Cast Away Page #25

The waitress sets a plate down in front of Chuck, turns to

watch.

On the TV we see an Australian correspondent standing on

Chuck's beach.

DINGO DODD:

Shark infested waters! A deserted

island! Surrounded by reefs! Accessible

only by helicopter! For four years Chuck

Noland survived here alone, eating fish,

coconuts and clams, his only companion a

soccer ball.

Chuck is staring at the screen, seeing his cave, seeing all

those years.

DINGO DODD:

I'm now in Chuck's cave where he passed

the lonely nights, painting on the walls

like some prehistoric caveman. What did

Chuck feel? These paintings tell the

story, but only Chuck knows what they

mean. And he's not talking.

On the screen we see a photograph of Chuck.

The waitress looks over at Chuck. The other clients look at

him too.

CHUCK:

Check, please.

The waitress comes over.

WAITRESS:

No charge, honey. But could you just

sign that place mat for me?

Chuck looks down at his doodling. Hesitates. Then signs his

name.

INT. TYSON'S CHICKEN - ARKANSAS - DAY

Thousands of chicken carcasses hanging on hooks circle

through the huge processing plant, a vast structure on the

scale of the SuperHub or the Hospital.

Chuck's Mom, dressed in white with a hairnet, enters a

windowed office in the b.g. Through the window we see her

hug Chuck.

INT. TYSON'S CHICKEN - OFFICE - ARKANSAS - DAY

We are in the office now. Chuck's Mom's eyes are moist.

CHUCK:

When'd you start working here?

MOM:

Roger got me on. I wasn't doing

anything, and -- but you're back, you're

really back. I would have come to

Memphis, but --

CHUCK:

I wanted to come here.

INT. FRAME HOUSE - ARKANSAS - DAY

Chuck eats a Southern fried drumstick. The table is full of

home-cooked food.

MOM:

Have some more potato salad.

Chuck gestures, no, I'm full. She puts down the spoon.

CHUCK:

That was great, Mom, just great.

He looks around the house, everything in its place. His

mother has been here for forty years. There's a big crack

running down from the ceiling.

CHUCK:

I've got all this back pay coming. Why

don't you let me get you a place in town?

MOM:

This is my home. I'm part of the

wallpaper.

She studies him for a moment.

MOM:

You miss it, don't you? You miss that

island.

He does, but that's not it entirely.

CHUCK:

Miss that island? Mom, come on.

She looks at him. She knows her boy.

MOM:

What a journey you've had. It seems more

than a person should have to bear.

CHUCK:

The tide saved me, Mom. I lived by it.

I'm just wondering where it will take me

next.

She looks at him, thinks about this.

MOM:

Remember the family motto. In time. It

will come to you, in time.

EXT. ARKANSAS - DAY

Chuck rides away from the small neat frame house, down a

country lane with trailers up on blocks.

EXT. GULF COAST - DAY

Chuck leaves a cheap motel as the sun comes up.

EXT. MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST - DAY - LATER

Chuck rides on a ferry, the wind blowing his face. The sky

is gray and drizzly. He smells the salt water. Watches the

waves.

EXT. GAS STATION - DAY

Chuck asks for directions. A kid in baggy pants and no shirt

points him down the road.

EXT. GAS STATION - MOMENTS LATER

Chuck pulls some clothes out of his saddle bags.

EXT. GAS STATION - MOMENTS LATER

Chuck emerges from the restroom wearing a FedEx shirt and

shorts.

EXT. BEACH HOUSE - HOUR LATER

A classic beach house. Sand dunes, stilts. Carrying the

Angel Wing Box under his arm, Chuck checks the address in his

hand. Mounts the steps. A light mist falls. You can see

the Gulf behind the house, gray and moody.

A WOMAN, BETTINA, answers the door -- THE woman from the

beginning. She wears cut-off jeans and a blue work shirt

covered with paint. There's a tattoo on her ankle.

CHUCK:

FedEx for Bettina Peterson.

The woman stares in disbelief at the package she hasn't seen

in years and never expected to see again.

BETTINA:

Where did you get that?

Chuck displays a FedEx badge.

CHUCK:

Charles Noland. FedEx Special Projects.

Bettina notices Chuck's bicycle.

BETTINA:

You came on a bicycle? No wonder it's so

late.

CHUCK:

There was an unavoidable delay.

Bettina stares at the package, her own memories coming back.

BETTINA:

Well, I have to say, I'm impressed. You

never gave up.

CHUCK:

No.

She holds the box and studies him for a long moment.

Something -- the look on his face, the extraordinary

reappearance of this long-lost package -- makes her curious.

BETTINA:

You know what happened to this?

CHUCK:

As much as anybody.

BETTINA:

Want to come in? Get dry for a minute.

CHUCK:

Okay. Sure.

She lets Chuck in the door.

INT. HOUSE - DAY

Ladders. Scaffolds. Huge paintings are everywhere.

Paintings of wings and angels -- like the package. Chuck

stares at them. Bettina watches Chuck stare.

BETTINA:

I've got some coffee on. Would you like

some?

INT. KITCHEN - LATER

Bettina pours some coffee. The package sits in the counter.

Some magazines are spread around, including a People Magazine

with Chuck's photograph on the cover.

CHUCK:

(takes a sip)

It's good.

They smile awkwardly at each other. She starts to open it.

BETTINA:

Hmmm. Feels like it might have gotten

wet.

CHUCK:

Possible. So you did those wings?

BETTINA:

Yeah. A long time ago.

CHUCK:

They're harder to do than they look.

BETTINA:

Oh? You've tried?

CHUCK:

Well, I do a little drawing --

She's opened the package. She pulls out the bottles of salsa

and the letter.

CHUCK:

Our apologies that it never made it to

the recipient.

BETTINA:

He was a sorry sonofabitch, and I'm sorry

I ever married him.

There is a moment where neither knows what to say.

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