The Salton Sea

FADE IN:

INT. RESIDENTIAL HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

A MAN recumbent on the bed, playing a TRUMPET, his white dress shirt

defaced by a flower of blood. The room is ON FIRE all around him.

He is playing Miles Davis' moody, Spanish-influenced SAETA, a haunting

and lonely piece.

DANNY (V.O.)

My name is Tom Van Allen ...

(beat)

or Danny Flynne ...

A DUFFLE BAG FULL OF MONEY ON THE BED. The money burning, tiny flaming

pieces floating around the room.

DANNY (cont'd)

... I don't know anymore.

(beat)

Maybe I'll let you decide. Maybe you

can help me, friend. As you can see,

I don't have a hell of a lot of time left.

A PHOTOGRAPH of a woman taped to the inside of a trumpet case. The

photo is on fire. Only her smile remains.

DANNY (cont'd)

Avenging angel ... Judas Iscariot ...

Loving husband ... Prodigal Son ...

The prince of Denmark ...?

A GREETING CARD on the floor, a teddy bear and the word,

CONGRATULATIONS! on the front. The wind from the fire blows the card

open. Inside, a BLACKENED BLOOD STAIN.

DANNY (cont'd)

All of these? None of these? You

decide, friend. You decide. Trumpet

player? Speed freak?

(beat)

Speed freak.

(beat)

That's as good a place as any.

(beat)

But first, a little background on the

mad world of the tweaker ..

FADE OUT.

FADE IN.

INT. LABORATORY - DAY

EXTREME CLOSE-UP of a glass pipette dripping a clear liquid into a

glass beaker.

DANNY (V.O.)

Methedrene was first distilled by a

Japanese scientist before WWII.

Hand it to the Japanese, they knew a

good thing when they saw it.

INT. JAPANESE ZERO - DAY

A wide-eyed, jaw-grinding KAMIKAZE PILOT with a death-grip on the

controls.

DANNY (V.O.)

This guy's so tweaked, he probably thinks

he can survive this without a scratch.

STOCK BATTLE FOOTAGE - a Japanese Zero crashes into a battleship,

bursting into a ball of flames.

DANNY (V.O.)

Maybe not.

(beat)

By some estimates, 2% of the Japanese

population had a meth problem after

the war:
factory workers, soldiers,

pilots. Maybe that's why it took two

bombs to get 'em to surrender. A

nuclear blast is just a minor

nuisance to a determined tweaker.

INT. HOUSE - DAY

A wide-eyed, June Cleaveresque housewife in a picture-perfect white

dress vacuums the floor of a picture-perfect house.

DANNY (V.O)

In the fifties, the housewives got

ahold of it. Dexedrine. Benzedrine.

Methedrene ...

She attacks the same spot over and over again, one hand clutching the

vacuum, the other stiffly holding a cigarette.

DANNY (cont'd)

Now that's a classic speed freak for

you, skinny and cleaning the house. I'll

bet her poor husband never knew what

hit him in the sack either.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

THE LEG OF THE BED rattling and bouncing loudly off the floor.

STOCK FOOTAGE - J.F.K. pumping the hand of NIKITA KRUSCHEV.

DANNY (V.O.)

There were even rumors that one of

our presidents dabbled with

mysterious "energy shots". Imagine

that:
a slammer in the White House.

Kennedy talking animatedly.

DANNY (cont'd)

If it's true, I'll bet ol' Krushchev

never got a word in edgewise.

EXT. TRUCK STOP PARKING LOT - NIGHT

A sleepy-eyed TRUCKER emerges from his tractor-trailer and approaches a

loitering HELL'S ANGELS-type.

DANNY (V.O.)

By the late 60's the government

finally cracked down and sent the

whole thing underground. Bikers

controlled the market for a while.

INT. TRACTOR-TRAILER - NIGHT

The trucker gripping the wheel with the same death-grip as the

Kamikaze.

DANNY (V.O.)

But now anyone with a basic chemistry

kit and the right ingredients can

cook it up at home.

INT. PHARMACY - NIGHT

A CASHIER scanning container after container of COLD MEDICATION.

DANNY (V.O.)

Ever see a long-haired tattooed freak

buying up all the cold medicine he

can lay his hands on at three in the morning.

The cashier looks up at the aforementioned FREAK, a frozen grin

plastered on his face.

DANNY (cont'd)

Take it from me, he ain't got no

cold. He's a cook. Look in his

kitchen and you'll find a whole

grocery list of unsavory ingredients.

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

TRACK DOWN the kitchen counter on various containers.

DANNY (V.O.)

Drain cleaner, hydrochloric acid,

match heads for red phosphorus,

ether and of course the cold

medicine .. that's for Ephedrene,

soon to become Methedrene

CONTINUE TRACKING to a series of BURNERS, BEAKERS and TUBING

DANNY (cont'd)

This guy's a regular Julia Child.

Problem is, I'll be even Miss Julia

fucks up the bouillabaisse from time to time.

The freaky cook sees something he doesn't like. His eyes widen.

DANNY (cont'd)

Oh-oh.

EXT. TRAILER - NIGHT

As the structure explodes.

INT. PARTY HOUSE - UNKNOWN

Thick blankets and tinfoil taped over the windows.

A huge container of empty beer cans, washed and neatly arranged.

Lines of crystal meth on a mirror as precisely arranged as Nails as the

Nuremberg rally.

A GROUP OF TWEAKERS in the middle of a binge.

Two skinny women, NANCY and Teresa bent over a drawer-full of neatly

folded socks on the living room floor. They stare at the drawer as if

they were pondering a Rembrandt.

Rate this script:2.0 / 2 votes