Unbroken Page #3

where he got it. He won’t say.

Pete translates again. Louise looks from him to Louie. She

smells the bottle. The next exchange in Italian:

LOUISE:

Liquor! Toots? What did you do? Why

would you do this?

LOUIE:

I don’t know.

18 INT. LIVING ROOM - ZAMPERINI HOME - NIGHT 18

Louie, as his father spanks him hard with a belt strap.

Again, Louie’s expression is stoic, taking his punishment.

ANTHONY:

(In Italian)

How could you do this?! What are

you doing to this family?

What do I work for? To pay for

food, for a house! How could you do

this? (beat) They don’t want us

here anyway! And now you do this!?

You’ll kill your mother with worry.

You’ll kill her. (beat) You want

to go to jail? Do you?

Anthony stops. As an Italian father, he’s angry one second,

then he feels badly about the spanking. He loves his son but

doesn’t know how to handle him. Louie looks at him defiantly.

Louise stands in the doorway, concerned and heartbroken.

19 OMITTED 19

16 INT. ZAMPERINI HOME - DUSK 16

Close on eggs breaking. Flour sifted. Milk poured.

Louie watches from the top of the stairs as his mother makes

gnocchi in the kitchen.

12-15C

They are poor and the tins are almost empty but she scrapes

the very last of every ingredient into the bowl and makes

magic.

20

INT. LOUIE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 20

With the lights out, Louie sits on his bed near the open

window.

Across the hall, with the doors just open enough, he can see

that his mother is saying her prayers before bed.

We hear Mrs. Zamperini's voice, somewhat muffled. The

Italian we hear is subtitled:

LOUISE:

Mother Mary please watch over my

family. And watch over Louie.

16-17

It is hard to read Louie's expression. But he is listening,

jaw set.

18

23 EXT. BLEACHERS, TORRANCE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY 23

In the shadows, under the bleachers - Louie, has a hideout

here. He looks out through the planks at the track.

The school track team is out training, watched by a small

gaggle of girl fans. Pete is one of the runners.

TORRANCE GIRLS:

Go, Pete! Yay, Pete! Come on!

19-22

Louie’s eyes follow Pete as he runs. Pete’s always the one

who gets the applause.

Louie pulls up a plank to reveal another secret stash.

Cigarettes, matches, “milk” bottles, gum. He pops open a

bottle and continues to watch the race.

And of course, no boy under bleachers doesn’t enjoy a bit of

the view up at the girls.

24

MINUTES LATER -24

THUMP! THUMP! Boots clumping towards him. Through a gap in

the planks he sees a figure bearing down on him.

TEACHER:

Someone down there? Who’s down

there?

Louie bursts out the back of the bleachers and runs like the

wind. Out onto the track, hurtling past the training team.

Pete sees him go by and lopes to a stop, astonished. He

watches Louie run out of sight.

Close on Pete

25

OMITTED 25

26

OMITTED 26

27

OMITTED 27

28

EXT. TORRANCE STREET - DAY 28

Orange blossom tree-lined street. Pete on bicycle. He pedals

forward as we reveal Louie running ahead of him.

LOUIE:

This is so dumb.

PETE:

Since when were you so smart?

(beat) Come on. Faster!

LOUIE:

Why? No one’s chasing me.

PETE:

I’m chasing you.

23

Louie is struggling. He comes to a stop, panting.

LOUIE:

Can’t do this, Pete. I’m not like

you. I’m nothing. Just let me be

nothin.

PETE:

What are you talkin about?

LOUIE:

I can’t make a track team. I don’t

even know why you want me to...

PETE:

Yes, you can.

If you can take it you can make it.

LOUIE:

What?

PETE:

If you can take it you can make it.

You train and you fight harder than

those other guys. And you win. You

get out from under em. Or, you keep

going the way you're going, you’ll

end up as a bum on the streets. You

can do this Lou. You just gotta

believe you can.

Louie looks at his brother. He wants to believe he can do it.

He’s scared.

LOUIE:

I don’t believe.

Pete looks into his little brothers eyes.

23A

PETE:

I do.

Louie considers. He sets off running again. Pete follows

behind. Louie’s running more steadily now, finding his

rhythm.

PETE (O.S.) (CONT’D)

Faster.

29

EXT. TRACK FIELD, TORRANCE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY 29

A starter’s pistol BANGS! In close shot.

High school track meet. Louie trying out.

Pete watching, stands next to a middle-aged man holding a

stopwatch, both of them relaxed, arms on the rail.

Louie starts near the back of the field.

He gains, steadily.

Pete inclines his head to the man next to him, eyes still on

the race. The others pull away from Louie. He’s scowling as

he runs. Another runner just ahead of him turns and shoots

him a mocking grin.

Pete calls out.

PETE:

Brutta bestia, you dumb dago!

Louie wakes up. He decides to do his thing. He starts to belt

over the course.

Pete and the Coach watch as he catches up with the rest of

the runners.

Louie piles on the pressure. He overtakes the runner who

grinned at him.

PETE (CONT’D)

Go, Louie! Go!

24

Louie hears him as he runs and kicks it up another gear. He

flies past the leaders. As he hits the straightaway to the

finish line, Pete and the coach straighten from the rail,

tensing, absorbed, as Louie flies toward their position at

the tape.

A30

EXT. TORRANCE STREETS - DAY A30

Louie is running. Pete is peddling.

This time Pete pushes to keep up. He looks ahead. Louie has

run off. A huge distance between them. Pete smiles.

OR:

Louie is training hard. He runs as if his life depends on it.

30

OMITTED 30

31

OMITTED 31

32

EXT. TREE-LINED STREET - DAY 32

Young Louie running as the sun begins to rise. CLOSE ON

LOUIE’S LEGS

33

EXT. TREE-LINED STREET - DAY 33

CLOSE ON LOUIE’S LEGS - As he runs, we see his LEGS TRANSFORM

from a scrawny kid’s into a young man’s. Louie’s grown up to

be a tall, muscular, handsome, 18 year old, confident and

athletic.

MONTAGE OF MILE RACES OVER SEVERAL MONTHS:

34

EXT. TRACK FIELDS - DAY 34

24A

BANNER READS:
TORRANCE TRACK AND FIELD MILE RACE.

-FIRST RACE:
Louie and the runners are in the last lap, with

Louie in the lead, running across the finish line.

RADIO ANNOUNCER ONE (V.O.)

Boy oh boy can that guy fly...

-Pete clicks the stopwatch as Louie wins. His parents and

the Torrance girls cheer.

RADIO ANNOUNCER ONE (V.O.)

...They're calling him the Torrance

Tornado. I like the sound of that!

35

- SECOND RACE:
Louie runs, gaining a longer lead. 35

In the bleachers: Anthony, Louise, Sylvia, Virginia, and more

Torrance girls. Louise can hardly watch she’s so nervous.

RADIO ANNOUNCER TWO (V.O.)

I tell ya, this kid Zamperini runs

like his feet never touch the

ground...

At the finish line, same result: Louie crosses alone, and

Pete, at the rail, clicks a stopwatch.

He is even happier than the last result.

- Louie’s fan base has doubled. They stand and cheer for

Louie,

who waves at his family. A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG BLONDE

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