The Trial of the Chicago 7 Page #10

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Bailiff, charge Mr. Kunstler with

one count of Contempt.

ABBIE:

Welcome to our world, Bill.

KUNSTLER:

May I continue my argument so it

appears in the record?

68.

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

Continue.

KUNSTLER:

The jury will be in the custody of

deputy marshals. The marshals will

take care of all the wants and

needs of the jurors and we feel

that tends to make the jurors more

sympathetic toward-

JUDGE HOFFMAN:

I understand.

KUNSTLER:

The jurors are going to be taken

care of by law enforcement

officers. They won’t be allowed to

go home, they’ll have minimal

communication with-

As KUNSTLER’s been talking, TOM’s been looking across the

room at one of the MARSHALS. The MARSHAL is adjusting the

name tag on his uniform and as we push in a little on TOM, we

CUT TO:

71 EXT. HILTON HOTEL -NIGHT (TOM’S MEMORY) 71

A line of about fifty DEMONSTRATORS, including TOM and ABBIE

have their backs up against the dark-tinted picture window of

the Haymarket Tavern that’s part of the hotel and convention

center. Facing them down are a line of RIOT POLICE with their

clubs drawn. TOM sees something that immediately gets his

heart racing even faster-

--a RIOT POLICEMAN takes off his name tag and then his badge

and puts them in a pocket. Then another does the same and

then another and we

CUT BACK TO:

72 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 72

DELUCA’s on the stand.

DELUCA:

Frank DeLuca.

SCHULTZ:

And what is your occupation?

69.

DELUCA:

I’m a detective with the Police

Department, City of Chicago.

SCHULTZ:

Calling your attention to August of

1968 during the convention, were

you given any specific assignment?

DELUCA:

I was to keep Rennie Davis under

surveillance with my partner,

Detective Bell.

SCHULTZ:

And while surveilling Rennie Davis

on Sunday evening, August 25th, the

night before the convention began,

did you observe Tom Hayden

committing a crime?

DELUCA:

Yes. Mr. Hayden was letting the air

out of the tire of a police

vehicle.

CUT TO:

73 INT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 73

It’s a sweltering hot night as we get introduced to the park

and its occupants for the first time. Thousands of people

that can only be made out in silhouette with flickers of

lanterns, flashlights and fires. We can HEAR a pick-up band

singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” and the song will

continue throughout this whole sequence.

ANGLE--We see the pick-up band sitting around the stage

singing.

ANGLE--Tents being erected in a sea of tents that are already

erected.

ANGLE--A group making protest signs.

ANGLE--A fire burning in a garbage can. A sign reads “Burn

Your Draft Cards” as young men come up, rip up their draft

cards and throw them in the fire.

ANGLE--Another fire burning in another garbage can. A sign

reads, “Free Yourself from Patriarchy--Burn Your Bras”, with

women walking by and dropping their bars in the fire.

70.

ANGLE--A police vehicle is driving slowly and repeating on a

loudspeaker-

POLICE OFFICER (V.O.)

The park closes at 11pm by order of

the Chicago P.D. You must be out of

the park by 11pm. Violators will be

prosecuted for trespassing. The

park closes at-

ANGLE--ABBIE’s talking to a large group of protestors.

ABBIE:

It’s a strategy of throwin’ banana

peels all over Chicago and then let

the machine stumble. And when it

stumbles, it gets into a policy of

overkill and starts to devour

itself. We’ll convince ‘em. They’ll

be convinced. Of what? That we’re

crazy enough to do anything.

ANGLE--JERRY’s talking to a group of protestors.

JERRY:

We think it’s important for

confrontational tactical knowledge

to be understood. Confrontational

tactics make us safer. Why? Because

the police become afraid. And

that’s fighting fire with-

PROTESTORS:

(shouting back)

FIRE!

JERRY begins his Molotov cocktail demonstration as we PULL

BACK to find TOM and RENNIE who are walking past Jerry’s TED

Talk.

TOM:

(to no one)

You don’t fight fire with fire, you

fight it with water, ya jackass.

RENNIE:

It’s a metaphor.

TOM:

Abbie and his f***in’ banana peels.

RENNIE:

Also a metaphor.

71.

TOM:

Between the cops, the state police

and the Guard, Daley’s got 15,000

soldiers on the street whose guns

are loaded with bullets that are

literal.

RENNIE:

I could make the argument that the

bullets were also-

TOM:

Yeah, so could I, but don’t. The

atmosphere’s starting to get

dangerous and someone’s gonna throw

a rock. I want to get the word out

that we’re protesting the war and

not the cops.

RENNIE sees something up ahead-

RENNIE:

Dammit.

TOM:

What?

RENNIE:

I think those are my guys, I think

that’s their car.

ANGLE--A few unmarked sedans are parked alongside some police

and park vehicles in an otherwise dark and deserted area.

TOM and RENNIE walk toward a particular sedan.

RENNIE (CONT'D)

Yeah, that’s them. They’re back.

They were following me all day.

Listen, here’s the thing I haven’t

told you about Sara Beth. She isn’t

into this at all.

TOM:

Isn’t into what?

RENNIE:

When I’m with her and her family, I

try to...de-emphasize the...radical

revolutionary part of my-

TOM:

Got it.

72.

RENNIE:

She and her parents are letting me

stay with them and if I show up

tailed by two undercover police

officers-

TOM:

That’d be hard to explain.

RENNIE:

This isn’t her world. And it’s

definitely not her parents’ world.

If I bring my world into their

driveway-

TOM:

Yeah.

RENNIE:

She’ll break up with me.

TOM:

You could be in a healthier

relationship.

RENNIE:

I know, but until then, this is the

one I’ve got.

TOM:

(pause)

That’s their car?

RENNIE:

Yeah.

TOM:

Where are they?

RENNIE:

Looking for me.

TOM thinks a minute...

TOM:

Alright. Go back into the crowd and

let ‘em find you. Then leave the

park by the east exit. They’ll need

their car to follow you.

RENNIE:

What are you gonna do?

73.

TOM:

It’s not gonna remind anyone of

Ghandi but a little civil

disobedience. Go.

RENNIE:

You’re not gonna cut their breaks

or anything, right?

TOM:

What? No, I’m gonna let the air out

of one of the tires. Now go.

RENNIE:

I really appreciate it. I don’t

want to be a phony with SaraBeth

but sometimes it takes a little-

TOM:

You should really go now.

RENNIE:

Yeah.

RENNIE heads off and TOM takes out his keys as we

CUT BACK TO:

74 INT. COURTROOM -DAY 74

The pick-up band singing “America” continues over-

DELUCA:

Detective Bell and I spotted Rennie

Davis walking in the crowd and

observed him on foot for a few

minutes. Then we returned to the

unit.

SCHULTZ:

Your car.

DELUCA:

Yes.

SCHULTZ:

And what did you find?

CUT TO:

74.

75 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 75

The singing continues over-

TOM is on his knees letting the air out of a tire of the

unmarked car with his key when the shadow of a man envelopes

him and he stops.

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