER A scene of almost total destruction. The crashed plane lies with black smoke still billowing out of it, though most of the fire is confined to the engines and wings. The cockpit is completely annihilated but a good portion of the fuselage is intact, though torn apart and misshapen. Fire trucks, firemen and workers are everywhere. A coroner's wagon is arriving. In the distance, flashing lights and sirens indicate ambulance activity in another location. RESCUE WORKERS work diligently to clear away debris, checking for bodies and remains. Charlie walks upon the scene. CHARLIE You guys know anything about whose plane this was? RESCUE WORKER #1 I just work here. He turns his back on Charlie. CHARLIE Anybody know who was on board? Rescue Worker #2, shrugs, grabs some debris and walks away. Charlie turns to RESCUE WORKER #3. CHARLIE (CONT'D) Come on guy, help me out, will ya'? I got a boss who just canceled my pension plan. Rescue worker #3 hesitates a bit, then relaxes. RESCUE WORKER #3 Well, they said it was a three-man crew, and two passengers. Two survivors, one real bad. Charlie starts taking photos with his digital camera. CHARLIE Any idea where the plane was headed? Rescue Worker #3 just shrugs. The Rescue Worker's SUPERVISOR, a gruff man, interrupts them. Charlie puts his camera away. SUPERVISOR Hey you! If you're not part of the cleanup crew, get out of the way. The Rescue Workers get back to work. They move away from Charlie. Charlie ignores the warning and weaves his way over to the smoking plane fuselage. The doors have broken off from the impact and he sticks his head in the remains of the luxury cabin area. INSIDE LUXURY CABIN Charred remains are everywhere, but no bodies. There are what's left of personal affects on the floor: some keys, burned cloths, melted credit cards, and... It's like a credit card. About half of it is burned, but the word: "CYTOGEN..." is visible. Charlie quickly grabs it up and stuffs it into his pocket. ANOTHER ANGLE Charlie continues moving through the cabin. He has his camera out and is taking photos of the wreckage. WHAM! A LARGE WORKER grabs Charlie from behind and SLAMS him against the wall. Standing beside him, the Supervisor grabs the camera from Charlie's hand. SUPERVISOR (CONT'D) I'll take that. CHARLIE Hey? The Large Worker continues to press Charlie against the wall. LARGE WORKER Guy, doesn't belong. The Supervisor drops the camera to the ground. SMASH! The Supervisorís boot crushes it. CHARLIE Hey! SUPERVISOR Oops, sorry. Things moving real fast around here. A person could get hurt if he doesn't stay out of the way. CHARLIE I take it you guys never heard of the First Amendment? SUPERVISOR Get him out of here. The two large men forcefully escort Charlie out of the cabin and away from the plane. They shove him, hard. LARGE WORKER Keep walking, that way. Charlie backs a short way off, then takes out his cell phone. He starts taking photos with it. NADIA (O.S.) Find out anything? Charlie turns around to see, NADIA, (29), framed by the billowing smoke. She's extremely attractive and carries a shoulder pack with camera. CHARLIE Do I know you? NADIA Nadia Klein, Dalton sent me. CHARLIE I'm on this one. NADIA That's what he said you'd say. CHARLIE Right. Charlie turns to go quickly. Nadia catches up. NADIA So, what did you find out? CHARLIE That it's your story and I should leave it alone. NADIA Did you talk to those guys? CHARLIE What guys? NADIA The rescue workers. They wouldn't talk to me. Charlie scans her. CHARLIE By the looks of you, I'd think otherwise. Nadia grabs Charlie's arm. NADIA What did they tell you? CHARLIE They said, go find us a hot babe and we'll talk to her. NADIA Cut the crap, Charlie, what did they say? CHARLIE Hey, I stepped on your toes, I'm sorry. No harm, no foul. I turn it over to you. NADIA So, how do I get those guys to talk to me? CHARLIE Just walk over there and demand to see the manifest. NADIA Fine, I will. Charlie's cell phone BUZZES! He grabs it and reads the text message with great concern. He quickly walks away. CUT TO: EXT. WASHINGTON STREET - DAY HONK! HONK! It's a big city traffic jam as we find Maxine's limo sandwiched, going nowhere. INT. THE LIMO - DAY - CONTINUOUS As the horns blare away, Maxine sits in the back, flanked by assistants, trying to talk on the cell phone. MAXINE Please, Doctor, if you could just tell me a little more-- No, I'm on my way, just stuck in traffic. I'll be there as soon as I can. