King Kong Page #2

MATT:

(yelling)

JACK!

MATT races towards the BURRING WRECKAGE ... GUNFIRE from the German

trenches kicks the mud up around his feet and he dives forward into a

large SHELLHOLE.

JACK:

Matt!

MATT'S only a few yards away from JACK, but they have to stay in their

respective shellholes as a ground shaking volley of ARTILLERY FIRE

THUNDERS around them.

JACK (CONT'D)

(yelling)

What the hell are you doing?

MATT:

(yelling)

Saving your lousy ass!

JACK:

(yelling)

You're not saving anybody! You're in the sh*t like me!

MATT and JACK start CHUCKLING.

MATT hears a LOW NOISE, turns around and SCREAMS ...

LOW ANGLE POV A burly GERMAN SOLDIER rams his BAYONET towards CAMERA.

CLOSE ON MATT'S FACE ... he gasps in shock as he is stabbed in the

stomach.

JACK (CONT'D)

(shocked yell)

MATT???

JACK staggers over the top of the shellhole, confronting the THREE

GERMAN SOLDIERS who have descended on MATT. He FIRES HIS REVOLVER at

them ... killing each SOLDIER.

IMAGE SLOWS DOWN - TURNS into grainy BLACK AND WHITE JACK sinks to his

knees, SOBBING WITH GRIEF.

CAMERA RISES INTO THE SKY ...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. SUMATRAN DIG - DAY

CLOSE ON A grotesque face ... eyes bulging, tongue wedged between

teeth.

PULL OUT from the bizarre STONE CARVING of a man riding a buffalo as

the side of a WOODEN PACKING CASE swings shut, sealing the ancient

figure into a tea chest marked "BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON". A couple of

SUMATRAN LABORERS hammer nails into the chest ... CRANE UP to reveal an

extensive ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION underway in the foothills of the

Bukit Seguntang mountains near Palembang.

SUPER BRITISH MUSEUM ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG

SUPER SUMATRA 1933

The dig is nestled in a lush, humid valley. A spectacular WATERFALL

thunders into a river that bisects the camp - a GROUP OF TENTS, with a

UNION JACK fluttering from a makeshift flagpole. 8 BRITISH

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are spread around, huddling over shell pits and

primitive stone monuments - painstakingly freeing the remains of a 12th

century HINDU SHRINE from the grip of the Sumatran jungle.

The most spectacular MONUMENT is a huge loft STONE BUDDHA, set into a

shallow cave below a rocky cliff. It sits serenely, casting an

impassive gaze over the entire site.

Numerous SAMUTRAN LABOUR'S move about, carrying buckets of dirt away

from individual dig sites, CLOSE ON A YOUNG WOMAN'S HANDS excitedly

scraping mud from a buried artifact she has just discovered - a small

BRONZE STATUE of a warrior in a FIERCE WAR MASK ...Pitted with age, one

arm broken off, it carries a SPEAR made from IVORY.

ANN DARROW is an attractive young English woman in her early twenties.

She wears baggy khaki trousers and a cotton shirt, her blonde hair tied

back in a pony tail. She issues orders to MENTAWEI - a SUMATRAN

LABORER.

ANN:

Mentawei! Fetch some warm soapy water.

MENTAWEI:

Yes, Miss Darrow!

MENTAWEI races away. ANN marvels at her find as she gently frees it

from the mud ... A SHADOW looms over her, and she quickly stands up,

her confidence suddenly draining ...

LORD LINWOOD DARROW is in his late seventies, but still cuts a dashing

figure. His only apparent concession to age - a stout WALKING STICK.

LORD DARROW:

What have you got there?

ANN:

(nervous)

A Neolithic bronze ... Reminiscent of the Nias Island cultures ... It '

s very curious. Defiantly Pagan. The use of ivory for the spear is

quite unique ... What do you think?

LORD DARROW:

I think you're trying to run before you can walk, Ann.

ANN'S FACE drops ... LORD DARROW takes the STATUE and gently leads her

away from the site.

LORD DARROW (CONT'D)

You're here merely to observe. Leave the digging to people who know

what they're doing, my dear.

They approach an elaborate STONE PILLAR, carved. Intricately

LORD DARROW (CONT'D)

Now look at this fine example of early Hindu art ... I don't recall any

sketches of this passing across my desk ...

ANN:

I photographed it extensively, father.

LORD DARROW:

Photography teaches you nothing, Ann! Click! One second and you've seen

all you're going to see. I want you sitting here with your paper and

pencils ... I want to see every chisel mark reproduced with painstaking

accuracy. Understand the carving and you will understand the people!

That Ann, is the key to archaeology.

LORD DARROW walks away, leaving ANN scowling at the statue.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON ANN'S discovery viewed through a MAGNIFYING GLASS ... WALTER

DOUGLAS, a BRITISH archaeologist, slowly scans the small figure. LORD

DARROW stands beside him, a PERPLEXED FROWN on his face.

LORD DARROW (CONT'D)

It makes no sense, Dougie ... Pagan artifacts below a Hindu site.

DOUGLAS:

It's like all the others ... it's human bone.

DOUGLAS carefully places the STATUE on a linen covered table ... MARY

OTHER SMALL ARTIFACTS - clearly the work of the same culture - cover

the table. All are BRONZE, and all have BONE accessories.

DOUGLAS (CONT'D)

My guess is it's sacrificial. Some sort of offering.

LORD DARROW:

An unknown culture ... A barbaric race with no regard for human life.

CUT TO:

EXT. PALEMBANG HARBOR - DAY

PALEMBANG DOCKS - a crowded series of wharves where NATIVE OUTRIGGERS

and FISHING BOATS compete for space with rusting COASTAL TRADERS ...

Amongst the junk that litters the harbor - an old AVRO SEAPLANE ...

beached on the muddy banks, canvas ripped, wings broken.

A LARGE Tramp STEAMER - "THE VENTURE", glides towards the DOCK,

blasting it's horn at the crowd of NATIVE BOATS crossing it's path.

EXT. VENTURE DECK - DAY

POV from "THE VENTURE" of PALEMBANG HARBOR. PULL BACK to reveal a

CAMERA CREW shooting the sight from the bow of the ship. The CAMERAMAN

is HERB COOPER - middle aged, steadfastly loyal, walks with a

pronounced LIMP. The SOUND RECORDIST is RANDELL PEEK - unpleasant,

ratty faced, potential trouble maker. Their EQUIPMENT BOXES are

STENCILED with "CARL DENHAM PICTURES".

CAPTAIN ENGLEHORN, a dry, old school SKIPPER steers the ship in.

PEEK switches his TAPE RECORDER off ... removes his HEADPHONES.

PEEK:

Another God-forsaken Chinese rat-hole.

KURT VOSS is wandering past, reading an INDONESIAN/ENGLISH TRANSLATION

BOOK. KURT is an IMMENSELY STRONG ship's MATE ... BRUTISH LOOKING and

basically SLOW WITTED, the kind of guy who moves his lips when he reads

... he has a love of classical music.

KURT:

"Hai sahabatku yang baik" ... That means "Hello, my good friend".

PEEK flips his MIDDLE FINGER at KURT.

PEEK:

That means "Piss off".

CAPTAIN ENGLEHORN yells from the BRIDGE.

ENGLEHORN:

(yelling)

Secure the moorings!

CUT TO:

EXT. PALEMBANG DOCKS - DAY

A group of TEN SUMATRAN OFFICIALS are waiting nervously on the docks as

the GANGPLANK is secured. PEEK is the first off, followed by HERB,

staggering under the weight of the camera and tripod.

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