The Trial of the Chicago 7 Page #19

KUNSTLER comes in with WEINGLASS.

ABBIE (CONT'D)

Bill, you shoulda seen it. Tom

tried to beat me up but through

sheer of force of intellectual

superiority-

KUNSTLER:

Stop talking.

(beat)

Just stop talking.

KUNSTLER reaches into his bag and pulls out an envelope.

KUNSTLER (CONT'D)

Foran’s office turned this over

tonight in discovery. It was given

to them by somebody in the crowd.

KUNSTLER’s taken a reel-to-reel tape out of the envelope.

KUNSTLER (CONT'D)

No foul play, there are affidavits,

they really did just get this.

TOM:

What’s on the tape?

KUNSTLER:

The sound of you starting the

Chicago riot.

KUNSTLER goes into the living room and everyone follows.

TOM:

(pause)

What?

KUNSTLER:

Somebody had a tape recorder at the

band shell.

(MORE)

136.

KUNSTLER (CONT'D)

They’ve got you saying it. It’s a

clear tape. You can’t take the

stand.

TOM:

I can handle Schultz and the tape.

KUNSTLER:

No.

TOM:

They’re going to play the tape

anyway, right?

KUNSTLER:

If you take the stand they’ll make

you answer for it and you can’t.

TOM:

They’d just cracked Rennie’s head

open.

KUNSTLER:

So you started a riot--defense

rests.

TOM:

They’d just cracked-

KUNSTLER:

“If blood is going to flow--”

TOM:

Bill-

KUNSTLER:

“--let it flow all over the city.”

TOM:

They’d just clubbed Rennie.

KUNSTLER:

Everybody kept their cool. Abbie,

Dave, sh*t-

(pointing to JERRY)

--this guy kept his cool! You’re

the one who lost it.

TOM:

I can take the stand.

KUNSTLER:

You want to hear what the cross

from Schultz is gonna sound like?

137.

TOM:

Sure. I’ll show you what my

answers’ll sound like.

164 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 164

A giant CROWD OF DEMONSTRATORS is listening to DAVE introduce

a speaker. TOM, ABBIE and JERRY are standing off to the side

on stage. RENNIE’s way in the back of the crowd.

DAVE:

They called him a radical. They

called him a criminal. They called

him un-American.

In the back of the crowd, RENNIE looks to his left where a

young guy is starting to climb a flagpole.

TOM, from the stage, looks to the back of the crowd and sees

the same thing.

TOM (V.O.)

First of all, it turned out the guy

climbing the flagpole was a kid.

165 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 165

KUNSTLER:

It seems like you guys attract an

awful lot of underage minors.

TOM:

(to WEINGLASS)

You want to object?

WEINGLASS:

Objection.

KUNSTLER:

Overruled.

TOM:

We attract the people who have the

most to lose by this war

continuing.

KUNSTLER:

I’m glad you brought that up. Did

you serve?

138.

TOM:

I wasn’t drafted. I didn’t try to

evade the--I had a high number.

KUNSTLER:

But you didn’t enlist.

TOM:

I did not volunteer to kill

Vietnamese people, no.

KUNSTLER:

You testified that you saw at least

six policemen start to go after the

man--sorry, kid--who was climbing

the flagpole.

TOM:

Yes.

KUNSTLER:

It was dark and you were a hundred

yards away. Do you have telescopic

night vision?

TOM:

There were floodlights.

166 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 166

DAVE:

And when they called him anti-

American. He said, “No. That

ignominious distinction goes to

those who mouth American values-

POLICEMEN in the back of the crowd see the kid climbing the

flagpole and move in to stop him.

RENNIE and a few others dive into the police, trying to get

them to stop.

DAVE (CONT'D)

--while breaking America’s heart.”

RENNIE:

(shouting)

Hey! It’s alright! He’s a kid!

We’ll get him down!

From the stage, TOM can see that a little trouble’s started-

139.

DAVE:

I’d like to introduce you now to

Carl Oglesby of the SDS.

TOM:

(to himself)

Sh*t.

167 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 167

And?

KUNSTLER:

TOM:

The police were shoving Rennie

away.

168 EXT. GRANT PARK/FLAG POLE -NIGHT 168

OFFICER:

This doesn’t concern you!

RENNIE:

Just leave the kid alone! He’ll

come down!

OFFICER #2

I know who you are! Step back!

A169 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT A169

TOM:

Rennie was just trying to get the

police off of the kid.

KUNSTLER:

Get the police off of the kid.

Yes.

TOM:

How?

KUNSTLER:

He was-TOM

KUNSTLER:

--grabbing them?

140.

B169 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT B169

TOM’s watching helplessly as this develops. The OFFICERS have

the kid pinned against the flagpole now and an OFFICER

punches the kid in the groin as hard as he can. Then does it

again.

RENNIE:

Jesus!

RENNIE grabs the OFFICER and pulls him off the kid-

169 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 169

TOM:

Outa nowhere-

A170 INT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT A170

A nightstick cracks RENNIE across the face, sending blood

flying.

B170 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT B170

TOM:

It was six armed police officers

versus Rennie Davis and a pocket

protector so I can understand that

response.

KUNSTLER:

How ‘bout your response. Let’s

press “Play”.

KUNSTLER has a small reel-to-reel tape recorder out now and

hits “play”. It’s a crude recording but we HEAR FROINES-

170 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 170

FROINES steps to the microphone-

FROINES:

I’d like to say to the police back

there that we have--we’re allowed

to be here, we have a permit for-we

need medics back there.

141.

The camera is PUSHING IN ON TOM. People have limits and TOM’s

coming face to face with his.

171 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 171

Back to the tape recording-

KUNSTLER:

Dellinger tried to stop you from

saying what you were about to say

to the crowd.

172 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 172

DAVE comes over to TOM-

TOM:

Rennie’s been beaten.

DAVE:

We can--listen to me--we can still

get everybody out of here safely.

TOM:

No we can’t.

DAVE:

Tell ‘em to stay calm.

TOM:

No.

DAVE:

They’ll listen to you.

173 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 173

KUNSTLER:

Did you tell ‘em to stay calm?

A174 INT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT A174

TOM takes over the microphone from FROINES-

TOM:

Rennie Davis has just been beaten

by the police! Rennie’s skull has

been cracked open.

142.

B174 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT B174

KUNSTLER:

Did you tell your crowd to stay

calm or did you-

TOM:

Bill-

KUNSTLER:

I’m Richard Schultz and John

Mitchell told me to win, Tom. Did

you tell your crowd to stay calm or

did you say-

TOM:

Yes. Absolutely. If blood is going

to flow-

174 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 174

TOM:

(shouting into the

microphone)

--let it flow all over the city!

DAVE:

Goddammit Tom!

TOM:

(into the microphone)

If gas is going to be used, let it

come down all over Chicago! We’re

going to the Convention!

The CROWD REACTION, which has been building wildly in volume,

has reached a crescendo-

TOM (CONT'D)

Let’s get on the street! Get on the

street!

175 INT. CONSPIRACY OFFICE -NIGHT 175

KUNSTLER:

“If blood is going to flow, let it

flow all over the city.” Was that

an order to start a peaceful

demonstration?

143.

176 EXT. GRANT PARK -NIGHT 176

And now we’re on the backs of a line of riot police who are

climbing up the back of a hill in the dark. They get to the

crest of the hill and we see what they see--an ARMY OF

PROTESTORS coming right toward them.

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