Unbroken Page #2

8

Pillsbury bangs the high speed rotator of his turret. The

turret grunts to life, whirling Pillsbury around ninety

degrees. The Zero reaches the top of it’s arc, leveling off

and speeds directly towards Superman.

Pillsbury can see the pilot who could end his life. Pillsbury

sucks in a sharp breath and fires. He watches the tracers

skim away from his guns muzzle and punch through the cockpit

of the Zero. The windshield blows apart and the pilot pitches

forward. The Zero folds onto itself like a wounded bird.

All quiet, except for wind whistling through all the

different-sized holes punched all over our aircraft.

Suddenly, the last Zero comes up from below, the sound of gun

fire, and the Zero falters and falls. Clarence Douglas,

standing at the waist gun with his thigh, chest, and shoulder

torn open, brings it down.

Louie looks down.

Through the slit of the bay doors, not yet fully closed, the

Zero spiraling away.

8 OMITTED 8

9 OMITTED 9

10 INT. COCKPIT 10

Louie enters.

LOUIE:

Everyone’s shot up. Not sure

Harry’s gonna make it.

PHIL:

Okay. We’re still flying. But we

have no hydraulics.

CUP:

We got no flaps. So, basically, we

got no brakes.

LOUIE:

How far to base?

CUP:

Five hours. If we can make it that

far. The runways over six thousand

feet but we’re gonna need 10,000

without brakes.

Louie looks back into the damaged plane. The light streaming

through the bullet holes, cutting through the smoke.

A VOICE:

VOICE:

God made two great lights. . .

10

VOICE (CONT’D)

. . . the greater light to rule the

day, and the lesser light to rule

the night.

Close on Louie’s eyes

11

INT. CHURCH 11

Those same beautiful blue eyes.

The voice continues over the cut, now in the church-- its

live context.

PRIEST’S VOICE

. . . And God set them in the

firmament of the Heaven

Feet swinging under a pew. They don’t reach the ground.

Louie, age 12, bored in church, jiggling, looking down at his

feet.

PRIESTS VOICE:

...to rule over the day and over

the night and to divide the light

from the darkness.

WHAP!— a hand enters frame and smacks the fidgeting boy. He

looks up at:

His father, ANTHONY. He gives a reproving look and a gesture

for the boy to look forward, pay attention.

A hiss from Louie’s other side-- his mother LOUISE.

LOUISE:

Tonio!

She is giving Anthony a look: don’t do that!

Anthony returns Louise’s look with one of his own: What? He

was misbehaving!

Louie looks from one to the other, then back up at the

Priest.

11

PRIEST:

. . . Now these things, light and

dark, night and day, they are

separated from each other.

Louie’s eyes travel across the candles to a statue off to the

side, down to a beautiful young woman and the cross on her

neck. But below it... a hint of her cleavage. His POV then

travels down to a great pair of legs.

WHAP!—the hand re-enters to smack the boy.

His father again. An insistent gesture for the boy to look

forward, pay attention. Past his father are his two sisters,

SYLVIA and VIRGINIA, smirking at him for getting whacked— and

his older brother, PETE.

PRIEST (CONT’D)

. . . God placed them each in its

place. God did not create a battle

between them. He said, I’ve

created both of these things.

PRIEST (CONT’D)

You must live through the night,

not do battle with it, for the

night also is mine. . .

Louie looks up, his attention now held by:

The large Christ crucified, at the back of the altar.

PRIEST (CONT’D)

. . . And he sent his son Jesus—not

to do battle. Not to go to war

with the sins of man, but to

forgive them. . .

Back to Louie, now looking at the Christ with some interest.

But his head turns at the sound of the priest’s raised voice-

PRIEST (CONT’D)

. . . to accept the dark, live

through the night, forgive the sin,

smile upon the sinner.

(then, softer)

“Love... thine... enemy.”

Louie stares back at the priest.

OFFICER COLLIER (0.S)

ZAMPERINI!

12-15

12

EXT. TORRANCE STREETS 12

CLOSE ON OFFICER COLLIEROFFICER

COLLIER:

ZAMPERINI! I know it’s you.

Louie is running.

Officer Collier chases him around the corner and into the

back alley behind the shops.

A13

EXT. TORRANCE -DAY A13

Louie is chased by Officer Collier. (Close on his legs - we

can hear the change in his pockets.)

13

EXT. ALLEY 13

Louie running down a second alley and out the other end,

across the street, and disappearing into the bushes.

14

EXT. TRAIN TRACKS 14

Louie comes bursting out of the bushes towards the train

tracks. Past an old truck kicking up dust.

He turns the corner and looks back. He’s safe. No Officer

Collier in sight.

Louie slides into a corner near an old, defunct, small

building. His hide out. His stash. It’s very impressive.

Magazines. Jars of keys, coins, and other goods he’s

collecting. He unloads the new change from his pockets and

separates them into jars.

He closes and covers his stash.

He then takes a “milk bottle” and unwraps the rubber bands

and cloth cover and takes a drink. He digs a wooden match out

of a pocket and pulls the end of his belt out of its loop.

He bends the belt-end back to expose a striking surface stuck

to its underside, strikes the match, and lights a cigarette

with deep sucks as he tucks the belt-end back under its loop

and sits.

He looks at the billboard up near the chain link fence. (A

soap ad. A pretty blonde blue eyed American woman and son. A

sweet angel of a son.) He’s lost in thought.

12-15A

Suddenly NICKY and THE BULLIES are there.

NICKY:

Look who’s here. What are you doin

wop?

LOUIE:

BRUTTA BESTIA!

BULLIES:

(laughs, mocking)

BRUTABRUTTABAATATATA...

NICKY:

Go back to Italy. You and your

greasy wop family.

Louie swings. Nicky swerves out of the way. He punches Louie

to the ground.

Louie is defiant-- he gets up. Nicky is surprised. He punches

him again. Louie starts to get up.

NICKY (CONT’D)

Stay down you dumb dago.

Louie gets up and throws his whole body into Nicky. They

fight. The other boys jump in to pull Louie off. Louie is

swinging like mad.

Suddenly, he is pulled back. Officer Collier has caught him.

15 EXT. FRONT PORCH - ZAMPERINI HOME - LATE DAY 15

His thick hand on the back of Louie’s neck, Officer Collier

escorts Louie back home. He carries the “milk bottle”.

OFFICER COLLIER:

The only reason you’re not in

reform school now is because of the

respect we have for your parents.

Everybody in town wants you put

away.

12-15B

Louise opens the door to find Louie being held by the scruff

of his neck, by a fed up Officer Collier. Pete, stands next

to her. He knows what the picture means, having seen it

before.

OFFICE COLLIER:

Sorry Louise. He was fighting

again.

Pete translates into Italian for his mother. Officer Collier

waits, then continues:

OFFICER COLLIER:

And we found this. He...painted the

bottle. It’s liquor. God only knows

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