Cast Away Page #2

ALEKSEI:

Six kilometers. Four miles.

CHUCK:

So how are we going to get this place

shaped up?

There's a muttered chorus of answers.

CHUCK:

There's only one way. We have to work

together. Every one of us depends on

everyone else. If one package is late,

we are all late. If one truck misses the

deadline, we all miss the deadline.

Let's start by taking a look around.

Chuck leads his team through the sorting area. Yuri squeezes

right next to him, ostentatiously carrying a clipboard.

Chuck stops.

CHUCK:

Here, this table is too far from the

wall. Packages can slip down...like...

(pulls out a package from

behind a table)

...this.

He hefts the package, as if trying to guess what's inside.

CHUCK:

What could be in here? Let's say one of

you sent it. Could be the closing papers

on your dacha, could be a toy for your

grandson's birthday, could be a kidney to

keep your mother alive. I don't think

you want your mother's kidney to end up

behind a table.

The Sorter shoves the table against the wall. Yuri says

something to the Translator.

TRANSLATOR:

He says they have been very busy. It is

hard to get good employees. He is sure

you understand.

Wrong answer:
Chuck glances sharply at Yuri. Aleksei

appears with a cellular phone.

ALEKSEI:

Phone call. Malaysia.

Chuck takes the phone, opening his BAG as he does so.

CHUCK:

Kamal? Right. I'm getting them.

He pulls out a set of blueprints and tacks them to a bulletin

board as he talks.

CHUCK:

I'm looking at the blueprints of K.L.

right now. The belts are too small for

the sorters. Yeah, sometimes you never

see what's right in front of your face.

Look, it's --

Chuck keeps an eye on what is going on in the warehouse.

Then he notices something over by one of the trucks.

CHUCK:

(to a loader)

Hold it! Hazardous material needs its

own container!

(back on the phone)

-- three in the afternoon there, right?

That gives you five hours until the sweep

comes through. Do the sort by hand

tonight, then put in a new feeder belt,

say a twenty-four incher. Yes, overtime

is authorized.

He hangs up the phone. He turns to the crew.

CHUCK:

I'm going out on every route, I'm going

to work every job here, until I know

enough to help you. That's it.

The crew disperses back to work. Chuck and Aleksei walk

toward the office. They've done this before. Chuck lets a

corner of his command persona slip.

ALEKSEI:

It's bad.

CHUCK:

Worse than Warsaw.

ALEKSEI:

Nobody remembers that.

CHUCK:

The failures they remember. It's the

successes they forget.

EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - DAY - MOMENTS LATER

A FedEx truck pulls out of the FedEx office. Chuck is

inside. He notices the graffiti on the walls.

INT. TRUCK - MOMENTS LATER

Chuck rides next to LEV, the driver, a serious sort. The

Translator squats on some boxes between them, trying to keep

his balance.

CHUCK:

You sorted your packages before you left.

None of the other drivers did.

The Translator and Lev exchange a few words.

TRANSLATOR:

He says he wants to be organized. Do

packages in order.

Chuck looks at Lev with respect. Right answer.

CHUCK:

So how come the other drivers haven't

left yet?

The Translator asks Lev, who looks at him as if he is crazy,

then snorts an answer. The Translator blushes.

TRANSLATOR:

He says -- he is a very rude fellow --

CHUCK:

Tell me exactly what he said.

TRANSLATOR:

He says why don't his farts smell sweet?

Chuck grins. Lev shrugs and says something else.

TRANSLATOR:

He says that's just the way it is.

CHUCK:

Lev -- it's Lev, right? Listen, this is

FedEx. We don't have to accept the way

it is.

EXT. HOTEL - ST. PETERSBURG

A weary Chuck enters the hotel. In the sky above him we see

the Northern Lights. He doesn't even look up.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT - LATER

Chuck is watching CNN on the television, working his

PowerBook, and holding the phone.

CHUCK:

No, keep trying. A circuit's bound to

open up.

He hangs up.

CHUCK:

(to himself)

Those damn Northern Lights.

Just then the lights go off. For a moment everything is

darkness. Then a small light switches on. Chuck has a

headlamp on.

He gets up, heads into the bathroom. We stay in the bedroom.

After only a moment, the light reemerges. It heads over to

his bag. We go with it.

Chuck takes out a roll of toilet paper. The guy is prepared

for anything. He goes into the bathroom, closes the door.

The lights come back on just as the phone rings.

We hear scuffling sounds on the other side of the door.

Chuck charges out, holding up his pants.

Grabs the phone.

CHUCK:

Hello? Great. Try it.

He waits. We hear an ANSWERING MACHINE.

KELLY (V.O.)

This is Kelly, leave me a message and

I'll call you back soon as I can.

This is not what Chuck wanted to hear.

CHUCK:

Kelly, damn, look, this is Chuck. I'm

going to be a little late. Well, more

than a little. I had to go to Russia.

Couldn't be helped. Could you call and

cancel the trip? Look, we'll sail the

Keys in March. It's better then anyway.

I'll be back before Christmas. I

promise. I think. I mean, I will. I,

uh --

He's stumbling over whether to say I love you.

CHUCK:

I miss you.

He gently hangs up the phone.

INT. FEDEX OFFICES - ST. PETERSBURG - SERIES OF SHOTS

A surprised Yuri stands with the attractive assistant as

Chuck takes his clipboard away.

An even more surprised Lev stands by his truck as Chuck hands

the clipboard to him.

Chuck and the loaders clean off the graffiti.

Working alongside the sorters as the packages come in, Chuck

points out how to organize the inflow.

Chuck and Lev go over large maps of St. Petersburg with the

drivers.

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