GODZILLA
FADE IN:
EXT. ARCTIC OCEAN - DAY
Stars in the black of space. PAN DOWN to sapphire blue sky, the
brighter stars still shining through. It's Arctic midnight, the
weak sun tiny on the distant horizon. We SKIM along the water,
in and around looming glacial cliffs--
The top of an iceberg pushes through the water's surface.
Carved into the ice is a single mammoth word:
G O D Z I L L A
We continue past, along the ocean, and discover:
An old fishing boat, the RAINBOW WARRIOR, holds position
outside a small natural harbor. All lights extinguished.
FADE UP TITLE:
ARCTIC OCEAN, NEAR THE 170th PARALLEL
ON DECK: Eco-warriors peer through high-powered binoculars and
video cameras. Among them: An intense WOMAN. A RUSSIAN MAN
with a scraggly beard. A surly BLOND MAN, who monitors a Geiger
counter. All wear heavy parkas against the gray cold.
BLOND MAN
Can anyone make out the registry?
WHAT THEY ARE WATCHING: A distant SALVAGE SHIP, moored inside
the harbor. Its hoist is swung out over the sea. Flood lights
illumine salvage divers as they submerge with hoist cables.
RUSSIAN MAN
Not me. Bojemoi...I think my
eyeballs are frozen.
WOMAN
It's blacked out. Whatever
they're up to, it's no goddamn
good.
Near the salvage ship, the divers guide the cable as the hoist
engines begin working, winching the cable up.
BLOND MAN
(looks up from Geiger
counter)
Background radiation is nearly a
hundred times normal. They're
harvesting reactor cores. They
must be.
RUSSIAN MAN
We don't know that. There's no
evidence of--
2.
BLOND MAN
(pointedly accusing)
There's a thirty-year-plus history
of Soviets dumping nuclear waste
and old reactors into the Kara,
the Barents, the Sea of Japan--
RUSSIAN MAN
(amused)
I swear, I was not there. I had
a cold.
BLOND MAN
So why not the Arctic? Who knows
how many of these graveyards there
are?
WOMAN
Something's wrong!
The two men re-focus on the salvage ship--
--where crewmen race across the deck. Divers scramble onto the
platform. A klaxon sounds--
Suddenly the GEIGER COUNTER SQUEALS, readings off the scale.
The Blond Man drops it, startled.
WOMAN
Shit!
The sea begins to BOIL beneath the salvage ship.
WOMAN
Chain reaction! Grab tight--
The sea ERUPTS. The salvage ship is HEAVED into the air. It
disappears in a FIERY EXPLOSION--
The shock wave rocks the Rainbow Warrior violently. People
scramble as the deck tips. Huge chunks of ice peel off the
cliffs, crash into the sea, onto the ship. With a cry, the
Blond Man falls overboard. Smoke pours from below decks.
The Geiger counter calls out an uninterrupted staccato.
The Russian Man stumbles blindly through the chaos, grasping for
deck rails.
TALL MAN
...I can't see...Claus? Martha?
Help me!
OBSERVER
Look at that! The snow can't
burn! It can't burn!
3.
Near where the remains of the salvage ship, the snow is indeed
on fire--an eerie sight. A fissure has opened up in the
glacier, still expanding.
WOMAN (O.S.)
Oh my god!
RUSSIAN MAN
(stumbles toward her)
Martha? Where are you? What is
happening?
The Woman stares toward the shore.
WOMAN
It's bleeding...
RED-BLACK FLUID flows out of the fissure, into the sea. The
fluid steams in the chill Arctic air. Turning the ocean blood
red.
MARTHA
The Earth is bleeding...
INT. LLEWELLYN HOME - BEDROOM - NIGHT
The window is wide open. The curtains don't move. A fan labors
pointlessly, aimed toward the bed--which is empty. Suddenly,
the mattress JUMPS, bumped from beneath. There is a giggle.
KEITH (O.S.)
I thought we got on the floor to
cool off.
JILL (O.S.)
Oh, gee. I'm sorry. I'll stop.
KEITH (O.S.)
Just an observation. No
complaint. Please, continue.
The phone RINGS shrilly.
KEITH (O.S.)
Dammit.
KEITH LLEWELLYN pulls himself out from under the bed to answer
the phone. He is mid-thirties with a charming smile.
KEITH
Dr. Llewellyn.
(listens; dismayed)
How soon? Okay, okay...I'll be
ready.
(beat)
What? Oh, of course.
4.
JILL LLEWELLYN has emerged from beneath the bed. A woman of
high intelligence and strong passions. Keith extends the phone.
KEITH
For you.
JILL
(takes the phone)
Dr. Llewellyn. How soon? Yes, I
can be ready.
She hangs up the phone. Looks at Keith, dismayed.
JILL
The Arctic. Both of us.
KEITH
I hate cold weather.
Jill pulls him to her. Smiles at him.
JILL
Could be our last chance to be
warm for a while...
He smiles back at her, leans in to kiss her--
BRIGHT LIGHT FLOODS THE ROOM. The curtains are blown back. A
helicopter settles down outside the window.
JILL
Now the government gets efficient?
EXT. LLEWELLYN HOME - NIGHT
At an upstairs window, TINA LLEWELLYN looks out. 15 years old,
bright and aching to test boundaries. She peers at the
helicopter.
A CUTE PILOT guides the 'copter to the ground.
Across the street, a NEIGHBOR and his SON emerge from their
house to investigate the noise. Prop wash blows loose a pink
plastic lawn flamingo. The Neighbor grabs for it.
The rotors wind down. The Cute Pilot goes over a checklist. He
looks up--and his eyes go wide.
CUTE PILOT
Oh, man.
Tina is coming toward the 'copter, wearing T-shirt, tights and
an underage smile.
CUTE PILOT
(extends his wrists to
co-pilot)
Just slap the cuffs on me now and
be done with it.
5.
Tina reaches the cockpit. The Cute Pilot looks down at his
clipboard, very aware that looking anywhere else could result in
a morals charge.
TINA
Hi.
CUTE PILOT
Good evening, miss. Kinda late
for you to be up, isn't it?
TINA
I'm old enough.
Across the street, the neighbor clutches his flamingo.
NEIGHBOR
I don't care how high-up they
are...Ever since they moved in,
it's one disruption after another.
SON
(staring at Tina)
I don't mind.
Jill and Keith exit the house, carrying parkas and small
duffels. Jill sees Tina--and hurries to her. The Cute Pilot
still studies his clipboard.
JILL
Tina...this is hardly an
appropriate fashion statement.
Keith drapes his parka around Tina's shoulders.
TINA
That depends on what I'm trying to
say.
The Cute Pilot chuckles--and then meets Keith's glare.
Refocuses on his clipboard. Jill herds Tina toward the house,
into the shelter of the porch and the doorway. Keith follows.
TINA
God, unruffle, mom. It's no big
deal--
JILL
I don't want any problems while
we're gone. It'll only be a few
days, tops.
TINA
I could go stay with Aunt Julia.
KEITH
Aunt Julia's rarely home long. We
don't want you to be by yourself--
6.
Tina lets out a loud snort of a laugh.
KEITH
--in New York. In Manhattan.
Here, you're safe.
(spreads his arms; a
knowing understatement)
Nothing unusual ever happens here.
She smiles at the sight of him, the helicopter behind him on the
lawn gearing up to take off.
KEITH
Really--you'll be okay?
TINA
I'll be fine, dad. Go on.
KEITH
Okay. Well...bye.
He kisses her forehead. Takes his parka, heads out toward the
helicopter. Pauses to call to the Neighbor.
KEITH
Will you keep an eye on things for
us, Mr. Torkleson?
The Neighbor's son answers immediately, almost gratefully.
SON
Yes!
NEIGHBOR
(scowls at his son)
Yes...no problem.
Jill regards Tina, who looks away sullenly. Jill smiles
ruefully.
JILL
Use some of the money in the bread
box to buy a bathrobe, huh?
TINA
Whatever, mom.
Jill looks at her. A perfunctory kiss--neither is comfortable
with it--and then Jill heads for the helicopter.
The helicopter lifts. Jill sees Tina standing in the shadows of
the porch. She looks very small and alone.
7.
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
An C-130 transport with ski treads lands on a makeshift
airstrip. Temporary shelters have been set up. The Rainbow
Warrior is now mostly submerged.
Jill and Keith emerge from the plane, make final adjustments to
their biohazard suits, heavy-duty coveralls with full hood and
visor, hood slung back. Keith has a thin file folder.
A young captain, TUCKER, peachfuzz mustache failing to make him
look older, meets them. He also wears a biohazard suit.
TUCKER
(greets each)
Dr. Llewellyn! Dr. Llewellyn!
I'm Tucker!
Tucker takes Keith's arm, snaps something onto the sleeve.
TUCKER
Radiation badge. If it goes red,
consider yourself cured of cancer.
KEITH
And dead, of course.
JILL
(as Tucker snaps a badge
on her)
But a healthy kind of dead.
KEITH
(points with the file)
What the hell have you found here,
anyway?
Tucker leads them toward the fissure. Ahead, bio-suited workers
wheel large storage drums out of the fissure. One worker re-
seats a lid; Jill stops him, peers inside.
JILL
This is peculiar soup...
TUCKER
Early analysis is pretty weird...
It has a marked resemblance to
amniotic fluid. We think.
JILL
Amniotic fluid?
KEITH
Like in a womb?
8.
TUCKER
Uh-huh...well, not really...
there're some complex compounds...
and a heavy barbiturate presence.
