Fight Club Page #6

INT. AIRPORT - NIGHT

Jack stands at a gate counter. An ATTENDANT smiles at him.

ATTENDANT:

Check-in for that flight doesn't

begin for another two hours, Sir.

Jack looks with blearing eyes at his watch, steps away and

looks at an overhanging CLOCK.

JACK (V.O.)

Pacific, Mountain, Central. Lose an

hour, gain an hour. This is your

life, and it's ending one minute at

a time.

INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - DAY

Jack's eyes snap open as the plane LANDS.

JACK (V.O.)

You wake up at Air Harbor

International.

INT. AIRPORT WALKWAY

Jack stands on a conveyor belt, briefcase at his feet. He

watches PEOPLE MOVING PAST on the opposite conveyor.

JACK (V.O.)

If you wake up at a different time

and in a different place, could you

wake up as a different person?

Jack misses seeing TYLER on the opposite conveyor belt.

They pass each other.

INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

Jack sits next to a BUSINESSMAN. As they have idle

CONVERSATION, we MOVE IN ON Jack's tray. An ATTENDANT'S

HANDS set coffee down with a small container of cream.

JACK (V.O.)

Everywhere I travel -- tiny life.

Single-serving sugar, single-serving

cream, single pat of butter.

CUT TO:

HANDS place a dinner tray down.

JACK (V.O.)

Microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - BATHROOM - NIGHT

Jack brushes his teeth in the MIRROR.

JACK (V.O.)

Shampoo/conditioner combo. Single-

serving mouthwash, tiny bar of soap.

Jack picks up an individual, wrapped Q-TIP, looks at it. He

moves out of the bathroom into...

MAIN ROOM:

Jack sits on the bed. He turns on the TV. It's tuned to

the "Sheraton Channel," shows WAITERS serving people in a

large BANQUET ROOM. Jack stops brushing his teeth, feels

something on the bed, lifts it -- a small DINNER MINT.

INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

Jack sits next to a frumpy WOMAN. They chat. Jack turns to

look at his food, takes a bite. He turns back and it's...

--a BALD MAN next to him, talking. Jack takes another bite,

turns back and it's...

--a BUSINESSMAN next to him. Jack takes another bite, turns

back, and it's...

--a BUSINESS WOMAN next to him.

JACK (V.O.)

The people I meet on each flight --

they're single-serving friends.

Between take-off and landing, we have

our time together, but that's all we

get.

INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - LANDING

Jack's eyes snap open.

JACK (V.O.)

You wake up at Logan.

INT. WAREHOUSE - CONTINUOUS

A giant corrugated METAL DOOR opens.

JACK (V.O.)

On a long enough time line, the

survival rate for everyone drops to

zero.

Two TECHNICIANS lead Jack to the BURNT-OUT SHELL of a

WRECKED AUTOMOBILE. Jack sets down his briefcase, opens it

and starts to make notes on a CLIPBOARDED FORM.

JACK (V.O.)

I'm a recall coordinator. My job is

to apply the formula. It's a story

problem.

TECHNICIAN #1

Here's where the infant went through

the windshield. Three points.

JACK (V.O.)

A new car built by my company leaves

somewhere traveling at 60 miles per

hour. The rear differential locks up.

TECHNICIAN #2

The teenager's braces around the

backseat ashtray would make a good

"anti-smoking" ad.

JACK (V.O.)

The car crashes and burns with

everyone trapped inside. Now: do we

initiate a recall?

TECHNICIAN #1

The father must've been huge. See

how the fat burnt into the driver's

seat with his polyester shirt? Very

"modern art."

JACK (V.O.)

Take the number of vehicles in the

field, (A), and multiply it by the

probable rate of failure, (B), then

multiply the result by the average

out-of-court settlement, (C). A

times B times C equals X...

CUT TO:

INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - MOVING DOWN RUNWAY

Jack is speaking to the BUSINESSWOMAN next to him.

JACK:

If X is less than the cost of a

recall, we don't do one.

BUSISNESS WOMAN:

Are there a lot of these kinds of

accidents?

JACK:

Oh, you wouldn't believe.

BUSINESS WOMAN:

... Which... car company do you work

for?

JACK:

A major one.

Turgid silence. Jack turns to the window. He sees a

PELICAN get SUCKED into the TURBINE.

JACK (V.O.)

Every time the plane banked too

sharply on take-off or landing, I

prayed for a crash, or a mid-air

collision -- anything.

Jack's face remains bland during the following: the plane

BUCKLES -- the cabin wobbles. People panic. Masks drop.

JACK (V.O.)

No more haircuts. Nothing matters,

not even bad breath.

The side of the plane SHEARS OFF! Screaming PASSENGERS are

sucked out into the night air, flying past the quivering

wind. Magazines and other objects fly everywhere.

JACK (V.O.)

Life insurance pays off triple if you

die on a business trip.

Jack remains in his same position, same bland expression.

DING! -- the seatbelt light goes OUT. Jack SNAPS AWAKE.

EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. Some passengers get out of their

seats. From next to Jack, a VOICE we've heard before...

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