Bottle Rocket Page #16

ANTHONY:

Who's Mr. Henry?

DIGNAN:

You'll meet him this afternoon.

He's helping us set it up.

APPLEJACK:

Did you ever hear of the S. Cooper

Trust robbery?

ANTHONY:

(shakes his head)

Uh-uh.

APPLEJACK:

S. Cooper Trust,in San Francisco?

ANTHONY:

Uh-uh.

DIGNAN:

Mr. Henry pulled that job in 1965.

It's famous. Applejack was the

wheel man. Did you use this same

car, Applejack?

APPLEJACK:

Hell, no. This is a '72. I was

driving a '63 Pontiac.

. ANTHONY

What exactly is this place? Freezers?

DIGNAN:

Right. Freezers. Imported foods.

Anthony stares at Hitckley Cold Storage.

APPLEJACK:

Let's go, Abdul-Shabazz.

ANTHONY:

Abdul-Shabazz?

DIGNAN:

Just a nickname.

EXT. WAREHOUSE. DAY

Anthony, Dignan, and Applejack are standing on the sidewalk

at the front door of an old warehouse. Dignan knocks on the

door, then tries the bell. They all wait.

ANTHONY:

What time did he say to be here?

DIGNAN:

Right now.

Dignan looks in the window. He tries the door. It's locked.

APPLEJACK:

I can knock a man out with a six

inch punch.

ANTHONY:

What do you mean?

APPLEJACK:

Feel this.

Anthony puts his hand up. Applejack does a short, hard jab.

Anthony shakes his hand out.

ANTHONY:

(whistles)

You could give somebody a concussion.

DIGNAN:

Let me feel that.

Dignan puts his hand up. Applejack nails it.

DIGNAN:

(grabbing his hand)

Ow. Sh*t.

A drop of water hits Dignan on the head. He looks up. More

water falls on him. He gets out of the way. Everyone looks

up. There's a man on the roof. He laughs, hysterically. They

stare up at him.

MAN:

How's the weather down there?

DIGNAN:

(pause)

Mr. Henry?

MAN:

Come on in!

DIGNAN:

It's locked.

MAN:

No, it's not.

Dignan shrugs. He goes over to the door. Mr. Henry pours

some more water on him.

A minute later:
a steel garage door opens and the man steps

outside. He is tall, about sixty years old with white hair

clipped short and a trim goatee. He wears black trousers,

black shoes, no shirt, and a string of animal teeth around

his neck. This is MR. HENRY. He puts a towel around Dignan's

shoulders and pats him on the back.

MR. HENRY

Dignan. Good to see you. Good to

see you Applejack.

(looks at Anthony)

Who are you?

DIGNAN:

This is Anthony Adams, Mr. Henry.

MR. HENRY

This is no good.

Mr. Henry stares hard at Dignan. He looks to Anthony. He

looks back to Dignan.

MR. HENRY

This is no good, bringing him here.

What are you thinking? What the

sh*t, man? Are you crazy?

Mr. Henry stares at Dignan. He looks to Anthony.

MR. HENRY

I'm pulling your leg. Abe Henry.

They shake hands. Mr. Henry points to ROWBOAT, a tall, older

black man standing in the doorway. Rowboat wears a white

windbreaker.

MR. HENRY

This is my business manager, Rowboat.

ANTHONY:

Nice to meet you.

MR. HENRY

That's a sharp jacket.

ANTHONY:

Thanks.

INT. WAREHOUSE. DAY

The second floor of the warehouse is one huge room painted

all white. Mr. Henry and Anthony are playing ping-pong.

Dignan watches. Rowboat-and Applejack are on the far side of

the room playing chess.

ANTHONY:

It's hard to get much spin with

this kind of paddle.

MR. HENRY

It's called a racquet, Anthony, and

you're holding it wrong. That's

ghetto play. Hold it like this.

Anthony changes his grip. Mr. Henry serves. The ball clicks

back and forth. They're both solid players. Anthony whips a

shot crosscourt and wins the point.

MR. HENRY

You know, your form is for sh*t,

but you've got a hell of a talent.

ANTHONY:

Thanks.

Mr. Henry serves. Anthony returns. Mr. Henry suddenly fires

a scorching shot down the line. Anthony watches it click

past him. He looks to Mr. Henry.

ANTHONY:

Nice shot.

Mr. Henry smiles. He looks to Dignan.

MR. HENRY

Is he in?

DIGNAN:

I don't know. Are you in, Anthony?

Anthony stands there silent. He looks to Applejack and

Rowboat. He looks to Mr. Henry. Then Dignan.

ANTHONY:

Yeah, I'm in.

Mr. Henry puts down his paddle. Stares at Anthony. Smiles.

MR. HENRY

OK, kid. Let's go talk about cops

and robbers.

INT. WAREHOUSE. DAY

The ground floor is crammed with cars. Some have been taken

apart. Some are shiny and perfect. Anthony and Dignan walk

among the cars and junk with Mr. Henry. They've each got

coffee in a styrofoam cup.

MR. HENRY

Every once in a while some cat

comes to me. He wants to know how I

made it. How did I become a success?

The first thing I tell them is:

follow your instincts. Let your

instincts guide you. The second

thing I tell them is, for Christ's

sake:
you got to know your grammar.

ANTHONY:

Grammar.

DIGNAN:

What do you mean grammar?

MR. HENRY

The basic grammatical rules of

robbing.

ANTHONY:

You mean like techniques?

MR. HENRY

(nods)

Technique. That's right. Seventy-

five percent of your job is crowd

control. Seventy-five percent. Do

you believe that?

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