We think.
Jill scowls, her mind suddenly very far away as she contemplates
this information.
TUCKER
I know one of you Doctors
Llewellyn is a bio-chemist...
Despite being addressed, Jill does not answer. Keith steps in.
KEITH
That would be the pretty one.
TUCKER
We have a lab set up if you'd like
to...
But Jill is already moving off with the worker wheeling the
barrel.
KEITH
I think she'd like to. Hey, Jill!
She turns. He hands her the file. Leans to kiss her cheek, but
she's already reading the folder as she walks away.
Keith glances at Tucker, shrugs. Tucker smiles. Pulls on his
hood, seals it. Keith does, too. Tucker gestures to follow,
slips into the fissure--
INT. WOMB CAVERN - DAY
Keith and Tucker clamber down ladders anchored to the glacier,
deep into the fissure, into:
A huge cavern, carved out of ice and earth, lit by a string of
bare lights that stretch away in both directions.
The wall opposite the fissure is imposing and strange, made up
of crevices and finely textured stone, markedly different from
the ice wall and ceiling.
A bio-suited workcrew pumps the red-black fluid into storage
drums. Tucker leads Keith, slogging through shin-deep fluid.
TUCKER
The entire cavern was filled with
this stuff--
Suddenly there is a LOW RUMBLE--a small TREMOR. Ice sifts down
from above. Lights flicker. Keith glances at Tucker.
9.
TUCKER
An avalanche somewhere. Or the
sea floor shifting. The blast
that opened this up was some
pretty mean shake-and-bake.
Something beyond Tucker has drawn Keith's attention: apparently,
it is a smaller cavern. Inside are weirdly regular rows of
stalagmite and stalactites. Keith moves inside, examining them.
Tucker stands outside.
KEITH
This is the strangest stalactite
formation I've ever seen...
TUCKER
Those aren't stalactites.
Keith gives him a puzzled look, starts to really examine the
'cavern'--
TUCKER
(enjoys the revelation)
They're teeth.
Keith's eyes widen--he suddenly sees what's been in front of him
all along: he's inside a giant mouth. He scrambles out to
beside Tucker.
KEITH
My God...my God.
He takes in the mouth. Touches the strangely-textured 'wall.'
KEITH
And this isn't stone...is it?
It's petrified or something--but
this is skin.
(he turns to Tucker)
It's skin.
TUCKER
It's skin. We think. But it
might as well be stone, for all
the good we've done trying to get
a tissue sample...we broke three
diamond drill bits on it--
Keith clambers up, over the open mouth, caught up in the moment.
KEITH
This is incredible...the
preservation is extraordinary...
Mammoths and the like found frozen
show much more decay. Even the
Alps ice man--
10.
He stops. Stares down the length of the body.
The string of lights is more than a football field in length.
KEITH
How big is this...this..?
Tucker climbs up beside him.
TUCKER
Two hundred forty-seven feet...
There's also a tail, but how long
that is we can't tell yet...
KEITH
Two hundred and forty-seven feet?
(he looks again)
Two hundred and forty-seven
feet...so much for seismosaurus
and ultrasaurus...It is a
dinosaur, isn't it?
Tucker shrugs--then nods, grinning.
TUCKER
We think.
Another TREMOR, bigger this time. More ice rains down. The
lights flicker. Go out, plunging the cavern into DARKNESS.
TUCKER
Shit...wait a sec...
He snaps on a flashlight, illumining the two men, still standing
on the beast's muzzle.
TUCKER
(bellows an order)
Nobody move 'til we get the lights
back on.
(to Keith)
We don't need anyone tripping over
some giant dinosaur nuts in the
dark or something...
(another order)
And let's get the lights back on,
shall we? Thank you!
Behind the two men, unnoticed by them, there is MOVEMENT--
The monster's EYELID OPENS, ten feet across.
A second, semi-transparent protective eyelid slides away--
Revealing iris and slit pupil, glinting wetly--
The pupil dilates, focuses--
The lights come back on. The pupil contracts. The eye BLINKS.
11.
TUCKER
(re: the lights)
About time...
Keith turns back to the beast. Its eye tracks his movement--
Keith's own eyes go wide.
KEITH
Good lord--
And then the earth shakes again as the beast's head moves--
Claws tear out of the earth--
One whole section of wall undulates--and we become aware that
the monster's tail is wrapped around the entire cavern--
Sections of the ladder tear loose. Climbers plunge to earth--
The mouth closes, then opens again. FIRE fills the cavern--
And there is a DISTINCTIVE ROAR, sharp and terrifying, unlike
anything anyone has ever heard--
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
Jill peers into a microscope--and suddenly the building shakes.
She braces for it to pass. It doesn't. It gets worse.
The door slams open. A Radio Man scrambles to a radio near
Jill. Fluorescent lights flicker, strobing the room.
JILL
What's going on--
The whole room tips, upending cabinets and shelves. Jill is
pinned beneath a table.
RADIO MAN
Mayday! Mayday! This is Arctic
Outpost--
A beam collapses, slamming into him, silencing him. The room is
still shaking. Jill tries to push the cabinet off of her, but
it is too heavy. She looks toward the window, and GASPS--
Despite her obscured view of the window in the half-collapsed
wall, she sees:
The two rows of huge, gleaming jagged teeth, moving past and
past and past for much longer than one would expect.
JILL
My god...
And then the building is jarred again, and the ceiling
COLLAPSES, and the flickering lights flicker off.
12.
EXT. TAKI ISLANDS - NIGHT
FADE UP TITLE:
TAKI ISLANDS, NORTHEAST OF JAPAN
Heavy winds and rain: a HURRICANE. A small fishing village
battens down for the storm. Waves lash across the docks.
One villager, JUNJI, looks out from his house. Moored boats
bang against the docks. Villagers hurry to cover, past the fish
stacked on the wharf.
One boat's lines have come loose; it is in danger of getting
swamped. JUNJI gasps: it is his boat.
JUNJI'S WIFE appears in the doorway behind him, drawn by his
gasp. She sees the boat. Junji starts to leave the house--
His wife stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
JUNJI'S WIFE
(in Japanese)
Don't go out there--you'll drown!
JUNJI
(in Japanese)
Without my boat, I have no life!
He stares at her, adamant. She nods, resigned--but gestures for
him to wait. Disappears into the house. Reappears with a
bright yellow slicker. She helps Junji into it. He gives her
a kiss, then ducks into the storm. She watches him go.
LIGHTNING scrabbles across the dark heavy clouds. Junji hurries
to his boat. Struggles to make the line fast.
From out in the ocean, the village looks very small, very
fragile. And then something rises out of the waves, blocking
the village. Huge with jagged dorsal fins: Godzilla.
On the docks, a SOUND rises above the storm: the DISTINCTIVE
ROAR. Junji looks up--
There is a FLASH OF LIGHTNING. Between Junji and the lightning,
the huge shape continues to rise--
Junji stares up in horror and shock. One huge, taloned foot
crashes down, nearly on the small dock. And then the monster
takes another step--
A dark shadow falls across Junji--
His wife watches, frozen with terror--
Junji falls back against the piling. The huge foot looms
directly over him. He can see up, up, up the height of the
body, the two arms, the serpentine neck.
13.
JUNJI
(in Japanese)
It cannot be...
(a certainty)
Gojira...
The foot descends--past him, miraculously sparing him.
Other villagers see what's coming. Some run, some freeze, some
pray. Some race for the refuge of trees behind the village.
The beast looms. One four-clawed hand reaches down--
--toward the villagers? Toward Junji?
--Godzilla scoops up the entirety of the day's catch and
tosses it into his gaping mouth, past enormous sharp teeth.
His head turns toward the village. He moves, the earth shaking
beneath his tread. Junji's wife stares up as he nears--
Junji screams from the docks--
JUNJI
(in Japanese)
Run! Run!
--but she can't hear. Godzilla's foot comes down--
--crushing the house.
Junji's eyes go hollow. He stares now, a mad witness.
Godzilla's tail drags across the village, causing more
destruction. More villagers are buried beneath the wreckage.
But Godzilla pays them no heed.
He reaches for the windswept forest behind the village, scoops a
huge furrow in the ground, uprooting an entire copse of trees.
He raises it to his mouth--and two villagers who were hiding
shake loose, plummet to the ground. Godzilla gulps down the
trees.
He moves back toward the ocean--then pauses. Cranes his head
back, looking up into the sky, searching for something--
The clouds blow apart briefly, revealing the night sky, empty
save for twinkling stars. The clouds close. Lightning crackles--
GODZILLA ROARS and BREATHES FIRE. A warning. A challenge.
And then he goes to all fours and dives into the sea, his huge
bulk moving past Junji impossibly fast. Godzilla's 150-foot
tail sweeps around, creating a huge wave--
The wave CRASHES across the island, hurling ships over docks and
smashing through houses--
Junji clings to a piling for his life. The water sweeps by--
somehow, Junji holds on. He stares out at the sea--
14.
Where the monster sinks down, disappearing into the violent,
storm-tossed ocean.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - BLUFFS - EVENING
The ocean. Calm now. On a bluff above the ocean a road passes
beneath a high, ugly wall, topped with barbed wire.
FADE UP TITLE:
MORI OGAI CARE INSTITUTE
ONE YEAR LATER
A car veers off the road. Two men get out:
AARON VAUGHT. Tall, graceful, eyes watchful behind wire-rimmed
glasses. He looks like a ski instructor who chucked it all to
become a librarian.
MARTY KENOSHITA, enthusiastic, bordering on intense. He lugs a
large trial case.
