Denial

1 EXT. AUSCHWITZ. DAY EXT. AUSCHWITZ. DAY 1

Dawn. Mist. Drizzle. Watchtowers, ruined structures, bare

trees, fences. Through the rain, the sound of feet shuffling,

children’s voices crying, metal doors clanging. Then, in

sharp contrast, the sound of a large audience laughing

heartily at the plummy, confident voice of DAVID IRVING

addressing them over a PA system.

IRVING (VOICE)

I don’t see any reason to be

tasteful about Auschwitz...

2 INT. MEETING HALL. CALGARY. NIGHT 2

Grainy newsreel footage of DAVID IRVING, mid-fifties,

powerfully built, in perfect English tailoring.

IRVING:

I say to you, quite tastelessly,

that more women died in the

backseat of Edward Kennedy’s car at

Chappaquiddick than ever died in a

gas chamber at Auschwitz.

Applause and laughter carry over into:

3 EXT. ATLANTA. EARLY MORNING. CREDITS 3

DEBORAH LIPSTADT, red-haired, 47, vital, determined, is

jogging through bosky suburbs. Sunlit greenery hanging from

the trees. Good trainers, stout socks. She has a Sony Walkman

on her belt and headphones. She is followed by a joyful

medium-sized rescue dog, The Mutt. A montage of VOICES:

NEWS VOICE 1

... media commentator Pat Buchanan

caused a stir yesterday when he

suggested it would have been

physically impossible for Nazi gas

chambers to have produced enough

lethal carbon monoxide to have

killed camp victims in Treblinka...

NEWS VOICE 2

On Phil Donahue tonight, “Did six

million really die?”

NEWS VOICE 3

... National Front leader Jean

Marie le Pen asserted that he had

never seen any evidence of gas

chambers and that many historians

doubted if they ever existed...

Full Blue Script // December 4th 2015 22.

NEWS VOICE 4

... A new national poll suggests as

many as 22% of US adults and 20% of

high school students think it’s

possible the Holocaust may never

have happened...

IRVING’S VOICE

One year from now the Holocaust

will have been discredited. No

one’s going to like it when they

find out that for fifty years

they’ve been believing a legend

based on baloney.

4

EXT. DEBORAH’S HOUSE. MAILBOX. DAY 4

DEBORAH runs in past a mailbox with “Lipstadt” on the side,

and into her house.

5

INT. DEBORAH’S HOUSE. KITCHEN/BEDROOM. DAY. CREDITS 5

DEBORAH, sweating, towel round her neck, forks dog-food from

a can. She clangs the side of the bowl and The Mutt appears

at once. DEBORAH clicks on the coffee machine, pours a

smoothie, and scrapes out the heart of a bagel with a spoon.

NPR radio is playing: Bob Edwards with Morning Edition.

CAPTION:
ATLANTA NOVEMBER 11th 1994

6

INT. DEBORAH’S OFFICE. DAY. CREDITS 6

Later. It’s now Julie McCarthy on NPR. DEBORAH, showered and

dressed, is multitasking, gulping coffee, picking up a stack

of freshly marked student essays, also picking up a big

cardboard box of books, from under her desk - the title

briefly glimpsed DENYING THE HOLOCAUST. The essays are

slapped down on top of the books.

7

INT. CORRIDOR & DEBORAH’S OFFICE. EMORY UNIVERSITY. DAY. 7

CREDITS:

DEBORAH walks briskly into her office with the box. The Mutt,

following, dives to his usual place under the desk. DEBORAH’S

ASSISTANT, LEONIE, hands her another coffee in a paper cup,

some papers, and message slips.

LEONIE:

I’ve done your corrections. Two

copies. Here. Jamie called from

NBC. They still want the interview

about the book.

LEONIE hands over some tapes.

Full Blue Script // December 4th 2015 33.

LEONIE (CONT’D)

Clips. Edited. Marked. Cues on

script.

DEBORAH:

He needs some water.

DEBORAH is already through the door with box, tapes, speech,

coffee. LEONIE is too late.

LEONIE:

You want a hand with that?

8 INT. AUDITORIUM. DEKALB COLLEGE. ATLANTA. DAY. CREDITS 8

DEBORAH confidently pushes her way into a hall, with columns

and rows of empty seats, heading towards the speaker’s

lectern. The event’s organizer is GLORIA, black, 40s, is

trying to keep up with DEBORAH’S brisk pace.

DEBORAH:

I do a lot of these events, so I

have quite a clear idea how best to

handle them. If you can put a table

at the back. Right by the door,

perfect as they leave.

GLORIA:

Certainly will.

DEBORAH:

I took the liberty of calling a

couple of local papers for

coverage. Mia Daniels, Grant from

the Inquirer...

GLORIA:

Oh good. We were going to do that.

You’re one step ahead.

DEBORAH:

Well I hope so. I like to be.

DEBORAH looks round the hall, checking the first arrivals.

9 INT & EXT. CAR & STREETS. ATLANTA. DAY. CREDITS 9

Two MEN in the front - heavy, determined. In the back, a

third MAN, whose face is not seen. They’re all quiet. They

drive along busy streets: downtown Atlanta, aspiring,

skyscrapered. The traffic thins as they approach the college.

Full Blue Script // December 4th 2015 44.

10 INT. AUDITORIUM. DAY. CREDITS 10

DEBORAH is at the table at the back, taking books out,

arranging notebook, pen, ledger, cashbox: the perfect

professional. STUDENTS are arriving, most black, most young.

GLORIA:

Can I help?

DEBORAH:

You’re going to laugh, sorry, but

I’ve got a system. It works for me.

They smile. The result is indeed impressive, completed at the

end by her putting an author photograph against the books.

The credits end.

11 EXT. DEKALB. DAY 11

The car draws up in a car park outside. The two MEN get out.

The third MAN’S shoes, English, beautifully polished, land on

the tarmac. The trunk at the back is opened, and inside there

is a huge cardboard box, and a big black case. These are

taken out. Bang, the trunk is closed.

12 INT & EXT. ENTRANCE & AUDITORIUM. DAY 12

The legs of the THREE MEN as they come into the building,

then along a polished corridor to the auditorium. One of them

is carrying the big black case. The THIRD has shopping bags.

They turn into the hall. DEBORAH is at the front giving an

interview to STUDENT JOURNALISTS.

DEBORAH:

One thing I’ve noticed about these

events you always sell 37 books.

Regardless of the size of the

audience. 500 people, 37 books. 50

people, 37 books. I’ve started to

wonder if it’s all fixed.

The students are laughing at her jokes. She is in her element

and doesn’t notice as one of the MEN opens the case, takes

out a tripod, and sets it up close to a column. Meanwhile, at

the back, the third MAN’S hand, unidentified, picks up

DENYING THE HOLOCAUST. More STUDENTS file in. DEBORAH sits,

waiting. GLORIA stands to introduce her.

13 INT. CORRIDOR. DAY 13

Back outside the hall, the third MAN’S fingers opening the

book, finding the index. Running a finger down until coming

upon ‘Irving, David, 8, 14, 111, 161-163, 170’.

Full Blue Script // December 4th 2015 5.

14 INT. AUDITORIUM. DAY 14

The last object from the box - a video camera is taken out by

a hand from the box, and put on top of the tripod.

15 INT. CORRIDOR. DAY 15

The MAN’S fingers are rifling through the book to check the

references as from inside the hall he hears:

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