Unbroken Page #5

Cup’s foot on the accelerator—a gentle push.

One last surge from Louie, faster still. He tilts his neck

back, looking up.

Tropical canopy. Sun strobing through the leaves.

Finally:
last mile-tenth turns over. The rain forest canopy

ends at a high curve in the road, revealing an endless

expanse of sea below.

Stopwatch hit.

Cup:
he slows the jeep and toots the horn to signal Louie

that the mile is up. Louie slows to a jog.

Cup looks at the stopwatch.

Louie has slowed to a panting walk. The jeep eases up to

him. Cup throws the stopwatch for Louie to read. They share a

smile.

CUP:

Damn shame they cancelled the Tokyo

Olympics.

LOUIE:

(smiling)

Musta heard I was commin.

Shouting off from a distance. Louie and Cup turn to see Phil,

Mac, and a jeep full of crew driving toward them. Mac

shirtless in sunglasses with a cigarette

33-34

MAC:

Wrap it up speedy. We got a

mission.

PHIL:

Not a combat mission. Rescue.

. . . B-24 took off about noon

yesterday.

. . . En route to Canton, and then

Australia. Except they never made

Canton. Never heard from him after

takeoff so it’s assumed they

ditched.

CUP:

That’s a lot of ocean.

PHIL:

(gesturing to the men in

the back)

It is. (BEAT) They got us some new

crew.

Louie looks at the new young faces. THE ENGINEER, GLASSMAN

and Others.

LOUIE:

(suspicious)

Do we get a new plane?

Off Phil’s look:

55 OMITTED 55

56 EXT. PLANE - DAY 56

At the cut the engine noise pops in: straining, rattling,

like an overstuffed coffee-grinder. The Green Hornet.

57 INT. GREEN HORNET 57

Phil flying, looking out. Cup next to him.

CUP:

Feels like sittin in the living

room trying to fly the house.

PHIL:

They’ve been taking spare parts off

this thing for other planes. I’m

surprised it’s still got an engine.

CUP:

Lieutenant says it’s airworthy.

“It’s been certified,” he says.

LOUIE ON RADIO:

...By Helen Keller.

Bombardier’s bubble: Louie is scanning with a pair of

binoculars.

His point-of-view: like the first shot in the movie, but

rougher:
panning a lot of water. The pan strobes, slows,

quickens again; becomes hypnotic.

Louie drops the binoculars, blinks his eyes, raises the

binoculars again. Into his radio:

LOUIE:

Lot of ocean.

ANSWERING RADIO VOICE

Lot of ocean.

58

INT. GREEN HORNET - SECONDS LATER 58

The cockpit, as Louie crowds in and hands the binoculars to

Cup.

CUP:

So a duck walks into a bar.

LOUIE:

Okay.

CUP:

Or waddles. If you will. Okay, so

the duck walks into a bar. He

says, gimme a creme de menthe-A

THUNK initiates shuddering.

CUP (CONT’D)

Whoa!

PHIL:

Whoa there!

LOUIE:

What is it?

VOICE FROM WAIST

What do we got?

Pilot and copilot are looking intently at gauges, adjusting.

CUP:

Okay. Number one is out. Other

engines are burning more fuel.

Louie looks out the left window. Violent shaking.

PHIL:

Gotta feather it.

CUP:

Yeah, yeah. (Calling out) Hey!

Engineer. Come to the cockpit and

feather the engine.

ENGINEER appears. (We will not identify this crew member by

name out of respect for the family as his mistake was partly

responsible for the crash and many deaths.)

Pilot and copilot are both working controls.

ENGINEER:

Which one?

PHIL:

Left!

He looks out the window.

ENGINEER:

One or two!

PHIL:

More on the right!

CUP:

That’s all we got on the right!

The Engineer flips a plastic guard with four feathering

buttons and due to the shaking he hits button #2, NOT #1.

The plane lurches violently.

CUP (CONT’D)

Damn it!

PHIL:

Okay.

The plane is spiraling.

CUP:

Everything on the right!

Phil pushes the two working engines full on.

LOUIE:

Is this—

PHIL:

Prepare to crash!

59

Louie bolts from the cockpit. 59

The waist:
men are struggling into Mae Wests. The shaking is

getting more violent still. Glassman climbs up from the belly

turret.

LOUIE:

Crash positions! Glassman!

No—radio guy! Mitchell?

MITCHELL:

Yeah!

LOUIE:

Radio our position!

Cockpit:
Cup fighting the stick. The wind shrieks around the

plummeting aircraft.

CUP:

This is it.

PHIL:

Okay.

Waist:
Louie is dragging a pack from under a bulkhead.

MAC:

Glassman—provision box.

GLASSMAN:

Yeah got it! Getting it!

Louie, hugging the pack to his chest, sits behind a bulkhead.

LOUIE:

Okay guys! We can make it! Anyone

on the rafts?

39

The Engineer, feeling responsible, has taken position right

behind the cockpit with his hand on the overhand raft-release

handle.

The Engineer nods with his hand firmly on a latch.

ENGINEER:

Yeah. I got it!

60 EXT. GREEN HORNET 60

Silent. Wide. The plane, a small speck, heading toward the

vastness of the water.

61 INT. GREEN HORNET 61

Cockpit:
Screaming wind. Cup at yoke. Water surface rushing

up.

PHIL:

Brace—

Louie with his head forward. As if in prayer —

62 EXT. BERLIN OLYMPIC STADIUM, 1936 - DAY 62

At the cut - Louie with his head down taking a deep breath.

He lifts his head, bringing us into the stadium.

Far off there’s a man speaking from a balcony-- surrounded by

guards and officers.

We are in a huge stadium.

Louie glances round, taking it all in.

The dream is realized.

The man on the balcony stands and makes a gesture ‘Sieg

Heil’!

Arms are thrust up in the foreground — and back, deep into

the background.

A sea of people, saluting.

Louie looks around at the flags. Germany. Italy. The stars

and stripes. Near it, a white flag with a red circle. Japan.

Louie looks, to his side, at the Japanese athletes. One

notices his look, smiles. Louie smiles back.

40

In this moment it all looks so stunning to him. Unity and

pride. He notices a handsome African American man on the

American team. He studies him, how focused he is.

OLYMPICS RADIO ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

In an astounding performance, Negro

American Jesse Owens from Ohio

State...

We intercut the Zamperini home, listening to the games:

63 INT. ZAMPERINI HOME - PRE-DAWN 63

Pete, Louise, Anthony and his sisters listen to the Olympic

Games on the radio.

OLYMPICS RADIO ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

...has won four Gold medals for the

hundred meter, the two hundred

meter, the long jump and the four

hundred meter relay. Next up, the

five thousand meter with Americas

record breaking Don Lash leading

the American team...

64 EXT. OLYMPIC STADIUM - DAY 64

OLYMPICS RADIO ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

Along with newcomer Louie Zamperini

Louie, in close shot, lowers his head, looking at the ground,

breathing deeply. The breath finds a long, regular rhythm

punctured by:

GUNSHOT:

A starter’s pistol, in close shot.

Athletes take off running.

Louie, running.

We intercut a rough, hand-held pull of Louie, with an equally

rough point-of-view. He is nowhere near the front of the

pack.

65

INT. ZAMPERINI HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 65

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