Uncut Gems

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EXT. THE WELO MINE - ETHIOPIAN, AFRICA- DAY

Supertitle:
WELO MINES, ETHIOPIA, FALL 2010

An injured minor is dragged to a clearing. He looks to be inagonizing pain. Blood spews from a compound fracture which hasforced a bone from his leg clear out his skin.

Miners congregate around the injured miner and rally againstChinese foremen who try to mediate the growing mob. Minerspush and curse the Chinese management who argue viatranslators. The miners are upset, yelling and pointing tomachinery in disgust, clearly this injury is proof of anongoing argument. Tensions escalate between Chinese workersand miners and it turns to chaos.

Two ETHIOPIAN MEN, MINER 1 and MINER 2 break away and sneakinside the mine behind them.

INT. ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS - OPAL MINE - CONTINUOUS

The MINERS don head lamps and plunge into the darkness of themine. They crawl up into a small cave and marvel at a tunnelabove them. They search the area with their flashlights andstop at a ragged fluorescent orange T-shirt stuck in a crevicein a wall.

MINER 2 keeps look-out as MINER 1 uses a hammer and chisel todislodge a large clump from the crevice.

A large rock falls to the ground beneath them as they fumbleto remove the dirt away. The MINERS caress the rock.

With a chisel, MINER 1 hammers across a protruding nub. Thenub breaks loose and exposes a small window down the center ofthe crack. MINER 1 and 2 exchange glances then stare at thecolorful opening.

The camera moves into the gem. Light and color engulf theframe in a shifting melange of abstract shapes and patterns aswe dive deeper into the opal. In a tunnel filled withstalactites and shafts of fluorescent colored lights, thetitle emerges:

UNCUT GEMS:

The journey carries on past the title deeper through theinterior caves. Iridescent shafts of light stretch out acrossthe cavernous tunnels as we float through them. It’s eerie,

yet beautiful. In macro, the walls begin to slowly throb andglisten, transforming into something seemingly alive.

2.

The camera trains backwards to reveal the edges of a monitorthat displays patient information: HOWARD RATNER, 48 yearsold, the date 05/03/2012.

INT. DR. BLAUMAN’S OFFICE - PROCEDURE ROOM - DAYTIME

The zoom reveals DR. BLAUMAN, a gastroenterologist, anANESTHESIOLOGIST and a NURSE perform a colonoscopy on anunconscious HOWARD RATNER, a paunchy Jew in his late 40’s.

They quietly do their work, occasionally commenting on whatthey see on the monitor. HOWARD’s cell phone vibrates then

stops.

DR. BLAUMAN

Popular guy.

Supertitle:
NEW YORK CITY, SPRING 2012

The phone rings again.

EXT. 46TH STREET BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH AVENUE - MORNING

Amidst morning pedestrian traffic, HOWARD walks with his phoneto his ear.

HOWARD:

(answering phone)

Yussi, I’m a block away

YUSSI (O.S.)

Howard, where’re you????

HOWARD:

I told you I’m walking already...

YUSSI (O.S.)

(with attitude)

I got two guys here saying they’regonna be watching over the spacetoday! What the f***!?

HOWARD:

Hey man, who the f*** you think you’retalking to?!!

YUSSI (O.S.)

I got a client here Howard, what thefuck is going on??? They keep sayingtheir friends of Arno’s

3.

HOWARD:

Arno?! Oh, for crying out- Tell ‘emI’m coming up now.

HOWARD enters a storefront.

INT. 46-47TH STREET JEWELRY ARCADE - CONTINUOUS

HOWARD centers a congested jewelry exchange. An UNKEMPTJEWELER hands HOWARD an envelope and apologizes for the delay.

HOWARD continues on, cutting diagonally across the space.

INT. KMH GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - SHOWROOM

BUZZ! HOWARD appears on a security monitor. JOANI buzzes himin. He passes through a first set of doors, entering into asmall vestibule. HOWARD waits for the door behind him to close

and is then buzzed through a second door into the showroom, agaudy relic from the late nineties.

The receptionist, JOANI [40’s, Long-Island] sits at a deskbehind a showcase. Across from her sits errand boy ELAN [20,

beefy], checking his phone. Two thuggish men, PHIL and NICO,

stand over the showcase looking at the merchandise. PHIL rearshis head to glare at HOWARD.

YUSSI, a salesman, [dark curly hair, mid 30’s] is in themiddle of showing DEMANY [30, braided hair, flashy] and CASHOUT

[24, also with braided hair] some blinged-out merchandise.

DEMANY:

Hey, yo, Howard, this is my boy Cash-

Out I was telling you about

CASH-OUT

We’re here to cash out now!

HOWARD:

What’s up, gimme a minute Demany.

HOWARD snakes behind the showcase past JOANI.

JOANI:

How was the procedure?

HOWARD:

I don’t know. They’re calling me withthe results...

DEMANY:

Hey, give him some face time.

4.

HOWARD:

(to CASH-OUT)

Hi, how are you? Congratulations.

CASH-OUT

Honor.

HOWARD:

Respect.

CASH-OUT

He took from Flawless to come spendsome money with you. He says you gotthe best prices.

HOWARD:

He’s doing you a favor, that guy’s afuckin’ moron.

HOWARD (CONT’D)

You guys must be Arno’s friends! Yussitold me you were waiting. Sorry aboutthat. Howard.

HOWARD extends his hand. PHIL shakes it.

PHIL:

Phil.

HOWARD:

(yelling off to JOANI)

You didn’t bring them any water?!

PHIL:

I’m good on the water.

HOWARD walks away towards a small fridge in the corner of theshowroom.

PHIL (CONT’D)

Thank you anyway.

HOWARD:

This is our own spring water. We’rethe first on the block to have that.

HOWARD grabs two KMH JEWELRY STORE branded bottles from thefridge. On his way back to PHIL and NICO he leans in to CASHOUT.

HOWARD (CONT’D)

Your parents happy for ya?

5.

CASH-OUT

Yeah, yeah.

HOWARD opens the bottles for PHIL as he returns to him.

HOWARD:

Phil, I just need to tell you rightoff the bat I’m in a bit of a rush. I

don’t have much time. I gotta get toAdley’s-

PHIL slaps HOWARD across the face, stunning him. The bottlesof water spill all over the showcase. JOANI and the Showroomyell out in protest.

PHIL:

I said no water!

HOWARD looks around, makes awkward eye-contact with YUSSI whodoesn’t know what to do.

PHIL (CONT’D)

Didn’t I tell you no waters?!

HOWARD:

(mumbling)

Yeah, yeah...

PHIL:

I think it’s in your best interestthat you find some time to talk withus privately, no more bullshit.

HOWARD:

Ok, just gimme a second.

PHIL:

We’re on the same page right?

HOWARD begins to walk to the backroom.

DEMANY:

You alright Howard?

HOWARD:

100% fine.

DEMANY is on guard, eyes PHIL up and down. HOWARD enters thebackroom.

6.

INT. KMH GEMS AND JEWELRY OFFICE - BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS

The cluttered backroom contains a large desk with a safebehind it, a handful of television screens and a fish tank. In

a penned-in area in the far corner, ROMAN, a Russian jewelsetter, is working o a diamond encrusted belt buckle.

HOWARD dials “Arno” on his cell phone. PHIL and NICO enter thebackroom and close the door behind them. ROMAN averts his

eyes.

The phone call goes to voice mail. HOWARD turns around.

HOWARD:

He’s not answering...

PHIL:

He’s not looking to talk with youanymore. From now on, you’ll betalking with us.

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