Aaron steps up on the hood of the car, then to the roof, giving
him a view across the top of the wall--
Beyond the barbed wire is not the expected prison. Instead,
there are manicured tea gardens, small cottages. A koi pond
beneath lovely waterfalls. All that betrays the illusion of a
luxury hotel is the wall, surrounding the grounds on three
sides. The bluff is the fourth barrier.
Marty scrambles up next to Aaron.
MARTY
There he is.
(points)
Staring at the ocean.
Across the grounds, a figure sits.
AARON
Maybe he is crazy, like they say.
MARTY
Yeah, and maybe not. If you
wanted to hide someone, keep them
quiet, this would be a good place--
AARON
Marty, no paranoia tonight.
(gestures)
Loan me your coat.
Marty frowns, but slips off his overcoat.
15.
Aaron tosses it onto the wall, covering the barbed wire.
MARTY
HEY!
Aaron tosses his pack into the grounds. Leaps to the wall,
swings over. A beat; Marty heaves his case over, follows.
EXT. MORI OGAI CARE INSTITUTE - GROUNDS - EVENING
Marty and Aaron near the seated figure--
It is Junji--looking much older than can be accounted for by the
time passed. He seems unaware of their presence, eyes staring
out to sea.
AARON
Mr. Tange? Junji Tange?
No response. Aaron nods to Marty. Marty translates what Aaron
says into Japanese, nearly simultaneously.
AARON
You're a hard man to find, Junji.
We've been talking to survivors of
the Taki Island Deluge for almost
a year.
Still no response. Marty adds something more in Japanese. With
his eyes, Aaron inquires 'what?'
MARTY
I said they all tell the same
story: the worst hurricane in
fifty years virtually washed away
one of the chain.
Aaron nods, steps closer to Junji. Marty still translates:
AARON
But there are also stories of a
man who saw a giant dragon. A
dragon that breathed fire and made
tidal waves.
He waits. Nothing. He sighs--
--and then Junji speaks. Marty translates to English:
JUNJI/MARTY
A storm killed my wife. And I am
a crazy man that no one believes.
16.
AARON
(Marty translating)
Every culture has myths about
dragons. The Midgard Serpent,
Quetzacoatl. The dragon that
sleeps at the heart of the
world...
(beat)
Only I don't think they're just
stories.
MARTY
(in Japanese)
He even wrote a book about it.
Before Aaron can stop him, Marty pulls out an oversized
paperback, hands it to Junji.
Aaron's photo is on the back cover. Junji looks from it to
Aaron. Aaron, a little sheepish, strikes the same pose, smiles
the same smile. Junji turns the book over. His eyes widen--
'THE WAKING DRAGON' by Aaron Vaught. The cover is an old wood
print of a dragon; it vaguely resembles Godzilla. Junji
hurriedly opens the book to a photo: an Aztec hieroglyph of
Quetzacoatl, again Godzilla-like.
Junji flips through the book, becoming more excited with each
photograph, each reproduced drawing. He pauses--
CLOSE ON: an Assyrian carving of a dragon and a gryphon, wrapped
around each other, locked in combat.
AARON
(Marty translating)
I believe in dragons, Junji.
Junji looks up at him--then stands suddenly, and hurries off,
carrying Aaron's book. Aaron and Marty follow.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - BLUFFS - EVENING
Aaron and Marty's car sits near the wall. Suddenly illumined by
high-powered flashlight beams. POLICEMEN swarm in. One climbs
to the roof, pulls Marty's coat off the wall. Displays it to--
PIKE, wearing a scowl he was born with. He stands in front of
two other AMERICAN AGENTS. All wear sharply-tailored black
suits and no-nonsense expressions.
Pike rolls his neck, a characteristic tic, CRACKING it.
Gestures for the police to move in--
17.
INT. JUNJI'S COTTAGE - EVENING
Simple in design: futon, low table, bath screened off.
Junji looks around conspiratorially, loosens a floorboard.
JUNJI
(in Japanese)
The doctors would take these if
they knew--
He reaches into a space beneath the floor, digs out sheaves of
paper. They spill toward Aaron, a flood of paper--
--drawings of Godzilla. Hundreds. Aaron and Marty sift through
them, moving carefully to not step on them. Junji speaks
excitedly; Marty listens, translate for Aaron:
MARTY
He says he dreams of it.
Remembers stories from his
grandfather. About the people
before people. Stories about--
Junji holds up a drawing. Painted on it are the three Japanese
Katakana characters for Godzilla.
JUNJI
Gojira.
Marty whips out a PDA, writes down the name.
AARON
Have we ever indexed that name?
MARTY
No--wait, yes...In 1928, Atkinson
translated the characters
as...Godzilla--
He cuts himself off. A particular drawing has caught his eye.
He kneels beside it, staring. Aaron joins him.
It is a painting. A gryphon, curled into a fetal position, in
a mound beneath the earth. Godzilla breathing fire on it.
MARTY
The adversary?
Aaron nods, picks it up--
Suddenly, two uniformed POLICEMAN burst into the cottage. They
move toward Aaron and Marty, who back away. Aaron folds the
paper, slips it into his pocket.
Junji, panicked, crawls, picking up his drawings, holding them
to his chest.
A DOCTOR and several ATTENDANTS enter.
18.
DOCTOR
(to Aaron)
You are trespassing. And you have
upset my patient.
(in Japanese)
(re: the drawings)
He should not have these.
The Attendants begin gathering up the drawings.
AARON
You can't take those away--
The police escort Aaron and Marty roughly to the door--
EXT. MORI OGAI CARE INSTITUTE - GROUNDS - EVENING
Outside, agent Pike stands, flanked by his agents. He flashes
his credentials at Aaron:
PIKE
Pike, National Security Council.
You'll want to come with us.
(to the police)
Thank you, gentlemen. We'll take
them from here.
AARON
(to Marty)
Did I call you paranoid? I
apologize.
The Attendants escort Junji away. Junji twists free. In broken
English, to Aaron:
JUNJI
I am not a crazy who sees things--
(beat)
I am crazy because of what I saw!
Aaron regards him. The two men lock eyes.
AARON
I believe you.
Junji looks relieved. His mouth trembles into a slight smile,
grateful for being believed. Aaron and Marty are escorted away.
Junji sadly, resignedly, watches them go.
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
A sign reads: 'Now Entering/Now Leaving Traveller Utah Welcome
and Good-bye.' Along the bottom it proclaims: 'Visit the
Glistening Caves--Guaranteed 30 Degrees Cooler!'
19.
A battered pickup with full gun racks rolls past. A BORDER
COLLIE rides happily in the back on bales of hay.
FADE UP TITLE:
TRAVELLER, UTAH - SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES
The pickup pulls up at a gas station/cafe, next to a sheriff's
4X. Two ranch hands, JOHN and STU, get out. The Collie jumps
down. Sniffs the air, heads out toward the road.
STU
Hold it a second.
He pauses in front of the truck, lights up a Pall Mall.
JOHN
(an old complaint)
Goddammit, Stu, when you gonna
quit?
(Stu ignores him)
And aren't you supposed to smoke
after you eat?
Stu takes a satisfying drag, grins.
STU
It's whatcha call an appetizer.
The Collie suddenly STOPS. Makes a low GROWL toward the sky.
Then it starts to HOWL--
EXT. UTAH - DESERT - VARIOUS - DAY
Grazing HORSES raise their heads, look around, nervous.
VULTURES on a gnarled branch edge sideways, then swoop away.
A crawling LIZARD stops, tilts its head. A COYOTE howls. A
SNAKE coils defensively.
A MOUNTAIN LION leaps atop a rock outcropping, surveys the
desert floor. Then, suddenly startled, it crouches down, looks
up over its shoulder--
ANGLE - THE SUN,
huge, blazing, blindingly white. At its center, barely
noticeable at first, is a tiny black dot...growing larger as it
approaches. Soon it ECLIPSES the sun...it is an ALIEN PROBE,
hurtling toward us, taking us into DARKNESS--
The Coyote backs up several steps. The horses move closer
together, rubbing past each other, spooked. The lizard scurries
away--
In the sky, the Alien Probe ROARS, a BALL OF FIRE now as it rips
through the air downward--
20.
The horses bolt. The Mountain Lion SNARLS--
EXT. LAKE APOPKA - UTAH - DAY
A quiet, remote lake. On the surface is the reflection of the
approaching Probe. It grows larger--
--and then the Alien Probe SLAMS into the lake; TONS of water
are DISPLACED. The rest HISSES, BOILS, churning upwards into a
CURTAIN OF STEAM. Nearby treetops EXPLODE INTO FLAME--
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
Wind-blown snow washes across the familiar icy landscape. A
SOLDIER trudges toward one of a cluster of shacks that sit at
the edge of the gaping crevice of Godzilla's womb.
Suddenly a low RUMBLE builds to a deep, rending GRINDING SOUND.
The Soldier turns: in the distance a PILLAR OF LIGHT shoots
toward the sky.
The light emerges from a huge CRACK in the ice. A GLOWING
CHAMBER pushes up, cutting through the ice. It is dome-shaped,
a series of huge bubbles arranged in the regular/irregular
pattern of a Mandlebrot equation.
The Soldier backs away from it...turns and RUNS toward a low
building--so fast he slips, falls hard on the ice. He gets up,
pulls open the door--
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - DAY
The Soldier flips on the radio, grabs the mic.
SOLDIER
Nome, this is Outpost 42--come in!
