Sam Snoop and the City of God
(shooting script)
This is the script from which I am actually shooting the film.
So far, the main actors are as follows
SHARON (the master of accents) is playing Mary and doing the voice over for Feme Fatal
AL is playing Dirt, Sam and whatever other roles are necessary
RICCARDO is playing the university president
There may be other actors, I’m not certain yet. I would love to get Harrison Ford for Doc – but he’s worn out
SCENE 1: NEVADA/UTAH – Day
A mole pops up out of the ground of the desert just as an army staff car and three military jeeps pass.
This convoy is pursued by DIRT driving a hot rod. Various shots of his sneaker on gas pedal and such
The hot rod takes the wrong fork, backs up, and follows the convoy. A sign indicates this is a secure area.
SCENE 2: Guard Gate, Day
The hot rode pulls up to the gate.
Dirt gets out of the car, sees soldiers bodies on the ground
DIRT:
This can’t be good.
Dirt gets back into the car and drives towards the military building.
SCENE 3: Warehouse, Day
A few outside shots, then several shots of garage area, staff guard, WWII era jeep, typewriter, etc.
Dirt approaches, bends, picks up a hat from the floor near the staff car then moves on into the warehouse, where we hear the voice of Feme Fatal as Dirt eases around the crates to get a glimpse of Fatal, Mary, Doc and guards near the open guard door.
FATAL: (Most shots from behind with fatal in the foreground)
You will tell us where the crate is, Doctor Jones
DOC:
Go to hell
(Smack)
I mean, go to hell, Comrade.
FATAL: (putting on black rubber gloves)
We shall have to do this – what’s the expression? – the old fashioned way.
Bring the woman.
MARY: (close up)
Don’t tell them, doc
DOC:
All right, all right, I’ll show you
(The group moves along the warehouse interior. At one point, Dirt yanks Mary aside behind a wall of crates)
MARY:
Dirt, what are you doing here?
DIRT:
I’ve come to save you.
MARY:
I can’t leave, Doc.
God knows what the Soviets will do to him
Go find, Sam Snoop. He’ll help us.
(cut away to Fatal, Doc, and guards at a crate. They wedge it open to reveal the face of a dead space alien. Fatal flicks out a knife, cuts the face open, reaching inside and draws out a skull)
FATAL:
At long last we have the ultimate weapon
Now give me the book, Doctor Jones.
DOC:
I don’t have it.
FATAL:
Where is it?
DOC:
Somewhere you can’t lay your hands on it
FATAL: (looks around)
Where is the woman?
SCENE 4: NYC 1957 Day
NYC skyline, images of street, outside doorway, hall way, Sam approaching office door, sees package, bends over to retrieve it, goes inside, throws on desk, sits behind desk, picks up shot glass and nearly empty bottle of booze. Drinks from the bottle.
We see a hand knocking on the door.
SAM:
Come in
(Two men in suits come in. One of them flashes an FBI id, the other has a snub nose revolver tucked into his belt.)
MAN #1
We’re from the government.
MAN #2:
We need to talk to you
SAM:
What about?
MAN #1
About your friend, Doctor Jones
MAN #2
And your ex-wife
MAN #1
We think they’ve been working for the Soviets
SAM:
My ex-wife has been dead for more than a decade
And I haven’t seen Jones in at least that long
Neither one of them was a traitor
MAN #1
We have photographs
MAN #2
Of them helping the soviets steal one of our top secret weapons
SAM:
So what do you want me to do?
MAN #1:
Get the weapon back.
MAN #2:
But remember, we’ll watching you
(The two men leave. Sam turns on a tape recorder)
MARY: (on the recorder)
Sam? What’s with you and these machines, and where the hell is my alimony? Or do I have to wait until Truman is out of office before I see my next check?
SAM: (mumbling over another sip of booze)
I like Ike
(fade)
SCENE 5 – The University, day
Exterior of the building, then the hallway and finally the president’s office. President is seated behind his desk with Sam across from him.
PRESIDENT:
I’m afraid we can’t help you, Mr. Snoop
We don’t know where Doctor Jones went and we don’t care.
This university has no interest in doing business with communists.
SCENE 6: Outside the university, Day
See the front door to the school, and then a close up of Sam looking around. He glances this way, then that, sees stores and campus.
We get an alternate view from a car looking towards the front door.
Then Sam sees a figure moving towards him
Dirt pulls up in his hot rod.
DIRT:
Get in, Mr. Snoop
SCENE 7: The soda shop, Day.
We get various shots of the soda shop, then a shot of Dirt and Sam seated in one of the booths across from each other.
DIRT:
My mom said you would help me.
SAM:
I thought she was dead.
Do you know where she is?
DIRT:
No, but I know where they’re going.
They have to get the skull back to the City of God, and this book tells us how to get there.
