Production value
TEASER: 1970s – outside night
Train crashing in the dark – alien climbs from the train
Scene 1: Suburban home – day – contemporary time
Etab: exterior shot of a suburban house with the wind blowing an empty swing which squeaks. A 1970s muscle car is parked in front.
Interior shots of house, a TV that is on, broadcasting news about a train crash,
Master shot: Old man seated at table in a room filed with film editing equipment, models, posters, paints, and a projector.
He turns on the projector
Images of a train crash site in black and white with Empire State Building in background
Long shot of crumpled train site at the bottom of the hill – several frames.
Long shot of people on side of tracks, helicopter hovering over it.
Same shot turning to color
Zoom out to show this as an image on TV
Shot of Robert in front of the TV looking at the image, then he speaks into a walkie-talkie
ROBERT:
This is mint.
We got to get down there get this on film
BEN:
Are you nuts?
They won’t let us anywhere near there.
ROBERT:
I know a way.
You call Carl and tell him to meet us at the water tower.
SCENE 2: small town – day
ETAB: Robert, carrying a camera, Carl and Ben on bicycles scooting through town, through graveyard and down hills
BEN:
This isn’t right, Robert.
Bill’s mother died on that train.
CARL:
Where is Bill anyway?
I thought he would be here.
BEN:
Where do you think he is?
He’s at the funeral with his father.
CARL:
I wouldn’t go anywhere with my old man.
Not even to a funeral
ROBERT:
Bill said he would meet us at the site after the funeral
CARL:
And if he doesn’t come?
ROBERT:
Then we’ll shoot the move without him.
This is production value we can’t afford to miss.
BEN:
With all the police, they’re not going to let us get anywhere near the train
CARL:
I know a way down there.
BEN:
Doesn’t anyone think this is a bad idea but me?
ROBERT:
We have to go down where, he we want to make our movie
BEN:
But we’ll get caught.
CARL:
Not if I have anything to say about it.
No way I’m going to let the cops bring me home again.
SCENE 3: On a hill overlooking the crash site – day
ESTAB: Three boys with bikes looking down at the train wreck
BEN:
It’s worse than I thought.
ROBERT:
Run the camera while the light lasts.
We don’t want to miss any of this.
(Carl sets up the camera and looks through the view finder)
CARL:
That’s strange.
BEN:
What is?
CARL:
There’s a lot of soldiers down there.
ROBERT:
This is a disaster.
Someone must have called in the national guard
CARL:
That’s not it.
There’s a second train
BEN:
Are you telling me that two trains crashed?
CARL:
That’s how it looks to me
And the second one is a military train, and it’s in even worse shape than the commercial one.
ROBERT:
Are you getting it all?
BEN:
Bill’s mom was in the military
CARL:
The Army reserve.
She goes – I mean went away – two weeks during the summer.
BEN:
Could she have been on the other train?
ROBERT:
What does it matter which train she was on?
This is mint.
BEN:
It matters because the news isn’t saying anything about a second train.
ROBERT:
So what?
CARL:
So it means someone is trying to keep it secret.
BEN:
Secret? Why?
CARL:
Maybe they were carrying something they don’t want the rest of us to know about.
BEN
Which means someone will be very pissed at us if they catch us here.
ROBERT:
Nobody is going to care what some kids are doing.
CARL:
They will if they see us
with a camera
ROBERT:
No you, too?
CARL:
It’s bad enough when the cops bring me home
My old man will flip his wig if the army does.
BEN:
Maybe we should leave before someone sees us.
ROBERT:
We’re not leaving while the light lasts.
This has production value.
CARL:
They seem to be looking for something down there.
BEN:
More bodies?
ROBERT:
There weren’t that many bodies to start with.
CARL:
With two trains, there’s no way to tell how many bodies there were.
BEN:
Stop talking like that. I’m getting scared.
ROBERT:
They’re probably looking for something that fell off the train.
CARL:
They must want whatever it was pretty bad because they’re looking all over
BEN:
That means they’ll see us sooner or later.
Let’s get out of here.