Jesus, come in--
The radio emits a HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAL. He clicks the dial; the
SQUEAL covers all channels--
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
In the cafe window, the corner-mounted television flips to
static. We hear the same HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAL.
Outside, the Collie darts between John's legs, under the pickup.
Cigarette smoke drifts toward John; he waves at it.
JOHN
Haven't you ever heard of second-
hand smoke?
21.
STU
Yeah, you ever hear of a second-
hand ass-kicking? That's when I
think about hitting you so hard,
you feel it--
WHACK! Suddenly, for no apparent reason, John is knocked flat.
Stu stares.
STU
Huh. Guess I wasn't kidding.
JOHN
What the hell hit me?
Stu looks, points: a mangled frog, dazed, lies beside John.
STU
Someone shot a frog at you.
BANG! Another frog bounces off the roof of the truck. Another
one SLAPS down onto the street.
STU
Shit--they're shootin' frogs at
both of us!
And then comes the DELUGE: Rain, frogs and fish pour down from
the darkened skies.
They BANG off the corrugated tin roof of the cafe. The 4X's
siren light bar SHATTERS. Stu and John leap into the pickup.
The Sheriff exits the cafe, hand on gun. A roly-poly WAITRESS
follows. They stare as:
Frogs and fish plummet, breaking windshields. Electricity
CRACKLES as telephone wires are snapped. Beneath the pickup the
frightened Collie looks out at the madness.
WAITRESS
Like in the bible...A plague is
being visited on us. It's a sign
of the millennium...
On a store porch, NELSON FLEER appears. The sign above
advertises: Wilderness Guide/Cave Diving/ Prospecting/Nelson
Fleer, Prop. A tall, athletic man, Fleer carries a dive tank in
one hand, a wrench in the other.
The rain of frogs and fishes slowly abates. The Sheriff moves
into the street, hand still on his gun, peering warily up at the
sky, and stepping gingerly. Fish gasp and flop. Some frogs
twitch, the less mangled ones try to hop.
FLEER
Damn. I hate weird shit.
22.
He sees a dead frog on the rail. Flicks it; it flops to the
ground. A final glance at the sky, then Fleer ducks inside.
WAITRESS
(starts to pray)
Oh, God. Grant us strength to
overcome our sins that displeased
you...
SHERIFF
(a sigh)
Grant us strength to clean this
mess up.
A SQUISH as he missteps. He lifts his leg to check the bottom
of his shoe, curses.
INT. JETLINER - LOUNGE - IN FLIGHT - DAY
Aaron and Marty wait in the plush lounge, uncomfortable.
Special Agent Pike enters, extends a thick file.
PIKE
Here. You're to familiarize
yourself with these materials.
Puzzled, Aaron takes the file. On the front is a logo: an
armored gauntlet holding a sword. Emblazoned with the words ST.
GEORGE PROJECT. Stamped TOP SECRET.
Aaron opens the folder. His eyes widen. Marty leans in, over
his shoulder--
The first page is a photo of Godzilla's head as he was found,
half-buried in ice. A bio-suited figure gives it scale. Aaron
flips back to the cover.
AARON
The St. George Project?
Grinning, Pike tilts his head, CRACKS his neck.
PIKE
Mr. Vaught, your government would
like to offer you a job.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
Imbedded in a conference table is the gauntlet-and-sword logo of
the St. George Project. Aaron's book 'The Waking Dragon' is
tossed, lands on the logo.
ED
This is unacceptable. It's...
it's...an insult to the work that
we've done.
23.
FADE UP TITLE:
FORT TUSCARORA, MASSACHUSETTS
HEADQUARTERS, THE ST. GEORGE PROJECT
ADMIRAL TIMOTHY BENEDEK sits at the head of the table. His deep-
carved laugh lines contrast with his razor cut bearing.
BENEDEK
Concerns have been raised about
the lack of results. I cut a deal
to keep your funding.
ED, a scientist wearing trademark white T-shirt, leans back from
the table, frustrated.
ED
(spits out the word)
Politics.
BENEDEK
Your feelings, Dr. Llewellyn?
At the far end of the table, a FIGURE sits in shadow, hidden
from view. The FIGURE stands into the light--
--and we reveal not Keith Llewellyn, as expected, but his wife,
Jill. The time passed has not diminished the passion in her,
but events have darkened it, given it a steely edge.
JILL
If he's being groomed for my job,
I want to know it.
BENEDEK
Vaught will start in an advisory
role. If that gets results, there
won't be need for any further
changes.
Jill considers this.
JILL
I'll think about it.
BENEDEK
Think fast--he's on his way.
EXT. FORT TUSCARORA - ST. GEORGE PROJECT - DAY
Pike puts his palm on a palm-lock, peers into a retina scanner.
Aaron and Marty glance at each other nervously.
Door locks UNCLAMP. Pike steps through--
24.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
Aaron and Marty follow Pike into the situation room. Glass
walls surround a combination of mission control and a science
lab. Marty looks out through the glass, gasps--
The glass building sits inside a larger structure which contains
a huge WATER-FILLED TANK, stretching off into the distance, the
size of a small lake. Pike sees them looking at it, explains:
PIKE
To store the beastie--if we ever
find it.
(grins)
Dr. Llewellyn calls it the
dissection tank--
At the far end of the room, Jill bursts through a door, angry.
Benedek follows her.
BENEDEK
The man has drawn some correct
conclusions--
JILL
He's made lucky guesses. Aaron
Vaught is no scientist. He's a
folklorist who believes in the
lost continent of Atlantis. He's
a crackpot.
BENEDEK
He's a popular crackpot. The
President has read that book--
Jill speaks to Benedek, oblivious to Aaron's presence:
JILL
Listen. Vaught wants to...to
collect this thing. To index it.
To write books about it and earn
lecture fees talking about it and
pose for goddamn photos with it.
(fierce)
I just want to kill it. So you
see, there is a conflict.
AARON
Hi.
(Jill glances at him)
I'm Aaron Vaught. Maybe you've
read my book..?
Jill regards him. Locks eyes with Benedek. Adamant:
25.
JILL
That creature killed dozens of
people--including my husband. Our
mission stays the same. We find
it-- and then we kill it.
This point is not negotiable. Benedek nods.
BENEDEK
Your mission hasn't changed.
A VIDEOPHONE near Ed chimes. He answers it.
ED
I think it's for you.
He turns the phone to Jill. ON SCREEN: A MILITARY POLICE
OFFICER, wearing a white MP helmet and a scowl.
Jill rolls her eyes. She knows what its about.
JILL
Tina.
(to the phone)
I'm on my way.
She exits, pushing past Aaron. He watches her go, then Benedek
hands him the copy of his book.
BENEDEK
Here. The President asked if
you'd sign this for him..?
Aaron takes the book, a little shell-shocked.
INT. SECURITY OFFICE - NIGHT
Standard issue office, standard issue desks, standard issue MP
leads Jill through the bullpen.
MP
She was arrested in the motor
pool. Trying to hot-wire a jeep.
TINA sits in a chair beside a desk.
TINA
I've got to remember: red wire to
green wire.
She is sixteen now, grunge clothes, hair buzz-cut on one side.
But the camouflage doesn't quite hide the bright, attractive
young woman she really is.
MP
If she continues to be...
unmanageable, you and she will be
expelled from base housing.
26.
JILL
I think that's her plan.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Jill winds the car through clone-identical base housing.
TINA
There is nothing here for me, mom.
Just a bunch of grunts and
eggheads. No offense.
JILL
(icy)
None taken.
TINA
You should let me go live with
Aunt Julia--
JILL
I'm not having this argument
again. This is where my job is.
Ergo, this is where you are.
TINA
I'm sick of this place! I'm sick
of army brats and the MPs and the
PX...and I'm sick of green. There
isn't even a mall anywhere
nearby...
JILL
Oh, as though you're going to go
hang at a mall.
TINA
(smiles)
Well...okay. Right on that.
She regards Jill, considering something. Proceeds warily.
TINA
But...I'm not just thinking of me.
I'm really not. I'm...I'm worried
about you, mom.
Jill glances at her. This is of real concern to Tina.
TINA
I think you need to get out of
this place, too. I don't think
its good for you.
She gauges Jill's reaction. So far, so good. Takes a deep
breath, plunges ahead:
27.
TINA
Ever since Dad died, you've...you
changed, okay? Maybe we didn't
always get along, but--
JILL
Do not pursue this, Tina. And do
not blame our difficulties on...on
that.
TINA
I'm not! Jeez, you can't even
talk about it.
Obviously a vulnerable spot for Jill. She looks away. A long
silence in the car. They both stare out the front windshield.
Tears well up in Tina's eyes.
Jill pulls the car up into the driveway of their house. Tina
lets out a loud sob, surprising Jill, and bolts from the car.
Jill climbs out quickly, calls after her--
JILL
Tina! Tina--
Tina pauses on the porch--
And then Jill's BEEPER SHRIEKS.
She checks it. Tina waits on the porch, arms folded.
JILL
I've got to go.
She climbs back in the car, backs out of the drive.
TINA
Quell surprise.
The car's headlights sweep across Tina, and then she is alone on
the darkened porch.
EXT. LAKE APOPKA - UNDERWATER - DAY
FADE UP TITLE:
LAKE APOPKA
TEN MILES NORTHWEST OF TRAVELLER, UTAH
The Alien Probe descends into frame, its smooth metal-chrome
surface slicing easily through the water. Ahead is a submerged
CAVE OPENING. We follow as the Probe is swallowed into darkness--
INT. BAT CAVERN - DAY
Dim light filters down. Water laps against an underground sandy
shore. The Alien Probe rises though the murky depths--
28.
