Okja Page #10

As he removes his balaclava, the other A.L.F. members take

off theirs. They're all younger than Jay, in their 20s. Jay

introduces each member to Mija. Jacket is K (Asian). Thewoman is RED. The two others are men -BLOND and SILVER. Each

are named after the color of their hair. Silver looks sweet,

but socially awkward, very thin. Red and Blond look restless.

JAY:

...And my name is Jay.

K TRANSLATES for Mija - word-for-word.

MIJA:

I’m Mija. And this is Okja.

K:

(chuckling)

Mija. Okja. Those are like old-

fashioned names. That’s sweet.

Jay gives K a “so what” look. Awkward silence.

JAY:

We are animal lovers. We rescue

animals from slaughterhouses, zoos,

labs. We tear down cages and setthem free. This is why we rescuedOkja.

Mija bows politely.

47.

MIJA:

Thank you so much.

Jay speaks in an overly formal manner as he fixes hisnecktie.

JAY:

For forty years our group hasliberated animals from places ofabuse.

Jay gestures to K. K removes a mini-tablet from his jacketand shows it to Mija.

CLOSE on the mini-tablet. OLD ARCHIVE FILM of the A.L.F.

smashing down doors with hammers and crowbars and rescuing

the caged animals inside.

JAY (CONT'D)

We inflict economic damage on thosewho profit from their misery. Wereveal their atrocities to the

public. And we never harm anyone -

human or non-human. That is our

forty year credo.

THUMP. Jay turns at the sound of something falling and seesSilver barely being held up by Blond. He looks pale, sickly.

JAY (CONT'D)

Are you okay, Silver?

(to Blond)

He didn't eat anything even today?

BLOND:

(shaking his head)

He's still trying to leave thesmallest footprint he can on theplanet Earth.

SILVER:

(weakly)

All food production isexploitative.

BLOND:

(exasperated)

What about tomatoes?

SILVER:

Ripened with ethylene gas.

Transported in trucks.

48.

JAY:

I admire your conviction, Silver,

but your pallid complexion worries

me.

Jay turns to Mija.

JAY (CONT’D)

How long have you and Okja livedtogether?

MIJA:

Since I was four.

At this the group let out a low sigh.

JAY:

Do you know where she was beingtaken?

MIJA:

To America. The Best Super PigFest.

JAY:

Yes. But she was being takensomewhere else first. Mija. Youneed to prepare yourself.

Everything you believe you knowabout Okja is a lie.

Mija instinctively reaches out to touch Okja.

JAY (CONT'D)

Okja's other destination was...

K presses the screen on his mini-tablet. We see PHOTOGRAPHSof a WAREHOUSE. It looks ABANDONED. But it's surrounded bybarbed wired fences and AMERICAN SECURITY GUARDS.

JAY (CONT'D)

This underground laboratory inParamus, New Jersey. This is thebuilding where Okja was created.

Mija frowns - then grins.

MIJA:

No, Okja was born on a ranch inArizona. Her mother was born in

Chile. On a beautiful farm.

49.

JAY:

Okja was created in this lab. Sowas her so-called 'mother'. This is

where Mirando experiment with theirgenetically mutated animals.

Mija looks troubled.

JAY (CONT'D)

They're looking to develop thebreed that will generate them thebiggest profit. In that very lab.

You and the other local farmers

across the world are justpromotional devices for them - justa picturesque backdrop.

MIJA:

Backdrop?

SILVER:

They make everything seem cosy. Butit's not cosy. It's never cosy.

JAY:

Mirando know their consumers won't

eat mutant GM foods. So ten years

ago their 'beautiful' headpsychopath Lucy Mirando - who bythe way became CEO by forcing outanother psychopath named NancyMirando in a f***ed-up coupd'état... Anyway, they went into

the laboratory and dug aroundamongst all the disfigured,

misshapen creatures to unearth theprettiest ones.

As K quietly translates, he shows Mija more photographs ofthe laboratory's innocuous-looking exterior.

JAY (CONT'D)

And then - big fanfare - she sentthem around the world.

K pulls up a file on his mini-tablet. It's VIDEO of Lucy'spress conference from ten years ago. We see the photographsof the SUPER PIGLETS being handed to farmers across theworld. We see Lucy on the stage...

REPORTER:

When do we get to see the big pigs?

50.

For a tiny moment, Lucy looks like she doesn't know what tosay. Then she recovers.

LUCY:

Ten years.

K pauses the video - a freeze-frame of Lucy, a triumphantglint in her eye.

JAY:

You know why she said ten years? Toconsolidate power. The longer theproject's duration, the longershe'd get to be at the top, runningthings.

RED:

And those were the ten years youspent with Okja.

Mija stares blankly, her face crowded with conflictingemotions.

JAY:

And now the ten years are nearlyup. They've been franticallybreeding super pigs and soon thesupermarkets will be filled withtheir flesh and organs. Dog food,

hot dogs, bacon...

K translates clearly for Mija.

JAY (CONT'D)

Our plan is to put a stop to theirproject by exposing the lab and itscrimes against animals. But to do

so, we need video from inside -

footage of the horrible atrocitiesbeing committed in the lab. Andthere's a problem.

Mija is now completely immersed in the story. She looks athim intently.

JAY (CONT'D)

The security is impenetrable. Othergroups have tried and failed to getin.

(Beat)

But there is a way. Although wewill only go ahead with it if yougive us your consent.

51.

At this, K stops translating and stares at Jay. So do theother A.L.F. members.

Jay nods.

BLOND:

(protesting)

If this kid doesn't give herconsent, we're going to abandon themission?

JAY:

(to K)

Please don't translate. Hold on.

(to everyone)

We do not harm any non-human orhuman. This little girl is Okja'sfamily and I will not harm her byforcing a mission upon her that shedoes not consent to.

RED:

We have to abort just because someman from the 1970s wrote a f***ing

'credo'?

BLOND:

Tradition doesn't make a movement

strong.

SILVER:

(coughing violently)

WE make a movement strong.

Jay looks around coolly at his riled up colleagues. Hedoesn't have to raise his voice. His quiet charisma instantlysubdues everyone. The trailer, once again silent.

JAY:

(Calmly)

If that's how you feel callyourself something else and not the

A.L.F. and don't come around here

anymore.

The members look abashed by Jay's words. Jay quietly gazesinto Mija's eyes.

JAY (CONT'D)

In order to expose Mirando we needvideo from inside the laboratory...

K hesitates briefly before continuing to translate.

52.

JAY (CONT'D)

And this is where your Okja comesin. The Mirando scientists are

dying to get their hands on her attheir underground lab. Their starsuper pig! They’re desperate to puther through a slew of tests.

(Beat)

Which is why we've made this.

K removes a small, black electronic device from his pocketand shows it to Mija.

JAY (CONT'D)

It looks exactly like the black boxon Okja's ear, right? But this onehas a transmitter that will

wirelessly send their video feed to

us. We want to replace the deviceon Okja's ear with this, so Okjacan send us a live feed from inside

the laboratory.

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