Superman Page #17

EVE:

(reading)

You said it ... six-four, blue eyes, doesn't drink, tells

the truth ...

LUTHOR suddenly slams the slide rule down on the desk in a rage. It breaks in two, part of

it whizzing across the room. EVE looks up, terrified. LUTHOR manages a patient smile, rises.

LUTHOR:

Some people can read War and Peace and come away

thinking it was a simple adventure story. Others can

read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and

unlock the secret of the universe.

EVE:

(insulted)

I read the article, Lex.

LUTHOR:

Exactly, Miss Teschmacher.

LUTHOR crosses to the massive wall of books behind him, climbs a large rolling wooden

ladder attached to the shelves. He turns to OTIS .

6/4/77 TM

224CONTINUED

LUTHOR:

Onward to the letter N. Otis. Let's roll!

OTIS crosses to the ladder.

OTIS:

Was that "M," Mr. . Luthor?

LUTHOR:

As in "moron"? No, Otis, N, as in nitwit, nincompoop,

Neanderthal...

OTIS begins to push the rolling ladder along the wall.

LUTHOR:

(rolling)

Now then. According to that interview the planet

Krypton blew up on May 23, 1948. " The rocket

carrying the revolting little freak took three years to

reach Earth. Ergo?

OTIS:

He is thirty years old?

The staircase stops. LUTHOR looks down.

LUTHOR:

Do you know why the number 200 is so vitally descriptive

of both of' us, Otis? It represents your weight - and my I.Q.

(turns)

Think, people, think! Deductive reasoning, that's the name

of the game!

LUTHOR turns dramatically, pulls out a specific periodical, starts to leaf through it.

6/4/77 TM

224CONTINUED

LUTHOR:

Since .fragments of Krypton must have been shot

out into space by the explosion, it's reasonable to

assume some of the debris would have landed here

on Earth.

EVE:

You mean meteorites?

LUTHOR:

Jawohl.

He finds the page he was looking for, his face lighting up. EVE and OTIS pick it up eagerly, look.

LUTHOR:

Et ... voila!

LUTHOR lets the periodical sail down to the floor. EVE and OTIS pick it-up eagerly, looks.

225INSERT SHOT - PERIODICAL PHOTO

The photo shows an ETHOPIAN FARMER holding a wedge-shaped green rock about a foot long and five inches high. The FARMER grins at the camera. The caption beneath reads: Meteorite Lands near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June, 1951.

226BACK TO SCENE

EVE and OTIS stare at the picture, mystified.

EVE:

I know I'm going to get rapped in the mouth for saying

this, but - so what?

LUTHOR:

So -what? You mean to us it's just a meteorite? Fair

enough. . .

6/4/77

226CONTINUED

LUTHOR:

But because of its high level of specific

radioactivity - to someone from the planet

Krypton - this substance would be lethal!

OTIS:

You mean bullets and .fire can't hurt him, but

this kind of rock

LUTHOR:

Will kill him!

LUTHOR steps off the ladder, beams proudly at EVE.

LUTHOR:

At times like these you must experience a certain

shudder of ecstasy just being in the same room

with me.

EVE:

Not like the kind of shudder you're going to feel

when you try and lay that rock on him. He can spot

you coming miles away with those super-peepers

of his.

LUTHOR stares up at the ceiling dramatically.

LUTHOR:

Lord, you gave them eyes, but

they see not!

(QUICKLY)

And neither can Superman - through lead. Four doors,

Miss Teschmacher, lead doors, and he had to rip them

all down to find that poisoned pellet. This bilious bluebird

has two Achilles' heels!

EVE:

(dawning on her)

You mean lead can hide things from him...

6/4177 TM

226CONTINUED

LUTHOR:

And the Kryptonite - will destroy him!

(quick smile)

Any more Questions?

EVE:

(thoughtful pause)

I wonder what they're wearing in Addis

Ababa.

227EXT. SKY - DAY

SUPERMAN flies easily over the ocean, scans the horizon for trouble. He looks down.

227AANGLE ON CONCORDE - SUPERMAN'S POV

The super-sonic Concorde airliner streaks through the sky below and just ahead of him.

227BCLOSER ON CONCORDE

The PILOT is visible in the cockpit. He glances out the side, momentarily blinks in disbelief

as SUPERMAN pulls up parallel to him. Suddenly realizing who it is, the PILOT grins, gives

SUPERMAN a friendly salute which the Man of Steel returns. Then, accelerating, SUPERMAN passes the plane.

228EXT. SKY NEAR U.S. COASTLINE - DAY

SUPERMAN nears the eastern coast of America, looks down, suddenly concerned.

228AANGLE ON OIL RIG - SUPERMAN'S POV

An offshore oil rig, seen from the air. WORKERS scramble about quickly in all directions as

a black oil spill begins to appear around the rig, spreading rapidly.

228BEXT. OIL RIG - DAY

The WORKERS run back and forth across the deck of the rig, looking over the side desperately. A loud alarm blares ominously. One WORKER yells up at another in the cab of the drilling rig.

WORKER #1

Shut it down! Shut it down!

WORKER #2

Too late! Pipe's jumped the bit!

Can't control it...!

WORKER #3

(pointing off)

Hey, look!

228CANGLE ON SUPERMAN - THEIR POV

A blue streak knifes into the water next to them.

228DUNDERWATER SHOT - CLOSE ON SUPERMAN AND DRILLING PIPE

SUPERMAN shoots through the water with the same ease as he does though the air. He

reaches the disconnected drilling pipe, which dances wildly around the open bit to the

drilling hole from which oil now spews forth. Grabbing the pipe, he straightens it, then forces it back into the bit hole, securing it. SUPERMAN checks his work, heads up quickly for the surface.

228EEXT. SKY NEAR RIG - LOOKING DOWN

SUPERMAN breaks the waterline, wheels in mid-air, blows hard across the surface with his

super-breath. He forces the mass of heavy oil across the water and away from the rig, circling

it as he goes, compressing it. Rising higher into the air, he trains his x-ray vision on the

gooey oil clot. It turns white-hot, explodes, then completely disappears. A cheer is heard O.S.

from the WORKERS on the rig.

229CLOSE ON SUPERMAN

He is about to start off again, then notices something wrong near the base of the rig.

229AEXT. BASE OF OIL RIG - DAY

A sea eagle is perched forlornly on one of the lower cross-struts of the rig. Its feathers are heavily matted with oil. Its body trembles, unable to fly. SUPERMAN lands next to it, slowly reaches out, meticulously starts to clean the feathers by blowing warmth into his hands and melting the coated-on oil with them. The process completed, SUPERMAN takes the bird in his hands, tosses it gently upwards. The sea eagle takes off, heading higher into the sky.

229BEXT. SKY - TOP OF CLOUD BANK - DAY

The eagle bursts through a white cloud bank up once more into the clean blue air. After a short moment SUPERMAN does likewise, trailing the bird. For a few moments we are privileged to witness this real beauty and poetry of flying as the eagle and SUPERMAN chase each other through the air doing banks, loops, and dives, swooping closely together like two beautiful fighter planes in tight formation. The unspoken ceremony over, they silently acknowledge each other, then head off in different directions.

Rate this script:3.6 / 18 votes