--and breaks the surface of the water. Several BATS, startled,
fly past, circling the cavern.
ANGLE - CEILING, where HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of BATS hang,
crawling over each other, emitting an occasional squeak and
flutter.
In the water, the Alien Probe ROTATES, as if targeting the bats.
Suddenly the Probe ERUPTS--silvery cables EXPLODE out from the
probe in all directions.
A bat is ensnared in by a cable. The bat struggles, wings
flailing, SCREECHING. There is the sound of SEARING FLESH--
Across the cavern, another bat is taken. Then another.
SCREECHING and FLAPPING, the bats fly, panicked. One bat heads
toward light at the ceiling, soaring toward freedom--
It is SNARED by a cable. More bats are taken, and more,
building up to--
ANGLE - THE CAVERN, completely covered, overrun by the liquid-
chrome cables, a complex three-dimensional web. The bats are
absorbed by the cables, their masses sucked toward the center of
the web--
--where something grows. Roughly five feet tall, we can just
begin to see bat-like features--
EXT. UTAH - UPPER CAVE MOUTH - DAY
A narrow crevice on the face of a cliff, high above the
devastated lake.
Something--many somethings--sail out into the sky, twelve-foot
wingspans just clearing the opening. Giant horrors, mutated
from bats by the Alien Probe--
The PROBE-BATS sweep out across the land, hunting...
EXT. ARCTIC - SKY - DAY
A transport plane drops out of dense clouds, banks in a long
slow curve over the remains of Godzilla's womb site--
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - IN FLIGHT - DAY
Out the windows the horizon tilts as the plane banks. Aaron,
Marty, Jill and Ed on board. Aaron cranes to see--approaching
below them are the irregular large spheres of the new cavern.
AARON
That's the source of the radio
burst?
29.
ED
(nods)
Worldwide interference, narrowing
down to a single directional band--
JILL
(sees it)
My God. That whole structure
wasn't there before--
EXT. ARCTIC - SKY - DAY
The transport plane disappears into low clouds--
EXT. ARCTIC - OUTPOST - DAY
Wind blows loose snow. Silhouettes of Aaron and Marty appear,
wearing heavy military parkas. They follow Jill, ahead of them,
to the edge of Godzilla's womb.
Jill pauses, looks down. Her eyes are distant, remembering--
this is where her husband died. Aaron and Marty wait. Aaron
shivers, shakes his head.
AARON
I hate cold weather.
He's unknowingly struck a nerve. Jill shoots a look at him.
JILL
My apologies for your discomfort,
Mr. Vaught. We can return you to
a warmer clime, if you like.
She doesn't wait for an answer, climbs down into the womb.
INT. WOMB CAVERN - DAY
The group is escorted by a burly French SCIENTIST. Ahead, rope
ladders have been strung up toward a dark crevice.
SCIENTIST
Entrance to the new cavern is
above that outcropping, there--
Jill spots something, kneels. A rivulet of red/black amniotic
fluid oozes from of a nearby fissure. Army personnel collect it
in large yellow canisters.
SCIENTIST
It started flowing at the same
time the new cavern appeared.
MARTY
What is it?
30.
SCIENTIST
Same stuff the original team
found. Like amniotic fluid--
JILL
Send it south for testing. I want
to know if it is the same.
She looks over, notices Aaron staring at a crumpled, folded
paper: Junji's drawing. He looks from it to the cavern.
AARON
(to himself)
...the adversary?
JILL
Aaron? Will you share with the
rest of the class?
AARON
Hm? Oh...uh...it's common in
mythology for
(shrugs; forges ahead)
For the great dragons to have
opponents...adversaries.
Sometimes it's a sun-king,
sometimes another monster--
(for instance)
In the Bible, Leviathan and
Behemoth--
MARTY
Right. So we figure, if Godzilla
exists--
JILL
You've given it a name?
MARTY
We found out its name.
(beat)
So--if Godzilla exists...then
where is its adversary?
Marty's eyes drift upward, over to the dark entrance of the new
cavern. Jill rolls her eyes, grabs a biohazard suit--
INT. WOMB CAVERN - NEW CAVERN ENTRANCE - DAY
Jill pulls herself up over a final rise--and her eyes widen.
The entrance of the newly-discovered 'cave' is almost perfectly
round. Inside, the walls are finely-textured and greenish
colored, similar to Godzilla's skin.
31.
Aaron and Marty, wearing biohazard suits, climb up, gawk at the
structure. Jill pulls her protective hood on, steps forward.
There's a dark, flaky substance around the edge of the entrance.
She shines her flashlight onto it, frowns.
JILL
Organic matter, dehydrated,
petrified--
AARON
A doorway, maybe? Or what's left
of one. An organic doorway.
Aaron takes her flashlight, pushes past, into the cavern. Jill
raises an eyebrow at him, follows.
INT. NEW CAVERN - DAY
Dim, otherworldly. Aaron shines the light. The walls are green
and blue, delicate lines running throughout like roots or veins--
but too symmetrical to be natural. Very weird.
AARON
(hushed)
This entire structure seems
organic--
(an insight)
Hey...remember Junji's
grandfather's stories? The
'people before people?'
MARTY
Right--
AARON
Imagine a civilization without
mechanical technology...but they
do have an organic technology.
Bio-constructs, genetic
engineering--
MARTY
Yeah, yeah! There wouldn't be any
relics or evidence of it--it would
all decay--
AARON
Except this place. This place
is...special, somehow.
Jill stares at them.
JILL
You don't go in for empiricism at
all, do you?
32.
AARON
What?
Jill takes the flashlight back, starts deeper into the cavern.
JILL
You spout stuff like that, huge
leaps of logic, a total guess, and
in your mind, it's already true.
AARON
It's not just a 'guess.' You
extrapolate from known--
JILL
You guess. Admit it.
AARON
You search for the underlying
patterns--
JILL
You guess.
She turns her back on him, heads deeper into the cavern. Aaron
grins at her.
AARON
Yeah, well, I'm a good guesser.
INT. NEW CAVERN - PASSAGEWAY - DAY
Marty, breathing a little hard, follows behind Jill and Aaron.
He stumbles. Inside his protective hood, HIS VISOR IS FOGGING
UP. He tries to rub it through the material, can't.
Ahead, he hears Jill and Aaron gasp.
AARON (O.S.)
Wow...
Marty hurries forward, emerging out into--
INT. NEW CAVERN - INNERMOST CHAMBER - DAY
A bizarre sight. Rows of round, cauliflower-shaped objects hang
down from the ceiling a few feet over their heads. Also green
in color, shot through with a complex blue structure.
Marty breathes out hard through his nose. The visor defogs
briefly--then immediately re-fogs.
JILL
So, Vaught...where are we now?
Aaron considers. Suddenly we CUT TO:
33.
HIGH ANGLE - LOOKING DOWN,
on Jill, Aaron and Marty. It's a surveillance-type angle, the
sudden shift in perspective creating the feeling that something
is watching them.
AARON
I wonder...this structure appears--
then it signals us to let us know
its here...
(chasing an idea)
Godzilla was discovered
accidentally...maybe prematurely?
MARTY
We were supposed to find this
first...
Marty gives up--he wants to see. He pulls up his hood briefly
to wipe the visor--
Suddenly, shockingly we SHOOT DOWN TOWARD MARTY--
CLOSE, TOWARD HIS NECK, UNDER THE HOOD, TOWARD HIS EYE--
INTO A MICROCOSMIC LANDSCAPE,
We are the P.O.V. of whatever was watching them. When Marty
lifted his hood, it attacked. We--and it--move through this
bizarre, truly alien world.
Hair follicles--Marty's eyelash--loom above, big as trees.
Ahead is the colorful, beautiful cornea--
MOVE IN CLOSER STILL, into the realm of the electron microscope.
The cornea is a landscape of individual cells--
--and now we see the thing, as it moves ahead, into frame. It
is an ALIEN OBJECT, microscopic in size, of course, but in this
world looming large as a jetliner--
It is spiral shaped, shiny--
It could be an organism, or a machine--
The alien object suddenly DIVES DOWN, twisting, burrowing
through the microfilement of a cell, INTO MARTY'S EYE, past the
retina, plunges into the optic nerve--
BACK TO SCENE
as Marty lowers the flap of his hood. The foray into the
microcosmic world has lasted just a few seconds. Marty drops to
one knee, blinking.
AARON
You okay?
34.
MARTY
(nods he's all right)
Something in my eye.
AARON
So if we find this before Godzilla--
this could be here to give us
information about Godzilla.
JILL
So what you're saying is...This is
the owner's manual?
AARON
Well, that makes it sound a little
silly...but, yeah.
Jill shakes her head. Starts back up the tunnel.
JILL
Keep guessing, Aaron...that's
you're here for.
INT. WOMB CAVERN - DAY
Aaron, Jill and Marty climb out. Jill pauses, surveys the
strange domes of the new structure. Marty pulls a canteen from
his belt, begins to drink.
JILL
We were definitely brought here.
The question still is, why?
She looks at Aaron for an answer. He has none. She heads
toward the outpost structures. Aaron turns to follow. Marty is
still drinking--
AARON
Marty--c'mon, get a move on.
Marty has drained the canteen. He lets the empty canteen fall
to the ground. Wipes his mouth, licks his lips--he's still
thirsty.