SCENE 8: The airplane, Day
Image of airport, exterior of the plane, interior of the plane, Sam and Dir settling into seat, a suspicious character sits down a few seats behind them. The plane takes off, a map shows a line moving from NY to Peru and the plane landing.
SCENE 9 -- Village
Shots of merchants, arch, various animals and people. Some is show talking to one of the villagers, then Sam and Dirt hurry through the arch.
SAM:
The Russians were here all right.
DIRT:
Any word on Doc or Mary?
SAM:
It seems that Doc gave the Russians the slip for a while. But they caught up with him and found him hiding in the basement of a local church.
SCENE 10 -- the Church, Day
Shot of the exterior of the church, then camera moves through arch, and doors, and down stairs, into the basement chamber where there is writing on the walls.
SAM:
Doc must have gone crazy.
DIRT:
Crazy like a fox.
These are directions written in one of the dead languages Doc taught me.
SCENE 11: The crypt: Night
They come into a grave yard carrying shovels, and find a particular crypt, then go down the stairs, here they are confronted by savaged, bugs, but eventually come to the grave that Doc’s directions gave them. Sam finds the skull
SAM:
This is the most powerful weapon in the world?
DIRT:
It’s what Doc says
The US. Government worked on it since they found it in 1947, but doc figured out that by getting it back to the lost city, it gained power.
That’s when the Russians grabbed him and the skull
SAM:
But how did it wind up here?
DIRT:
Doc must have snatched it and hid it here before the Russians caught him again, leaving us the instruction in the church for us to find it.
SAM:
But what do we do with it?
DIRT:
Doc said the only safe place for it is the City of God, where he intended to bring it if he could.
SAM:
And you know how to get there?
DIRT:
It’s all in the book
SCENE 12: Jungle, day
We see Sam and Dirt from above traveling along a jungle path. Then, Fatal confronts Sam
FATAL: (Shot from behind)
Glad you could join us, Comrade.
(She takes the skull from Sam)
SCENE 13: Tent, Twilight
Sam is tied to a chair with Fatal (back to us) facing him.
FATAL
We need to know where the boy went with the book
SAM:
You have the skull and Doctor Jones, why do you need the book?
FATAL:
It seems our torture has dented Doctor Jones’s memory.
Bring in the woman.
(Mary enters)
MARY:
This is some rescue, Sam
SAM:
After my not seeing you for more than 10 years, what else can you expect?
MARY:
They hurt, Doc.
He’s out of his mind?
DOC: (from off camera)
The sky is falling, the sky is falling
SCENE 14: Jungle
Jungle path, Dirt walking around calling Sam’s name. An American military officer steps into the path in front of Dirt.)
DIRT:
What the hell do you want?
OFFICER:
The same think the Ruskies want, the skull.
Where is it?
SCENE 15:: The tent
Tent exterior, then shot of Mary, with Sam tied to chair, and Fatal still in the foreground. Machinegun fire sounds form outside)
SAM: (To Fatal)
It sounds like you got guests
FATAL:
We shall see (exits)
SAM:
Untie me and let’s get out of here
MARY: (untying Sam)
What about Doc?
SAM: (rubbing his wrists as he heads for the table where the skull sits)
We’ll take him with us and the skull
SCENE 16 Jungle
Sam, Mary and Doc encounter Dirt coming the other way.
MARY:
Dirt!
We’ve found you.
DIRT: (glancing over his shoulder)
Not for long.
I gave the Yanks the slip, but they’re right behind me
SAM:
Do you still have the book?
DIRT:
You bet I do.
SAM:
Fine, then let’s get rid of this damned skull like Doc wanted.
(They start down another path)
MARY:
Just like old time, eh, Sam?
SAM:
Too much so.
How is it that you’re still alive?
MARY:
Doc was at a dangerous point in his research.
He thought it would be safer if people thought we were both dead.
SAM:
Everybody seemed to know you weren’t – except me..
SCENE 17: The temple: Day
We see a mountain with the temple on it. And the four walking out of the jungle towards it, down through passages and into a great chamber where there is a arched section in the wall.
SAM:
Is this where the skull is supposed to go?
DIRT: (Placing the skull in the arched chamber)
It’s what the book says.
FATAL: (stepping into the foreground)
No so fast, comrades.
Give the skull to me.
Only I know how to tap its powers.
(American military helicopters appear over the roof of the temple, a public address system warning them to evacuate the area and that a nuclear device has been activated. FATAL sounds stunned)
Are they mad?
They will destroy the skull?
SAM:
I think that may be the idea
FATAL:
No, this cannot be
(she moves towards the skull)
SAM: ( to the others)
Time to vacate
(they rush out of the temple and down from the mountain, then stop to see the flash of the nuclear explosion.
SAM: (shielding his eyes)
You know, Mary, you still know how to show a guy a good time.
I suppose now that you’ve come back from the dead, you’re going to want me to pay alimony again.