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM (BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL) - DAY CLOSE ON Charlie sitting uncomfortably in a hospital waiting room. PULL BACK TO SHOW: sitting next to him, and not very close, is Maxine. They don't have much to say to each other. They wait. They worry. Scattered patients, mostly in wheelchairs and very elderly, chat with each other, to themselves, or with their loved ones. Charlie looks at his watch. MAXINE Just go if you're too busy. CHARLIE I'm not going anywhere. I'm not in any kind of a hurry. MAXINE Well, there's a first. Beat. Uncomfortable silence. MAXINE (CONT'D) I've got a bill coming before Congress today. You don't see me constantly looking at my watch. CHARLIE You knew what I was when you married me. MAXINE No. I knew what you were when I divorced you. When I married you I was clueless. A DOCTOR enters. They quickly rise. DOCTOR I'm afraid not much improvement. In fact-- Charlie and Maxine can see the news is bad. They can look at anything except each other. DOCTOR (CONT'D) (softly) It's time you start thinking seriously about that lung transplant - assuming we can locate a donor. MAXINE When can we see her? DOCTOR Now's good. INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Charlie and Maxine brighten somewhat as they start walking down the corridor toward the Pediatric Ward. They reach a room and a nurse walks out. INT. HALLWAY / JENNIFER'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS From their POV: a 10 year old girl, JENNIFER, lays sleeping, hooked up to I.V.'s and oxygen. Charlie steps forward to go in. Maxine pulls the door closed. INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Maxine turns toward Charlie. MAXINE I think-- I should go first. CHARLIE You don't think both... MAXINE Please-- not here. CHARLIE Right, you've got custody. MAXINE That's not it, and you know it. Charlie steps back a bit. CHARLIE Fine. Call me when you're done. MAXINE I won't be long. Charlie stands and watches as his ex-wife goes to the door and enters it. COUGHING comes from inside the room. The door closes behind her. Charlie stands for a moment, then walks resolutely toward the elevator. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GROUND FLOOR - DAY The elevator doors open and Charlie steps into a torrent of activity, as hospital staff rush into and out of the Emergency Room entrance. Charlie heads that way. He tries to stop an ER DOCTOR. CHARLIE What's all the commotion? The ER Doctor brushes him off and pushes through the doors. ER DOCTOR Not now! An ER TECH rushes by. Charlie grabs him. CHARLIE Hey, what's going on? The ER Tech keeps moving. ER TECH Plane crash victim. Woman. Real bad. Charlie tries to follow him into the ER but is stopped by a SECURITY OFFICER. SECURITY MAN Authorized personnel only. CHARLIE I'm next of kin. SECURITY OFFICER (not really buying it) Sorry. You'll have to check with Admissions. Charlie starts to say something but realizes it's pointless. He backs off, planning his strategy. Across the crowded room he catches a glimpse of Nadia, interviewing the paramedics. Through the glass hospital entranceway he sees that a TV news van has just arrived and the staff are piling out. Charlie ducks out of sight. The elevator doors open and a NURSE and an ORDERLY wheel an empty gurney out with used linen and life support equipment still on it. NURSE ...they said it was some sort of high tech protection pod or something. Can you believe that? When I fly all they give me is a seat cushion. ORDERLY Seems to me they should give everyone a parachute-- Or put a big one on the plane. Charlie interrupts. CHARLIE Excuse me, are you talking about the plane crash victim? NURSE I guess-- If you can call him that. Seemed to me like he was resting real comfortably. Do you know Mr. Avery? CHARLIE You might say that. The Nurse and Orderly push the gurney through the doors of the ER. NURSE Well, it's a damned shame what happened to his girlfriend. Suddenly a VOICE from the overhead speaker system bellows. VOICE (V.O.) Code Blue! Trauma Room. Code Blue... A Hospital Code Team rush for the ER entrance. Charlie starts to follow but is immediately waved off by the Security Officer. The ER Tech emerges from the ER shaking his head in frustration. Charlie stops a hospital aide. CHARLIE Where's Admissions?
INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - DAY Charlie steps out of the elevator and walks over to the counter where a CHARGE NURSE sits and an ADMINISTRATOR reviews a form attached to a clipboard. CHARLIE I'm looking for Mr. Avery. The Administrator looks up from the form. ADMINISTRATOR Are you a family member? CHARLIE Yes. ADMINISTRATOR What relation? CHARLIE Nephew. How is he? CHARGE NURSE He's doing fine. Probably just keep him overnight for observation. ADMINISTRATOR Maybe you can clear some things up then. CHARLIE Sure. ADMINISTRATOR There seem to be some discrepancies in the insurance forms. CHARLIE Like? ADMINISTRATOR Well, it says here that your uncle was born in 1941. CHARLIE So? ADMINISTRATOR Seems to me he doesn't look a day over forty. CHARLIE Really? Charlie whips out his cell phone and snaps a picture of the insurance papers. ADMINISTRATOR Hey! The elevator doors open and three MEN get out, followed by a doctor and a nurse. They walk quickly to the nursing station. MAN #1 (showing his badge) Federal Agents. We're placing this area under quarantine. All non-authorized personnel must leave now! The Charge Nurse and Administrator exchange confused looks. CHARLIE Quarantine? Does this have anything to do with the plane crash? MAN #1 All I know is that everyone must leave. Charlie smiles and turns toward the Administrator. CHARLIE Must be the yoga.
(Continued) |
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The Last Generation to Die |