EXT. UTAH - RANCH - DAY
FADE UP TITLE:
QUINCY RANCH, OUTSIDE TRAVELLER, UTAH
The BUZZING of FLIES. At the edge of a stream, several cows lie
dead, mutilated. A single calf BLEATS, trembling, standing next
to the remains of its mother.
A VULTURE flutters down, gnaws at a nearby corpse.
The calf BLEATS again.
35.
In the brush nearby, we become aware of a MOUNTAIN LION,
crouched, stalking forward--nine feet and three hundred pounds
of muscle. It is focused on--
The calf. Unaware, it lets out another BLEAT.
The Mountain Lion tenses, ready to spring--
Suddenly a DARK SHAPE sweeps down, attacks the Lion: one of the
PROBE-BATS. The Lion SNARLS and ROARS. The predator has become
prey, fighting for its life--
The Vulture flaps its wings, trying to lift off--a Probe-bat
streaks by and the Vulture is gone--
Another Probe-bat dives toward the Mountain Lion, razored teeth
bared in its muzzle--
The Lion screams, leaps, brings the Probe-bat down. But two
more attack, claws slashing the flank of the big cat--
More bats, and the Lion is overcome. Several Probe-bats latch
onto it, lift it into the air. They MERGE with it, talons of
the probe-bats melting into the body of the Mountain Lion. They
carry it up, across the stream, the cat's BLOOD running from its
wounds into the water.
At the water's edge, still trembling, is the calf. It lets out
a final BLEAT. The stream flows past, the Mountain Lion's blood
staining it red.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Sunlight glares off still water. Three small fishing boats--
Larry, Moe, and Curly, Seattle registry--swelter in the heat,
nets winched up on their booms.
FADE UP TITLE:
PACIFIC OCEAN - 159:30 LAT, 28 LONG
The engine of the Curly cranks over, will not catch. Black
smoke pours from the open engine compartment. The CAPTAIN of
the fleet gestures to cut it.
CAPTAIN
My dear old ex-wife Sally musta
struck some kinda deal with God to
screw me so royal...
CREWMAN
Captain!
(points northwest)
What's that?
The Captain looks northwest. Squints.
A SECOND CREWMAN wears a pair of binoculars around his neck.
The Captain jerks him over, puts the binocs to his eyes.
36.
P.O.V., THE CAPTAIN - THROUGH BINOCULARS: on the horizon, the
sea has turned to molten silver, sunlight glinting off of
something, a million bright sparkles, racing toward them.
The Captain's mouth drops open. He lowers the binocs.
CAPTAIN
(a near-whisper)
...nets in...
(finds his voice)
NETS IN! NETS IN!
He leaps to the winch, starts cranking down the net. Looks back
to the horizon--
The sparkles draw closer--
Shouts from the boat crews as they realize what it is--
--FISH, MILLIONS OF THEM, all swimming towards the southeast,
churning through the water, turning it a glittering silver. An
ichthyic stampede.
The boats have nets in the water as the living wave hits--
UNDERWATER, all sizes, all varieties of fish SLAM into the nets.
Predator and prey, small and large, they are pressed tight by
more fish coming from behind. The net tears in places; some
fish burst through--
Above, the nets go taught, filling quickly. The boats are
buffeted. They jerk around, yanked along by the momentum of the
onslaught of fish, tipping to netside.
CAPTAIN
Haul, men! She don't got no pull
with the good Lord after all!
The crews, WHOOPING and HOLLERING, haul the nets up, spilling
tides of fish--tuna, yellowtail, snapper, some dolphins--across
the decks. More fish leap aboard of their own volition, trying
desperately to outrace something.
Nets still in the water pull the boats along, the filament
screamingly taut--
Larry's net rips open, the boat rocking back. On the Curly, the
winch creaks, groans--SNAPS OFF, takes a crewman over the side--
He SCREAMS as racing bodies slam into him, the torrent of fish
overwhelming him, carrying him under and away--
--and then, just as quickly as it began...
...the onslaught is over. The fish are past, disappearing to
the southeast. The waters empty, going from silver to blue.
The Moe's crew pulls in a last netfull of fish. The Larry's
nets hang limp. The decks of all three boats are piled high
with flopping, squirming fish.
37.
And then the Crewman spots something to the northwest, the
direction the fish came from--
CREWMAN
Captain--
(he points)
More fish?
The Captain looks--
Something else is coming at them, moving fast just beneath the
surface. The water is humped, cresting over the huge shape--
Godzilla, doing forty knots.
SECOND CREWMAN
Tidal wave! It's a tidal wave!
Other crewmen see it, pointing, shouting--
CAPTAIN
Get the engines started! Let's
get out of here!
He sees the open engine compartment, tools and parts scattered
around. Realizes there's no escape--
CAPTAIN
(a scream to the
heavens)
SALLY, YOU BITCH!
--THE CREST OF WATER HITS the fleet, tossing the little boats,
capsizing the Moe immediately, slamming the Larry and Curly
together almost comically. Crewmen go overboard as planks give
way and sea water fountains up through the deck.
The wake is just as turbulent. Men disappear beneath the white
water. The Larry goes belly-up. Curly lists sixty-degrees--
And the fish slide from the deck, back into the water, and they
swim for it, disappearing into the black depths...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - COMMUNICATIONS ROOM - DAY
A COMM OFFICER hands Jill a headset. Aaron right behind her,
but pointedly ignored. Marty stands at a water cooler, filling
and drinking a cup of water incessantly.
COMM OFFICER
I've got the U.S.S. Idaho, part
of the rescue team--
JILL
Yes...yes...how many ships?
38.
COMM OFFICER
We've got video--
A VIDEO SCREEN flashes to life, showing the rescue ship
communications room. A young LIEUTENANT speaks INTO CAMERA.
LIEUTENANT
(filtered)
--Must've been at least three
boats to begin with, I'd guess.
Just pieces left now.
JILL
Any eyewitnesses?
LIEUTENANT
(filtered)
Yeah, a couple, 'cept they don't
make any sense--
Suddenly the audio drops out. The Lieutenant is still on
screen, his lips moving, but no sound.
COMM OFFICER
We've lost audio.
(beat)
I can patch in through the ham.
There'll be a delay--
JILL
Do it.
The Comm Officer is already doing it. Switches are flipped,
dials turned--and the audio is back.
(With the radio audio delayed, the Lieutenant's lips don't sync--
our tribute to dubbed Godzilla films of years past.)
LIEUTENANT
(filtered)
--reported a tidal wave. Another
described it as a creature, like
a dragon. 'It came up from
beneath us,' he said...
The audio CRACKLES. Jill looks at Aaron. Could it be?
LIEUTENANT
(filtered)
...too big to be a whale--some say
it had arms and legs. Right now
we're not sure just what we're
dealing with...
The audio fades out. The Comm Officer works to get it back.
AARON
Godzilla.
39.
JILL
It has to be.
Marty suddenly thinks of something he needs to say. He takes a
step toward Aaron and Jill--
--and COLLAPSES against the water cooler, knocks it over. The
water bottle bounces, clatters on the floor--completely empty.
AARON
Marty!
(rushes to him)
Get a doctor, quick!
INT. GEODESIC DOME - INFIRMARY - DAY
Marty is wheeled in, a MEDIC examining him. A NURSE applies
chemical heat pads to Marty's hands and feet.
MARTY
I just need a glass of water...
AARON
Can we get him to better
facilities?
MEDIC
Don't worry. We'll handle it.
The Nurse tugs away Marty's jacket--
Gasps, drops the jacket.
Marty's shoulders are swollen, his collarbones distended
grotesquely.
The Medic turns, looks. The bones in Marty's shoulders MOVE
with a life of their own. THEY SHIFT, repositioning themselves
under Marty's skin. The Medic's eyes go wide.
MEDIC
Holy Christ.
(back to business)
Once he's stabilized, uh, let's
get him to better facilities--
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - AIRFIELD - DAY
Marty, on a stretcher, is loaded into the cargo bay of a C-130.
Aaron helps. Behind Marty are yellow canisters--fluid from
Godzilla's womb.
MARTY
So...you think it's really
Godzilla?
(Aaron nods)
Man...I wish I could see it.
40.
Aaron clasps his hand.
AARON
If I meet him, I'll tell 'em you
said 'hi.'
Marty manages a weak smile.
MEDIC
(to Aaron)
Exit the craft, sir.
Aaron hops down from the cargo bay. Looks in--
CLOSE ON - Marty, as the cargo door SLIDES SHUT. The engines
WHINE as they start up.
Jill steps up next to Aaron, puts a hand on his shoulder.
JILL
It's been sighted again. A
direction's been established, and
they're predicting a destination--
AARON
Where?
Jill turns her head away from the engines. She has to shout
over the noise:
JILL
San Francisco.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
AERIAL VIEW of cruise ship, majestic, cutting across the sea,
wake spread out behind it. Deck crowded with tourists.
A HUGE, SHADOWY SHAPE overtakes the liner, passes BENEATH
it: Godzilla.
The liner is rocked by the monster's passage.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - FORT POINT - DAY
FADE UP TITLE:
FORT POINT, SAN FRANCISCO
The Golden Gate Bridge. Beneath it sits Fort Point. Heavy
artillery is being deployed. A state of siege. A jeep pulls
up. Jill and Aaron, still dressed for the Arctic, hop out.
41.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
The high-tech command post. Large view screens dominate the
room. Admiral Benedek is there, and so is Pike. Jill hurries
in, Aaron in her wake.
JILL
What's its latest position?
BENEDEK
It's twenty miles from the battle
group. They'll have it in visual
range soon.
AARON
Godzilla.