ROBERT:
I’m not leaving until we get all this on film.
CARL:
I think Ben is right.
ROBERT:
I don’t.
I think we should get closer
BEN:
And get caught?
ROBERT:
They won’t catch us if we’re careful.
CARL:
Yes, they will.
They might even think we have what they’re looking for.
ROBERT:
Well, we don’t have it, do we?
Come on.
(Robert starts down the trail. Ben and Carl reluctantly follow,
Something moves in the bushes.
The boys stop.
BEN:
What was that?
ROBERT:
I don’t know. It can’t be a soldier.
CARL:
Maybe it’s an escaped prisoner
BEN:
This wasn’t a prisoner train.
ROBERT:
Who knows what the military had on their train.
BEN:
I still say we should go back.
ROBERT:
I’m not
(Robert starts off down the trail again)
CARL:
Where are you going?
ROBERT:
After it.
BEN:
Are you nuts?
What are earth for?
ROBERT:
To get it in our film, naturally.
(They go down into rail road valley, and along the side of the tracks, and then they come upon a very strange stone formation)
BEN:
What the hell is that?
ROBERT:
Get it on film.
It’s mint
CARL: (operating the camera)
It’s weird
(a soldier appears)
SOLDIER:
Hey you kids, what are you going here?
ROBERT: (turning to face the soldier)
We came to see the train crash
SOLDIER:
This off limits.
CARL:
Our friend’s mom died in the crash.
We wanted to see where it happened, and take some pictures back to him.
SOLDIER:
You have a camera?
Give it here!
ROBERT:
No way!
CARL:
Run!
(the three boys flee into the woods)
BEN:
What about our bikes?
ROBERT:
We’ll go back for them later.
CARL:
I think we’re in deep shit this time.
ROBERT:
I wonder if we can get a close up of the soldiers?
BEN:
Don’t even think about it, Robert.
These guys are serious.
ROBERT:
So am I.
Think of the production value.
CARL:
I’m think about what my old man will do when he comes to bail me out of jail.
ROBERT:
You said yourself these guys are searching for something.
CARL:
So?
ROBERT:
So maybe we can find it first.
CARL:
Then what?
ROBERT:
Get it on film.
CARL:
For what purpose?
Why do we need to get it on film?
ROBERT:
So we can show it to Bill
It might cheer him up to thin something good came out of all this.
BEN:
Something good
Whatever they’re looking for has to be dangerous.
How can there be anything good in getting ourselves killed?
CARL:
I know I’ll live to regret this, but I want to go find whatever it is, too.
ROBERT:
Do you remember which way it went?
CARL:
That way, I think.
BEN:
I’m not following that thing.
ROBERT:
Then go home.
BEN:
Alone?
CARL:
If you’re going home, you doing it alone.
BEN:
All right, I’ll come with you.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you guys.
(The boys start climbing the hill)
ROBERT:
If you were running from the authorities where would you go?
CARL:
To town and blend in.
ROBERT:
What if you couldn’t blend in?
CARL:
Then I’d go some place where I could lay low.
ROBERT:
Like the old quarry?
BEN:
You’re not thinking about going up there?
ROBERT:
I have to get it on film, and if that’s where it’s going, I’m going there, too.
(an army helicopter appears over head.)
CARL:
These guys ARE serious
ROBERT:
They really want it back.
BEN:
It? Don’t you mean who?
ROBERT:
I don’t know, Ben
I have a funny feeling about all this.
(the PA from the helicopter squawks)
PA:
Come down off the mountain.
This is your last warning.
BEN:
This is not good.
What if they decide to gas us like they did in that movie.
(The helicopter swoops with the sound of hissing.)
CARL:
Run!
We’ll be all right if we get to the other side.
(They climb and get over the top, and then stop. Below them there is a space ship starting to take off)
CARL:
Are you seeing what I’m seeing?
BEN:
I don’t believe it
ROBERT:
Don’t just stand there, film it!
(shot of space ship rising – this eventually turns to a black and white film clip, which the old man is looking at on the screen with the projector going.
OLD MAN: (mumbling)
It’s mint.