Three Kings Page #2

DOLLY INTO TENT TOWN, past bare chested soldiers pumping free

weights; jogging in formation; sunbathing on big water

storage mattresses; DOLLY OUT OF THE TENT TOWN, past a

soldier taking a makeshift foxhole desert bath, past a dead

Iraqi on the road, a chopper hovering in the distance, to

MORE DANCING SOLDIERS, as music continues --

BILL SMITHSON (O.S.)

Spirits are high and the music is

boisterous as these young troops

celebrate -- Sh*t. Let me try that

again.

DOLLY AROUND the dancing soldiers to see: hundreds of

stripped Iraqi soldiers lying face down in undershorts.

BILL SMITHSON (O.S.)

Spirits are high and the music is

f***ing motherfucking sand in my

eye --

PAN PAST CNN REPORTER BILL SMITHSON, 45, in white safari

jacket over Desert Storm fatigues, cleaning his eye; nearby

a cluster of ROWDY SOLDIERS who are mugging into the camera.

DOLLY TO ARCHIE GATES, 55, Lieutenant Colonel, Special

Forces, wearing sunglasses, talking to HAVICHON, a FRENCH

Special Forces Captain on CRUTCHES with a broken leg.

ARCHIE GATES:

Is that what you got from this

experience? A goddamn watch?

HAVICHON:

Ees a great f***ing watch.

Close up:
portrait of a sheik on a Rolex.

ARCHIE GATES:

There's 700 million in gold out

there and you're f***ing around

with a watch?

HAVICHON:

Bon dieu de merde, that's a lot of

gold, man.

ARCHIE GATES:

One bunker of gold and we retire

from this horseshit, Hashy--

BILL SMITHSON:

Gates.

ARCHIE GATES:

Just a second. The problem, Hash,

is how do you find it?

HAVICHON:

Like one sowsan bunker out sair --

ARCHIE GATES:

Maybe two sowsan bunker out sair,

Hash, how do you find Saddam's

bullion?

BILL SMITHSON:

Could I have some help over here,

for Chrissakes?

ARCHIE GATES:

My goodness, Bill, what seems to

be the problem?

BILL SMITHSON:

I'm trying to do a story here and

the f***ing sand is blowing in my

face --

ARCHIE GATES:

You want me to stop the sand? I

can't do anything about that.

BILL SMITHSON:

No, you're too busy talking about

the f***ing gold, which by the way

makes a great story if you'd get

me a goddamn lead on it --

ARCHIE GATES:

I think the Saddam story goes more

for the jugular, journalistically

speaking, I mean, he's still here

beating the sh*t out of his

country.

BILL SMITHSON:

Would you just be my guide and not

my f***ing producer? You're my

guide.

ARCHIE GATES:

OK, go do your celebration story,

Bill.

SMASH TO:
Rowdy soldiers mug for Smithson's camera.

SOLDIER #5

We're number one.

SOLDIER #6

Waaaa-hooooo--

BILL SMITHSON:

You're heroes.

SOLDIER #6

We're heroes.

SOLDIER #7

Give war a chance.

BILL SMITHSON:

You've exorcised the ghosts of

Vietnam with a clear moral

imperative --

SOLDIER #5

Is that what we did?

BILL SMITHSON:

Where the hell are you going?

Archie is walking off with CATHY DAITCH a young reporter.

ARCHIE GATES:

I'll be right back.

BILL SMITHSON:

I don't want you helping other

reporters, goddamn it.

SOLDIER #1

We kicked ass.

SOLDIER #6

We didn't get rid of f***ing

Saddam --

SOLDIER #8

Which totally sucks a big dick.

SOLDIER #6

Those people are getting reemed --

SOLDIER #7

Bullshit, we saved Kuwait, man.

BILL SMITHSON:

Who's getting reemed? The Shiites?

SOLDIER #8

I don't know who they are, man --

SOLDIER #6

We got big firepower but we ain't

saving them --

SOLDIER #5

F*** that, we liberated Kuwait.

SOLDIER #1

Weehaaaaaaa.

Five soldiers chant Lee Greenwood's anthem, "Proud to Be An

American" into Smithson's camera --

SOLDIERS (CHANT)

'If tomorrow all the things were

gone that I worked for all my life

and I had to start again with just

my children and my wife--'

WIDE, HIGH ANGLE DOLLYING CRANE OF BIG TENT CITY

SOLDIERS (CHANT OS)

'I'd thank my lucky stars to --

Dissolve to POV from chopper - night - of twinkling lights of

vast U.S. Army camp below.

"Proud to Be An America" blasts. CHOPPER PILOTS sing off key.

CHOPPER PILOTS:

'--be livin' here today because

the flag still stands for freedom

and they can't take that

awayyyyy --'

INT. LARGE ARMY TENT - NIGHT

"Proud To Be An American" BLASTS on as

Troy, wearing a checked Arab headdress is paraded on

shoulders. He holds up a Coke can in one hand and a Bud can

in the other, like torches.

TROY:

(screaming the song)

And I'm proud I to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who

died, who gave that right to me.

And I'd gladly stand up; next to

you and defend her still today.

Cause there ain't no doubt I love

this land, God bless the U S A --

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