To Walk with Lions

---

1

Strange how things

happen...

Unplanned... By accident.

I'd been hanging around

the coast of east Africa...

Bit of work in Lamu,

a lot of surfing in Malindi...

Until the money ran out,

as it always does.

Mine was an aimless,

self-indulgent,

And undisciplined life.

I highly recommend it.

I accepted a job

as a safari driver

In the interior

near Garisa.

Steady work, decent pay,

Hot and cold running tourists,

girls I hoped.

But it was not to be.

Thank you, William.

See you next month.

He said... "Terence,

hello. How are you, how's George?"

he said, "No, I'll see the photographs

when we get back to Germany."

William, a bottle

of Red Label, please.

Are you Johnny Maxwell?

I might be.

Might?

Well, I am

Tony Fitzjohn.

You got a job for me

driving your next safari.

I've been waiting

all day.

Ah, yes.

I'm afraid the job's gone.

You were supposed

to be here yesterday.

Listen, I said

I was coming.

I told you that, right?

I hire reliable men.

When I say 12:
00 noon,

I don't mean the next day.

What the hell

are you talking about, man?

I spent my last 20 shillings

Coming up to

this shithole town

For your a**hole job.

Well, that's just the point.

It's not an "a**hole job".

But if it were

an a**hole job,

You'd fit the bill.

Thank you.

Hey! Hey, wait!

- Hey, gimme a lift!

- Jump on!

Thanks.

Don't suppose you're headed

for Mombasa, mate?

Other way.

Thought I had

a job back there, but, um...

By the way,

my name's Terence.

I'm Tony...

Tony Fitzjohn.

Going to

my brother's place.

He might have work.

There's a recent opening.

Yeah?

I've got nothing to lose.

Somalis?

Shifta bandits.

Deserters from

the wars up north.

It's rare to see them

this far south.

I've got a man

to replace Stanley.

His name's Fitzjohn.

Hello.

Adamson.

George Adamson.

Welcome to Kora.

Arethi...

One more for dinner.

So, um...

What exactly is it

you do out here?

That is what I do.

My lions.

A wild lion.

It's too soon.

It's

too soon.

Bloody lions.

We're eating dinner,

for heaven's sake.

I tell you, on the day when

they finally eat George,

And I take over this place,

We're going to get rid

of every blessed lion.

Then I'll bring in

elephants.

Mmm, the elephant.

Now there is an animal.

Come on.

Come on, boy.

Well done.

You did well.

You fought well.

You were very, very brave.

You know, Terence,

He fought the wild lions

face to face.

Yes.

That's when we knew that

Elsa was ready to be released.

Elsa? Elsa the lion?

Lioness, actually.

Of course, born free's

George Adamson.

And your wife...

Joy.

Elsa was the first lion

that we released,

And then we released

all the lions from the film.

Couldn't bear to send them

back to zoos or circuses.

And then people

began to send them to us

From all over the world.

What we do here

is we prepare them

To go back

into the wild.

He was sent to us

a little cub.

Well, I don't know

what use I can be here.

We'll have to

wait and see.

In the meantime,

100 shillings a day,

Plus room and board.

Okay?

I'm coming.

I've always

tried to be open

To what fate brings along,

And it turned out to be

a pretty good policy.

So I took the job with

the two crazy old brothers,

Stuck out there

in the middle of the bush,

Learning more than

I ever wanted to know

About their daily habits.

Good boy.

George had rehabilitated

more than 30 lions

Born in captivity.

He taught them how to survive

as wild animals...

To live

as they were meant to.

That's a boy.

The kudu tracks.

He found the scent.

Kudu, kudu.

Good boy.

Kudu, kudu.

Look, look.

Tracks here.

It's kudu.

Tracks here.

It's nice, it's juicy.

Two barrels

in the morning

Does it for the day.

You know, cooking,

Showers...

That sort of thing.

You can swim in the river,

But you want to keep

an eye open.

Yeah, right.

Most mornings,

we haul some meat

Up to certain spots

to feed the lions.

I'll come with you

at the beginning

Until they

get to know you.

Look, George...

Don't count on

me staying.

I mean, I just need

to earn a few bob.

Then I'll be on my way.

Easy now.

Pussycat.

Yeah.

You can smell your friend,

can't you?

Sh*t.

I strongly suggest

That you move back...

Very slowly.

Do not turn

away from him.

Go back

very slowly.

One step at a time

Towards the rover.

Jesus!

George!

Bad boy!

Come on! Bad boy!

George!

Come on, come on, down!

Down, down!

Jesus christ, George,

get him off!

That was not

a very good idea.

You must never run.

Never.

It is better

that you charge a lion

Than to run.

Nine out of ten

will back off.

Right. And what about

the tenth?

Then you end up

like Stanley.

Stanley?

The man you replaced.

What are you saying?

A lion attacked him?

Mm-hmm.

Killed him?

Yeah.

When was this?

Last week.

Jesus christ!

Crazy old bastard.

What the hell

do you think you're doing?!

Stuck up here

in the middle of nowhere,

Using people as lion fodder.

Right. That's it.

I'm leaving.

Betachi will drive you back

first thing in the morning.

Yeah, yeah.

Too right he will.

I hope you find some other

idiot to be a cat's dinner.

Smart lad.

I want to answer

your question.

What question?

Today, you...

I think

you phrased it...

"What the hell

are you doing here?"

My favorite quote

from the Koran begins:

"There's no kind of beast

on Earth, nor fowl

that flyeth with its wings,

but the same

is like unto you.

and unto the lord

you shall all be gathered...

and anyone who does not

heed these words

is both deaf and dumb."

Lions are

our spiritual brothers.

They are closer to us than most

people are prepared to accept.

My job here is to

try and understand them.

Hello girl.

Thanks, George.

It's been fun.

I've just got

a few things to do.

Good luck.

Terence.

Welcome, john.

Any lions in camp?

Many.

You're safe.

This is Tony Fitzjohn.

Hi.

Fitzjohn.

Betachi was going to

drop him off in Garisa.

Would you be kind enough to

drop him off when you leave here?

All right.

Well, what can I

do for you, john?

The department

has decided we...

We can't let you shoot

game for your lions anymore.

We only shoot what the

lions would normally kill.

Yes. Well, you'll have to

bring in the meat from outside.

Come, come, you know

I can't afford that.

I'm sorry, George.

I don't know.

The truth is,

There's been a lot of talk

about shutting down your...

Lion release program.

How much of that

comes from you, john?

Ten years ago,

it did little harm.

Things have changed, George.

The local population's

almost trebled.

Putting lions that are

not afraid of humans

Into a wild pride

is dangerous.

My lions

are no more dangerous

Or friendly

than wild lions.

The most dangerous

thing is when people

Grow too familiar

with them.

But that's not the point.

The point really here has

to do with land and poaching.

Oh, for god's sake.

You first asked to come here

To release five lions

from a film.

That was gonna be it.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes