Planet of the Apes Page #8

Cornelius bows respectfully. Zaius is patronizingly polite.

ZAIUS:

Oh, yes -- the young ape with

a shovel. I hear you're planning

another archeological expedition.

A-175MED. SHOT - TAYLOR

He has stepped back from the marks he made in the-dust, is watching

Zaius with concern.

CORNELIUS' VOICE

(o.s.)

Yes, sir. If the academy agrees.

ZAIUS' VOICE

(o.s.)

The project will require my support, of

course.

176MED. CLOSE SHOT - ANGLING DOWN ON TAYLOR AND NOVA

A primitive male squats down to see what Taylor has marked on the

ground. In letters a foot high he has written:

I CAN WRITE:

Nova, at once petulant and playful, erases the WRITE with a bare foot.

Taylor angrily flings her aside. This violence provokes the primitive

male, who snarls at Taylor and cuffs him. Over this we HEAR from a

distance:

CORNELIUS' VOICE

(o.s.)

I hope I can count on it, sir.

ZAIUS' VOICE

(o.s)

A friendly warning, Cornelius --

when you're digging for artifacts,

don't bury your reputation.

Taylor slugs the snarling male, who wades in, trying to bite him.

A VOICE:

(o.s.)

Guards!

177WIDER ANGLE - THE FIGHT

Two gorilla guards rush in to break up the fight. One of them lashes

out with his whip. The other pokes his torch at Taylor. Its flame

brushes his arm. Taylor opens his mouth, gives a silent yell of pain,

shrinks back. Zira runs to the fence.

ZIRA:

(to guards)

Stop! You've hurt him! Take them inside!

Prodding the malcreants with their torches, the two guards herd them

toward a doorway in the wall. Zira hurries around the side of the fence

and o.s.

178MED. SHOT - ZAIUS, CORNELIUS, HUNT CLUB LEADER

ZAIUS:

Cornelius, if you have a moment today, I'd

like to discuss this expedition of yours

in more detail.

CORNELIUS:

(eagerly)

Certainly, sir. I'll get my notes and come

right over.

He exits hurriedly. The Hunt Club Leader turns to Zaius.

HUNT CLUB LEADER

I don't understand these animal psychologists.

What's Dr. Zira trying to prove?

ZAIUS:

That man can be domesticated.

The hunter guffaws. Zaius turns away and looks down at:

179THE DUST UNDERFOOT

Just beyond the fence we can make out the letters:

I CAN:

Zaius' extended foot appears beneath the bottom wire of the fence. The

foot wipes out the letters.

180CLOSEUP - ZAIUS

His face is a mask.

181INT. TAYLOR'S CAGE - MED. SHOT - DAY

He is slumped against the bars of the cell, gingerly touching a large,

reddening blotch on his arm. Julius watches him uncertainly from a few

yards away . In the b.g., the outside door opens and Zira rushes in,

hurries down the aisle.

JULIUS:

What happened?

ZIRA:

Those fools and their torches! Do you

have any ointment?

JULIUS:

I'll see.

He moves to a cabinet at the other end of the laboratory, rummages

through some drawers.

182MED. SHOT - ZIRA - FROM TAYLOR'S P.O.V.

Zira comes up to Taylor's cage, studies him solicitously.

ZIRA:

I'm sorry, Bright Eyes.

183ANOTHER ANGLE - TO INCLUDE TAYLOR

He looks steadily at Zira, who is only an arm's length away. CAMERA

MOVES IN on them. Suddenly Taylor reaches out, snatching the pen and

notebook from the pocket of her smock. Zira leaps back with a cry.

Julius grabs a club, races up to the cage, unlocks the door.

JULIUS:

I told you what you'd get!

184WIDER ANGLE - TO INCLUDE THEM ALL

Taylor is scribbling furiously on a sheet of note paper. The guard

moves in, his club upraised.

