12 Years a Slave Page #9

(CONTINUED)

1/24/13 FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 39A.

59 CONTINUED:
(2) 59 59 CONTINUED: (2) 59

FORD:

Her child, man. For God's sake,

are you not sentimental in theleast?

FREEMAN:

My sentimentality stretches thelength of a coin. Do you want thelot, Mr. Ford, or do you pass onthem all?

FORD:

I will take the ones Platt and

Eliza.

Eliza grips her children tight.

ELIZA:

I will not go without my children.

You will not take them from me.

(CONTINUED)

1/24/13 FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 40.

59 CONTINUED:
(3) 59 59 CONTINUED: (3) 59

As if to prove her wrong, Freeman puts a foot to Elizaand harshly kicks her away from Emily.

ELIZA (CONT'D)

Please, don't. No!

Freeman, to Cape:

FREEMAN:

Take her out of here.

Cape DROPS HIS FIDDLE, begins to pull Eliza away towardthe door of the room, but her screaming and pleading donot abate. IT IS CLEARLY UNSETTLING TO THE OTHER BUYERS.

FREEMAN (CONT'D)

Keep her quiet.

Cape tries to muzzle her with his hand, but Elizacontinues to scream for her children as Emily does forher mother.

EMILY:

Mama... Mama!

FREEMAN:

(to Solomon)

Play something! Get the fiddle

and play.

As ordered, Solomon takes up Cape's fiddle and begins toplay lightly.

FREEMAN (CONT'D)

Play!

Solomon plays harder and more loudly. Still, it isbarely enough to drown out Eliza's cries. Freeman getsthe other slaves to clap along with Solomon's playing.

Emily frees herself and runs back, crying but endeavoringto be strong-

EMILY:

Don't cry, Mama. I will be a good

girl. Don't cry. I will keep my

head up and I will look smart. I

will always look smart.

FREEMAN:

Make merry, all of you! Goddamn

it, Cape! Keep her quiet or it's

your damned hide I will take it

out of!

Cape pulls a rag, stuffs it in Eliza's mouth. Clampingboth hands over her mouth, he hauls Eliza from the roomby the head. IT IS AN UGLY, UGLY SCENE.

1/24/13 FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 40A.

60 EXT. FORD PLANTATION - LATER 60

Driven in a horse drawn wagon by Ford are Solomon andEliza. Eliza is sullen to say the least. With the loss

of her two children she has dropped into a depression shewill not be able to pull out of.

(CONTINUED)

1/24/13 FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 41.

60 CONTINUED:
60 60 CONTINUED: 60

They arrive to the FORD PLANTATION. The main house of

the plantation - the GREAT HOUSE as they are commonlycalled - is sizable. Two stories high with a piazza infront. In the rear are also a log kitchen, poultryhouse, corncribs and several slave cabins. The

plantation is described as "a green spot in thewilderness."

With the arrival of Master Ford there is a flurry ofactivity - the "excitement" of a new delivery. MR.

CHAPIN, a white overseer, instructs a slave named SAM.

CHAPIN:

Sam, call to the Mistress.

SAM:

Mistress! Mistress, they arrivn'.

MISTRESS FORD EXITS the house - along with her attendingslave, RACHEL, who is a cook AS WELL AS SAM'S WIFE - andtravels to her husband, kisses him, then laughinglyinquires:

MRS. FORD

Did you bring all those n*ggers?

Two of them? You got two?

FORD:

Make me something to eat, dear.

The day has taken it from me.

MRS. FORD

Let me get a look at them...

FORD:

Mr. Chapin-

MRS. FORD

(re:
Eliza)

This one's cryin'. Why is thisone cryin'?

FORD:

Separated from her children.

MRS. FORD

Oh, dear.

FORD:

It couldn't be helped.

MRS. FORD

Poor, poor woman.

FORD:

Mr. Chapin, tomorrow you will takethese two up to the mill and startthem workin'. For now make them

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

60

adequate; fix them a meal, andhave them rest themselves.

1/24/13 FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT

CONTINUED:
(2)

FORD (CONT'D)

42.

60

CHAPIN:

Yes, sir.

(to the slaves:
)

C'mon, now. C'mon. Don't dawdle.

MRS. FORD

(to Eliza:
)

Something to eat and some rest;

your children will soon enough beforgotten.

A61A EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - DAY A61A *

John Tibeats, stands before the slaves. Chapin hovers toone side.

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TIBEATS:

My name is John Tibeats, WilliamFord's chief carpenter. You will

refer to me as Master.

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Tibeats nods in Chapin's direction: *

TIBEATS (CONT’D)

Mister Chapin is the overseer onthis plantation. He is

responsible for all of Ford'sproperty. You too will refer to

him as Master.

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This plantation covers manyhundreds of acres, and you willtraverse the Texas road between

the forest site and the sawmill in

double time. Any clever n*gger onthat path that gets a littlelightfooted, I will remind himthat on one side men and

bloodhounds patrol the border andon the other the bayou provides ahard living, with alligators andlittle to eat or drink that won't

kill you. No slave has escapedhere with his life. You're here

to work n*ggers, so let's

commence.

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Tibeats begins to sing the song "Run N*gger, Run"

mockingly.

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We cut to Solomon chopping logs and into the montage ofthe slaves doing manual labor and arriving back to thesawmill.

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Lyrics for "Run N*gger, Run"

(CONTINUED)

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A61A

1/24/13

CONTINUED:

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 42A.

A61A

Oh run n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get awayRun n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

N*gger run n*gger flewNigger tore his shirt in twoRun run the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

N*gger run, run so fastStoved his head in a hornets nest

Run n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

N*gger run through the fieldBlack slick coal and barley heelRun n*gger run the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

Some folks say a n*gger won't stealI caught three in my corn fieldOne has a bushel? And one has a peckOne had a rope and it was hung around his neck

Run n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get awayRun n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

Oh n*gger run and n*gger flewWhy in the devil can't a white man chewRun n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

Hey Mr. Pattyroller don't catch meCatch that n*gger behind that treeRun n*gger run well the pattyroller will get you?

Run n*gger run well you better get away

N*gger run, run so fastStoved his head in a hornets nest

Run n*gger run well the pattyroller will get youRun n*gger run well you better get away

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61 EXT. WOODS -DAY 61

-END OF MAY THROUGH EARLY JUNE, 1841We

are in a wooded area. There is A GANG OF SLAVES

chopping trees into timber. It is hard, laborious workmade no more easy by the sweltering heat. Solomon is

among them as well as Sam.

62 EXT. WOODS -LATER 62

The slaves now load the timber onto a horse drawn wagon.

Again, hard work done under the ever present sun.

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