Silverado

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FADE IN:

INT. SHACK - DAY

Darkness. Quiet. The CAMERA MOVES through the gloom of the

small, dirty, wooden hut, past a broken table, over a well-

worn saddle lying on the floor. Now, a pair of boots standing

empty by the rotting remains of a rough-hewn bunk, up to a

holstered gun hung on the corner of the bed. The still shape

of a man, a bedroll his only protection from the splintery

planks. This is EMMETT, fast asleep.

The door of the shack bursts inward as a Gunman crashes in.

For a moment he is silhouetted against the blinding morning

light, his two six-guns blasting even before the door has

bounced shut behind him, returning the hut to darkness.

Emmett's holster, the gun gone.

The gun is here in Emmett's hand, erupting now with three

quick explosions. The intruder flies against the far wall of

the hut and lands on the floor dead. From outside, two bullets

pierce the plank wall behind Emmett, light streaming through

in .45 calibre shafts.

Emmett is out of the bunk and on the floor. He fires once

over the bunk. In the moment of quiet that follows, we hear

running FOOTSTEPS outside the hut. Emmett follows their

progress with the point of his gun, but holds his fire.

Suddenly a shotgun blasts a large hole in the roof of the

shack, and the table disintegrates in a new column of light.

Emmett glances upward, but quickly returns his attention to

the side walls, trying to follow that gunman. Now more fire

comes from there and more footsteps. Another shotgun blast

showers Emmett with debris, but he ignores it, concentrating

on the walls.

WHAT HE SEES. The Man Outside moves quickly past a crack in

the wall, momentarily revealing his spot by blocking the

light. Emmett fires once ahead of him, stopping his progress

and forcing him back to the crack. Emmett fires his last

shot there, and the man outside goes down hard.

The shotgun rips another jagged hole in the ceiling and blows

a crater in the dirt by Emmett's foot. The shape of a man

flashes across the new hole. Emmett looks across the room at

the top bunk, where the barrel of his Winchester protrudes a

few inches from the bare planks. Emmett throws his empty six-

gun noisily into the far corner of the hut. Instantly the

man on the roof blasts away in that direction.

Emmett dives for the bunk. With the tips of his fingers, he

pulls hard on the muzzle. The Winchester flips full circle

into the air as the bunk behind it is shredded from above.

With an odd kind of inevitability, as though seeking its

rightful place, the Winchester arcs into a shaft of light,

where it is met by Emmett's steady, waiting hands. Before it

has even settled, he has cocked and fired twice through a

hole in the roof. Emmett stops and lowers the carbine. The

Man on the Roof falls spread-eagled through the weakened

ceiling. Debris and sunlight shower his lifeless form.

Emmett listens, moves silently to the door, and opens it

carefully. WE FOLLOW him outside, out into the bright

sunlight, into the awesome promise of the American West.

EXT. SHACK - DAY

Emmett moves warily around the isolated shack. There are no

more attackers. He looks off into the distance. Two riderless

horses, galloping away, are the only moving things in the

empty landscape. A third saddled horse, a pinto, stands

nervously near Emmett's horse, which is tied to a stake.

Emmett walks to the body of the Man Outside and looks down

at him. He doesn't know him. He moves to the pinto and calms

it. He examines the distinctive brand on its flank, a circle

with two wavy lines beneath it. Emmett is clearly mystified.

He rests his arms on the saddle and stares after the

retreating horses.

THE MAIN TITLE BEGINS.

EXT. EMMETT RIDES (VARIOUS SHOTS) - DAY/NIGHT

Emmett travels, the saddled pinto in tow. He moves from high

mountain terrain down-country, through meadow and canyon. He

makes night camp near a rushing stream. The land flattens as

he approaches the desert. The sun beats at him as he dismounts

at the edge of a white-hot plain. He takes a short pull from

his canteen and squints off across the flat, empty space.

All he can see ahead is blinding sand and blue sky.

THE MAIN TITLE ENDS.

EXT. DESERT (SERIES OF SHOTS) - DAY

Emmett is now surrounded by the white blankness, moving slowly

under the broiling sun.

He stops his walking horses and squints out into the distance,

seeing something. We see it too, but just barely: a distant,

horizontal smudge on the glaring sand.

Emmett reaches the smudge. It is a man, barefoot and dressed

only in longjohns, his head propped on a rock, eyes closed.

The man's skin is burned red and beginning to blister, his

lips parched. Yet there is a curious ease to his repose. If

he has lain down here to die, he has done it in peace. This

is PADEN.

Emmett lifts Paden's head and puts the canteen to his lips.

Paden's eyes struggle to open in the glare. He takes a few

sips of the water. His lips crack with a slight smile at the

taste. He looks up at Emmett, takes another sip, and tries

to speak. Emmett must lean down to hear his raspy whisper as

he tries again.

PADEN:

Pleased to meet you.

EXT. NIGHT CAMP - DESERT - NIGHT

The terrain here is more hospitable. Paden, wrapped snugly

in a blanket, lies with his head against the saddle from the

pinto. Emmett is preparing his bedroll across the fire.

EMMETT:

Two of the horses ran off, but that

pinto you're riding hung around.

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