Gran Torino Page #18

Six very scared, very jittery Hmong gangbangers look out

at Walt from various doorways and windows.

WALT:

Is that all you swamp rats or is

there more vermin scurrying in the

shadows?

Smokie and Spider step out and stand on the porch.

Smokie smiles at Walt. Walt spits on the ground.

SMOKIE:

I wasn’t sure that you’d...

WALT:

Shut up, gook. I’m not here to

listen to one goddamned syllable

of what a shrimp-dicked little

baby midget like you has to say.

Spider pulls his PISTOL.

WALT:

That’s right, boy. Defend your

boyfriend after he or you or

whoever rapes a member of your

family. Your own blood, for

Christ’s sake. Go ahead, pull

your pistols, just like a bunch of

ridiculous miniature toy cowboys.

Smokie and several other Hmong gangbangers pull their

guns.

WALT:

You have no honor. You’re the

scum of the earth and when you’re

gone, do you think anyone will

care? No one will mourn. You

won’t be missed.

All the Hmong are spooked at Walt’s absolute lack of

fear.

SMOKIE:

Where’s Tao, old man? He too

scared to come and stick up for

himself?

(CONTINUED)

114.

106 CONTINUED:
(2) 106

WALT:

No. Tao is too good for this.

You pukes aren’t worth one second

of his time.

Walt slowly puts a CIGARETTE in his mouth. Even this

slight movement has the gangbangers waving their PISTOLS

around.

Walt laughs.

WALT:

You boys are a little bit jumpy.

SPIDER:

You watch it, old man.

WALT:

No, I think you’d better watch it.

Walt looks around. Other than the gangbangers, a small

group of people have gathered to watch this showdown.

CUT TO:

107 INT. WALT’S HOUSE 107

Sue opens the front door, runs to the stairwell and

pounds down the stairs.

SUE:

Tao? Tao, are you alright?

TAO (O.S.)

I’M DOWN HERE! LET ME OUT!!

She unlocks the CELLAR DOOR. Tao comes out in a rage.

TAO:

Goddamn it!

SUE:

What’s going on?

TAO:

He left without me!

SUE:

Where? Where’d he go?!

TAO:

He went to Smokie’s without me.

Tao takes the stairs two steps at a time.

(CONTINUED)

115.

107 CONTINUED:
107

SUE:

No! No, Tao!

Sue grabs Tao’s legs and hangs on.

SUE:

No! Don’t you dare! Stay away

from them, Tao! I don’t want

anyone else getting hurt.

TAO:

Leave me alone.

SUE:

NO, TAO. NO!

They struggle at the top of the stairs and spill into the

kitchen floor. Tao runs for the door when something

catches his eye...

The kitchen table.

The RIFLE and PISTOL are still there.

Walt purposely left the guns at home.

TAO:

Oh God! NO!!

QUICK CUT BACK TO:

108 EXT. SMOKIE’S DUPLEX -SAME TIME 108

WALT AND COMPANY...

WALT:

Anybody got a light? No? I got

one.

Walt’s slight grin fades. He mutters to himself...

WALT:

Hail Mary, full of grace.

Walt reaches into his coat pocket. Six Hmong gangbangers

simultaneously level their PISTOLS and FIRE.

BULLETS FLY. Walt is struck down. People scream.

Walt falls dead. A ZIPPO lighter clutched in his hand.

Walt never intended to kill anyone. Self-sacrifice.

116.

109 EXT. SMOKIE’S DUPLEX -LATER 109

Tao and Sue arrive just as Smokie, Spider and company are

being driven away in Police cars.

Tao looks at Smokie in the squad car. Smokie no longer

looks tough or hard, he just looks scared.

On the street, Walt is being bagged by the ambulance

crew. Father Janovich prays over him.

Tao steps up to a POLICE OFFICER.

TAO:

What happened?

POLICE OFFICER:

You have to step back.

TAO:

He was a friend of mine.

POLICE OFFICER:

I said step back.

Tao turns to the HMONG POLICE OFFICER.

TAO:

What happened, man?

The Hmong Police Officer looks at the WHITE POLICE

OFFICER and then to Tao.

HMONG POLICE OFFICER

You heard him, step back.

Tao speaks to the HMONG OFFICER in their native language.

TAO:

(subtitled)

Please, man, it’s important. He’s

my friend. Tell me what happened?

HMONG POLICE OFFICER

(subtitled)

The old guy reaches for a lighter

and they gunned him down. The

gang said the old guy was here to

kill them, but he didn’t have a

weapon.

TAO:

(subtitled)

What’s going to happen?

(CONTINUED)

117.

109 CONTINUED:
109

HMONG POLICE OFFICER

(subtitled)

We actually have witnesses for

once. These guys are going away

big time.

The WHITE OFFICER yells at the HMONG OFFICER.

POLICE OFFICER:

Officer Chang, get those people

back.

HMONG POLICE OFFICER

Yes, sir. You have to step back

now.

Tao hugs his sister. Sue openly weeps. Tao holds it in.

He looks at his friend Walt as the bag is zipped over

him.

110 EXT. TAO’S HOUSE -DAY 110

Tao and Sue wait in front. Tao wears a suit, Sue is in a

traditional Hmong dress. A TAXI pulls up and they get

in.

Sitting on the porch is Phong who rocks back and forth in

her rocking chair. Phong holds Daisy in her arms, gently

petting the old dog.

111 INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH 111

We’re at the funeral of Walter Kowalski. Walt is dressed

in his new suit.

Along with the crowd you’d expect, Tao and Sue are seated

near the front.

Walt’s sons and family are there. Mitch gives Tao a

dirty look. Tao looks back at him, his gaze bores right

through Mitch. Mitch looks away.

Father Janovich steps up to the pulpit and speaks.

(CONTINUED)

118.

111 CONTINUED:
111

FATHER JANOVICH:

Walt Kowalski once said to me I

didn’t know anything about life or

death because ‘I was an

overeducated, 27-year-old virgin

who held the hands of

superstitious old women and

promised them eternity.’ Walt

definitely had no problem ‘calling

it like he saw it.’ But Walt was

right. I knew really nothing

about life or death until I got to

know Walt. And boy, did I learn.

112 INT. LAW OFFICE 112

All of Walt’s family are seated in an office as a LAWYER

reads Walt Kowalski’s will.

Tao is present along with Walt’s family.

LAWYER:

Which brings us to our last item.

And again, please forgive the

language used in Mr. Kowalski’s

will. I’m simply reading it as it

was written.

The LAWYER takes a sip of water before reading...

LAWYER:

‘And to my friend, Tao Vang Lor, I

leave my 1972 Gran Torino on the

condition that you don’t choptop

the roof like a damned spick,

don’t paint any idiotic flames on

it like some white-trash hillbilly

and don’t put a big gay spoiler on

the rear-end like you see on all

the other zipper heads’ cars. It

just looks like hell. If you can

refrain from doing any of that,

it’s yours.

FADE OUT.

THE END:

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