JILL
(off Benedek's look)
That's what he's calling it.
AARON
(nods)
Godzilla.
PIKE
Why don't you two sit over there?
Jill and Aaron look at the chairs, glance at each other.
JILL
I'll stand.
AARON
(re: the battle group)
Do you think that's enough
firepower?
ON SCREEN: An aerial view of the Pacific Ocean. A battle group
dots the water--two destroyers, two frigates, two attack subs,
two blue ridge class vessels, two Avenger class warfare ships.
Attack helicopters circle the ships.
PIKE
Don't worry. It'll do the job.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Choppers rise from the deck of a ship. Guns are uncovered.
Trained on targets. Rocket launchers are locked into position.
The submarines Madison and Lafayette plow through the waves.
EXT. U.S.S. SARATOGA - DAY
A LIEUTENANT approaches the COMMANDER, who surveys the ocean
with binoculars.
42.
LIEUTENANT
Sir, the choppers have spotted it.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
OPS OFFICER
Message from the Saratoga--they've
spotted it!
ON SCREEN: the view shifts, shows the oncoming monster. A dark
shape beneath the water, moving fast.
Jill and Aaron look, share almost the same reaction: part
amazement, part fear, part satisfaction. They've both waited a
long time...but Jill's fists are clenched. Her eyes narrow.
BENEDEK
The commander may fire at his
discretion.
AARON
(softly, quoting)
'Now shall hard edge, hand and
blade, do battle for the hoard.'
JILL
What's that?
AARON
From Beowulf. His speech before
he battles the dragon.
PIKE
Did he win?
AARON
Yes...but it cost him his army and
his life.
JILL
(dryly)
Inspirational.
ON SCREEN: POV of a helicopter pilot as his craft skims over
water--
INT. FIRST ATTACK HELICOPTER - DAY
As pilot and co-pilot scan the ocean. They spot--
Godzilla's dorsals rise and fall, breaking the surface.
PILOT
Target locked.
43.
EXT. U.S.S. SARATOGA - DAY
LIEUTENANT
They've acquired the target.
COMMANDER
Fire.
INT. FIRST ATTACK HELICOPTER - DAY
As the pilot FIRES--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - SKY - DAY
Missiles streak away from the helicopter, toward the moving
shape--
They find their targets. Plumes of water rise up--
Another barrage is fired. More explosions.
The shape is gone.
INT. FIRST ATTACK HELICOPTER - DAY
ATTACK PILOT
Son of a bitch--did we get it?
ATTACK CO-PILOT
I think we sank it!
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Godzilla ERUPTS from the water, directly in the helicopter's
path--
FIGHTER 1
Evasive! Evasive!
Godzilla BREATHES FIRE--
The flames engulf the cockpit. The helicopter explodes.
EXT. U.S.S. SARATOGA - DAY
COMMANDER
What...the hell...was that?
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The Second Attack Helicopter banks away. Godzilla watches it.
It banks to attack--
Godzilla dives forward, his arm sweeping up--
He grabs the helicopter out of the sky. Hurls it away. It
skips across the ocean and EXPLODES.
44.
Godzilla ROARS...and keeps coming.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
The room is quiet. All are stunned at what just happened.
JILL
My God...
AARON
(hushed)
What's that thing made of?
PIKE
Let's open him up and find out.
BENEDEK
Order the Madison and the
Lafayette to engage.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The Madison and Lafayette submerge.
The Avenger-class ships open fire. Missiles arc across the sky,
rain down on Godzilla. EXPLOSIONS all along his back. Godzilla
submerges again.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
The Madison moves silently through the water.
INT. MADISON - DAY
The bridge. The crew is crisp, calm.
FIRE CONTROL
We have a firing solution, sir.
CAPTAIN
Fire.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
Torpedoes away. They lock onto Godzilla, gaining from behind--
--IMPACT! The torpedoes DETONATE, EXPLODE on his back fins.
A beat. And then--
Godzilla's head comes around slowly. His eyes lock on the sub.
He scowls even more than usual. He's pissed.
He twists, reverses direction. Charges straight at the sub--
45.
INT. MADISON - BRIDGE - DAY
SONAR
Captain! It's coming at us!
CAPTAIN
Surface! BLOW THE BALLAST TANKS!
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
--as the Madison's ballast tanks evacuate. The sub rises, hard-
angled for the surface--
--Godzilla passes through the space the sub occupied seconds
before, a bull just missing a matador--
INT. MADISON - BRIDGE - DAY
CAPTAIN
Thank the lord...
SONAR
(panicked)
Captain! There's something above
us!
There's no more time for prayer--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
--the Madison SURFACES, bursting from the water--
--and rams the second destroyer at midships. A colossal wave
washes across the bridge of the Sarasota. The second destroyer
is capsized.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
The Lafayette is between Godzilla and the surface. As he swims
past, he almost nonchalantly reaches out--
His massive claws tear the Lafayette's hull open--
INT. LAFAYETTE - DAY
As the claws rip through the hull, water spilling in. The crew
scramble for emergency stations--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Godzilla surfaces, almost seems to regard the havoc he's caused
with pride. HE BREATHES FIRE. A TONGUE OF FLAME, nearly white-
hot, stabs out at the capsized destroyer, hitting it midships--
46.
The hull MELTS. The EXPLOSION is spectacular. His path clear,
Godzilla continues on his way, leaving behind the battle group.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Jill, Benedek, Pike stare at the screen. Aaron moves on shaky
legs to the chair he was offered earlier.
JILL
It really does breathe fire...
BENEDEK
(a hoarse whisper)
Contact Air-Sea rescue...let's get
as many of those men back as we
can...
Pike stares at the monitor...
--and at Godzilla, still headed for San Francisco.
PIKE
It's fifty miles from the San
Francisco...it'll be here in an
hour.
(ominously)
Our options are limited.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Aaron peers at one of the monitors, at a still frame of Godzilla
breathing fire.
Behind him, Jill, Benedek and Pike are in conference with
several uniformed officials.
BENEDEK
Goddammit, Pike--If we go nuclear,
with the winds and currents, even
our smallest yield device could
irradiate the coast--
PIKE
And that thing would be dead. Any
additional loss of life or
property would be acceptable.
Jill looks troubled--she almost agrees with Pike.
AARON
You know, he's not really
breathing fire.
They look over at him. He indicates the monitor.
AARON
See...the flame starts a couple of
meters from Godzilla's mouth...
47.
The others join him, peer at the screen.
BENEDEK
It looks like you're right. So?
AARON
He's exhaling something so hot its
actually ionizing the oxygen
molecules...
JILL
Again...So?
Aaron is distracted, an idea trying to break through.
AARON
Given Godzilla's size and speed,
the amount of energy he expends,
he must have a very different
metabolism from most large
creatures. A body chemistry that
would let him eat relatively
little... and breathe superheated
steam...
(figures it out)
Like a nuclear reactor. A
biological fusion reactor.
JILL
You've got to be kidding.
AARON
No, that's it. I'll bet a year's
royalties from my book that some
of that wreckage is radioactive.
The Ops Officer looks up from her post, startled.
OPS OFFICER
That's right. The rescue teams
have reported higher-than-normal
radiation counts.
Aaron smiles, nodding.
PIKE
Well, that's just fascinating,
Vaught.
Aaron's satisfied smile disappears.
AARON
Listen--somehow, Godzilla was in
that womb for a long time.
Something must've functioned like
control rods...
And then the light goes on Jill's eyes.
48.
JILL
The fluid.
AARON
(gets her meaning)
Yes...
BENEDEK
What?
JILL
We always assumed the fluid was
used for life support. But what
if it's not? What if it's
actually...
(searches for a term)
AARON
An atomic tranquilizer.
JILL
Well, that makes it sound a little
silly...but, yeah.
AARON
There were barrels of that stuff
on the transport with us...
JILL
Yes...
AARON
If we can administer it--
JILL
Maybe even overdose him--
AARON
How do we administer it?
They've left the others in the room in the dust.
JILL
It's got to be transdermal...he
must have absorbed it directly
through his skin...
AARON
Wait a second. Who's guessing
now? He was floating in that
stuff...Maybe he has to breath it
for it to be effective--
JILL
(shakes her head)
Transdermal. I'll bet you that
year's royalties double or
nothing.
49.
BENEDEK
One problem, people. The delivery
system. Are you going to be out
there with a hose when Godzilla
comes swimming into the Bay?
Jill gets a faraway look in her eye.
JILL
If it comes to that...
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
There is an above surface SPLASH--then something is falling past
us in a trail of bubbles. It slows. Stops.
A depth charge. One of a line, extending across an underwater
channel. Closing it off. WE SURFACE--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Medfly spraying helicopters skim above the water. Behind them,
the Golden Gate Bridge spans the mouth of the bay. It is jammed
with abandoned cars and trucks.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
A truck towing an artillery cannon shoves its way through parked
cars, moving the cannon into place. Aaron watches the soldiers
prepare it.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
ON A TV SCREEN: the Golden Gate Bridge, artillery in place, now
backdrop to a remote stand-up news report.
REPORTER
(filtered)
The reasons for all the activity
are still unknown. There's
speculation that a nuclear powered
sub has become disabled in the
Bay. But again--that's just
rumor...
Jill and Benedek watch the report. The Reporter is replaced by
video of people being evacuated by National Guardsmen.
REPORTER (O.S.)
(filtered)
Communities surrounding the Golden
Gate Bridge and the Bay have been
ordered evacuated...
50.
OPS OFFICER
They've spotted him!