ZIRA:

(pleading)

Julius, don't. It doesn't matter.

Julius swings his-club at Taylor's head. Taylor lifts his right arm to

ward off the blow, and the stick strikes him sharply on the hand. He

drops the pen and notebook. The guard swings again, driving Taylor to

the wall. Then Julius retrieves the stolen articles.

185ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING ZIRA

The guard returns her pen and notebook with the comment:

JULIUS:

Natural born thieves, aren't they?

Zira glances at the notebook. Her face clouds.

186INSERT - WHAT SHE READS:

A hasty, almost illegible scrawl:

MY NAME IS TAYLOR.

187CLOSEUP - ZIRA

Her eyes afire with a wild surmise.

188TWO SHOT - ZIRA AND JULIUS

Her eyes never leave Taylor as she tells the guard:

ZIRA:

Get me a collar and leash. I'm

taking him to the infirmary.

JULIUS:

He's vicious, Doctor. Besides, it's

against the rules.

ZIRA:

Do as I say.

The guard shrugs and moves Off 0.3. Zira beckons to Taylor. He comes

forward to the bars of the cage.

ZIRA:

(sotto voce)

You wouldn't hurt me, would

you... Taylor?

189INT. DR. CORNELIUS' OFFICE - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAY

The office is simple, almost Spartan. There are books but no bric-a-

brac; several painted portraits of Great Apes but no tape recorder or

other modern office equipment. Taylor sits at a desk, scribbling

furiously on a sheet of paper. His leash has been removed, but not his

collar. Zira stands at his elbow. Cornelius paces nervously up and

down, reading a sheaf of notes Taylor has already written.

CORNELIUS:

(stubbornly)

It's a stunt. Humans don't write.

ZIRA:

Dear, you're a scientist. Don't

you believe your own eyes?

CORNELIUS:

(to Taylor)

Where did you learn to do this?

190ANOTHER ANGLE - THE OFFICE

Taylor scribbles something on a small desk pad, rips off the page,

hands it to Cornelius.

CORNELIUS:

Jefferson Public School, Fort Wayne,

Indiana?

He looks at Taylor narrowly. Taylor nods.

CORNELIUS:

(sardonically)

Back on that planet you say you came from?

(Taylor nods again)

Um-hm.

(to Zira)

He may be intelligent, but he's also mad.

Taylor scribbles something else on the pad, hands it to Zira, points at

Cornelius.

ZIRA:

(reads aloud)

'And you're a fool'.

She smiles. Cornelius bristles.

CORNELIUS:

Now, just a minute --

ZIRA:

Oh, Cornelius, be quiet.

Taylor has resumed writing. He hands the sheet to Zira, who reads

aloud.

ZIRA:

'Dodge was killed in the hunt. What

happened to Landon?'

(looking at Taylor)

I don't know.

CORNELIUS:

(scornfully)

And they fell out of the sky with you?

Taylor writes quickly, hands the note to Zira.

ZIRA:

(reading)

'Not fell -- flew!'

Taylor impatiently begins to fold a sheet of paper.

CORNELIUS:

Flight is a scientific impossibility.

ZIRA:

And even if it weren't, why fly?

Where would it get you?

Taylor points to the floor and mouths the word "Here." He flings the

paper plane he has just fashioned into the air. It describes a graceful

arc around the room and lands at the feet of Cornelius, who slowly

picks it up, then exchanges a long glance with Zira.

CORNELIUS:

(softly)

Well, now...

Taylor scribbles on a piece of paper, hands it to Zira.

ZIRA:

(reading)

'Do you have maps?'

Cornelius puts the paper plane on his desk, crosses to a wall map

designed like a window shade. He pulls it down Taylor and Zira join him

at the map.

191CLOSE ON MAP

It's not a map of the whole planet, of course, but only of that portion

known to the apes. Therefore it has the antique and fragmentary aspect

of a map drawn by some Babylonian cartographer.

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