Reblogged from get-organezized
Rough draft for the opening scene of my screenplay There Will Be Blood 2:
Fade in: a telegraph office. The machine sits quietly, then begins to click and print. The operator enters, waits for the message to finish, then reads it. He makes a confused face, then exits with the paper printout.We cut to a man—a prison guard, seen from behind as he walks down a long cellblock. Prisoners catcall and yell as he passes. At last he reaches the end of the block. A man sits alone on his cot, hands dangling between his knees, head down. A bright overhead light renders his features unreadable.
Guard: Plainview?
The prisoner does not answer.
Guard: Plainview! You got a message.
Slowly the prisoner raises his head. It is Daniel Plainview. He has been here in this cell for nearly six months, following his conviction for the murder of popular radio preacher Eli Sunday. His eyes are narrow and dark, his greying moustache as bristly as we remember. He rises from his bunk and without a word takes the message from the guard’s outstretched hand. The guard gives him a disdainful look.
Guard: Don’t know how you can get messages in here. You must have friends in high places.
The guard turns and walks away. Plainview watches him out of the corner of his eye, then looks down at the message in his gnarled hands.
It is a single word: DUCK.
Suddenly, an explosion rocks the entire prison. Plainview drops to his knees and crouches against the bars. His cell fills with smoke and debris, and the whole room quakes. Finally, the huge concussion rolls away to silence, and he is able to look up. The back wall of his cell has been completely blown open, and a silhouetted figure stands in the smoky ruins. After a moment, he steps forward, into the light. It is Paul Sunday, Eli’s brother.
Paul: Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a bitch.
Plainview stands, brushing dust and bits of rock from his clothes. Paul hands him his hat, which he pulls down onto his head. A siren has begun to sound, and the shouting voices of guards and prisoners can be heard.
Paul: So what are we gonna do now, Daniel?
Plainview: We’re gonna get my fortune back.
I’d watch this.