She taps some buttons. On the main screen, a satellite image
appears: San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge...and
Godzilla, heading for it.
BENEDEK
Start spraying.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The helicopters begin spraying, coating the water with RED-BLACK
AMNIOTIC FLUID.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Pike watches the monitor. Cracks his neck.
PIKE
C'mon, you bastard...where are the
depth charges? He should be
hitting them...
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The water ERUPTS as a charge goes off.
Then another. Another. A chain of explosions, nearing the
bridge.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
PIKE
That's better.
Jill speaks into a mic.
JILL
Aaron, you ought to get out of
there.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON
(into radio)
On my way.
But he pauses--past the spraying helicopters, he can see the
explosions from the depth charges. Godzilla is coming.
JILL
(filtered)
Any more inspirational words?
51.
AARON
(thinks)
'It is not strength that always
wins/For wit doth strength excel.'
From the Ballad of the Dragon of
Wantley.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Jill and Benedek exchange a glance.
JILL
Not bad...
OPS OFFICER
The depth charges are driving him
to the surface!
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
More charges detonate in sequence, nearing the area the
helicopters are spraying.
Godzilla breaks the surfaces with a ROAR.
INT. SPRAYING HELICOPTER - DAY
PILOT
Oh, man. No way.
He banks his helicopter. Godzilla is almost directly beneath
him. The pilot pulls a lever--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The entire contents of the helicopters tanks dumps onto
Godzilla, a torrent of fluid. Godzilla roars and dives.
Charges EXPLODE. The other spraying helicopters keep up the
onslaught, chasing the string of explosions.
Godzilla resurfaces...right in the red-black amniotic fluid
slick. It coats him as he swims through it.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
An ARTILLERY SOLDIER listens to a radio.
ARTILLERY SOLDIER
We've got the fire order. We've
got to keep it in the fluid as
long as possible.
52.
AARON
Let's hope it doesn't just piss
him off.
The Artillery Soldier gives him a glance, turns to his job.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Bright orange FLASHES as the artillery guns on the bridge open
fire--
EXPLOSIONS as the shells hit. Godzilla pulls back, into the
center of the fluid. He slows. And CRIES OUT...a different
sound than his roar. Sickly. In pain.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
Aaron frowns. He's still rooted to the spot.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Godzilla growls like a cornered animal. Then dives.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Lit by the glow of the monitors.
PIKE
What happened?
Jill and Benedek exchange a glance...neither ventures a guess.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
Aaron searches the ocean. No sign of Godzilla.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
The water is still...the Bridge eerily empty of movement.
Suddenly GODZILLA ERUPTS FROM THE WATER--
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Godzilla clings to the center support of the bridge, visible
through the window.
JILL
Damn.
53.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
Aaron stares in shock.
GODZILLA'S HEAD RISES OVER THE EDGE OF THE BRIDGE--almost
staring at Aaron eye-to-eye. Aaron takes a step back. The
artillery crew start running.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
JILL
(into radio)
Aaron--you idiot! Get out of
there!
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
Godzilla bites through several cables. They twang loudly as
they snap, and the bridge is wrenched. Aaron starts running,
the footing no longer secure, trying to make it past suddenly
moving cars.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - FORT POINT - DAY
Jill runs out of the building. She can see Godzilla starting to
climb the central pylon. The bridge is jarred. A car falls
from it, into the bay.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
The bridge groans under Godzilla's weight. Godzilla shoves
himself through the cabling, onto the bridge. Artillery guns
fire. Godzilla cries out, sickly.
Aaron runs, but the terrain is treacherous. The bridge swings
dangerously under Godzilla's weight. Cars fall from it into the
bay.
Godzilla uses a cable to pull himself to full height. He ROARS--
--and then collapses, falling forward, full onto the bridge--
Cables groan--snap. Aaron grabs for a handhold--he swings, is
thrown like a rag doll, hangs on. The Bridge contorts, sways...
But it holds.
It is a bizarre, surrealistic image: Godzilla, one arm hanging
down, lying still on the Golden Gate Bridge.
ON THE BRIDGE: Aaron continues to clutch his handhold. His
radio crackles.
54.
JILL
(filtered)
Aaron--Aaron, are you all right?
Aaron fumbles for his radio, finds it.
AARON
What a great bridge.
Godzilla lies before him, vanquished.
INT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - MORNING
Well-attended with townsfolk. The Waitress from the diner sits
in the front pew. Colored light from a huge stained glass
window backlights the REVEREND. Gray hair, very distinguished,
very fire-and-brimstone--and really wailing:
REVEREND
'His breath kindleth coals, and a
flame goeth out of his mouth. He
maketh the deep to boil. When he
raiseth himself up the mighty are
afraid. The sword of him that
layeth at him cannot hold'--
The two ranch hands--John and Stu, last seen in the rain of
frogs--sit in a pew in the back. They look out of place, but
both listen raptly as the Reverend continues. Unconsciously,
Stu shakes a cigarette out of a pack, puts it in his mouth--
JOHN
(a hiss)
You can't smoke in here!
Stu looks abashed. They speak in whispers.
STU
Been awhile since I seen the
insides of a church.
JOHN
Yeah, well, I figure better safe
than sorry.
REVEREND
That is the description of the
Leviathan, as given to us in Job
41...
Stu is stricken by a COUGHING ATTACK, a wet smoker's hack. The
Reverend notices. John, embarrassed, edges away from Stu.
55.
REVEREND
I see some new faces today.
Welcome. In times of trouble, the
House of the Lord is indeed a
refuge.
Stu, trying to stifle himself, rises from the pew. John shakes
his head in disgust.
JOHN
Those things are gonna kill you
someday.
EXT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - MORNING
Stu exits, still COUGHING. The church is a white-painted wood
box, fairly secluded, tucked into a tree-covered hillside.
The pickup truck is parked outside. Stu notices the BORDER
COLLIE, whimpering, tied by a leash to the truck. The leash is
taut as the Collie digs his legs, trying to get away.
STU
What's the matter, boy?
(looks up at the clear
sky)
Afraid of getting warts?
A mighty PULL, and the Collie's head slips out of its collar.
It runs off. Stu curses, chases after it--
INT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - MORNING
REVEREND
Now, why is the Lord telling Job
this? The Lord is describing
wonders that Job is incapable of
understanding...
A sudden loud THUMP, as if something heavy has hit the roof.
Eyes are raised as people scan the ceiling. The Reverend
ignores it, preaching harder, trying to keep their attention:
REVEREND
...so Job will realize divine
omnipotence and repent...
Now there are ominous SCRABBLING SOUNDS, as if several heavy
bugs are crawling across the roof. Nervous MURMURS in the
congregation.
REVEREND
(looking up)
The Lord goes on to describe a
second creature, the Behemoth--
56.
Several parishioners SHUSH the Reverend, to his surprise. The
Waitress stands up, panic in her voice:
WAITRESS
It's another plague--locusts, or
hail. Just like the frogs--
(she points)
Look at the window...
The Reverend turns. Behind him, the stained-glass window has
been DARKENED by a shadow. The shadow MOVES, shrinking,
resolving for just a moment into the shape of a FLYING BAT--
--and then the stained-glass window SHATTERS as the giant Probe-
bat CRASHES through, colored fragments flying.
SCREAMS in the church, and PANDEMONIUM. Above, sections of the
roof are peeled away, and Probe-bats drop down--
John, in the back, is first to the doors. He pulls them open--
And is face-to-face with giant Probe-bat. It spreads its wings
and SCREECHES. Other churchgoers, panicking, stampede out,
pushing John into the creature's claws--
EXT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - MORNING
Stu drags the Collie by the scruff of its neck; it fights him
every step of the way. Stu glances up--and gasps. He lets go
of the Collie; it bolts away.
WHAT STU SEES: the church, crawling with the giant Probe-bats.
One of them lifts off from the torn roof, carrying a body.
Another sits on the Pickup truck, a dark sentry. It notices
Stu, spreads its wings, lifts off--
Stu runs.
EXT. UTAH - WOODS - MORNING
Luck leads Stu into a stand of trees, cutting him off from the
pursuing Probe-bat--
AERIAL VIEW - POV PROBE-BAT as STU races beneath the trees--
Stu stumbles, falls down an embankment. Rolls over and over,
hits the bottom of the ravine. Spots a narrow overhang. Climbs
into it--
Eyes wide, Stu waits, frozen, holding his breath, terrified.
A SCREECH comes, then a scrabbling sound. A Probe-bat has
landed directly above the overhang. It hunts, scanning,
listening...
Suddenly Stu COUGHS. A smoker's wet hack.
57.
Stu slaps a hand over his mouth, stifling the cough, but he
knows. He glances up--
The probe-bat stares down at him from the overhang, grinning.
EXT. UTAH - WOODS - MORNING
Stu's scream echoes through the woods, is suddenly cut off.
EXT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
A Jeep, driven by Nelson Fleer, comes to a stop on the road near
the church. It is laden with gear: tents, prospecting tools,
dive tanks. Fleer steps out, sees--
The Waitress stumbling toward him. Beyond her, the church roof
is partly torn off. Wood and bodies are strewn. Fleer hurries
to the Waitress; she collapses in his arms.
EXT. CHURCH - TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
Ambulance lights flash. Bodies are covered, carried away. The
Sheriff has a map spread out on the hood of his cruiser.
SHERIFF
Fleer! Over here.
Fleer squeezes the Waitress's hand, leaves her in the care of an
ambulance medic. The Sheriff gestures to the map.
SHERIFF
Right now we're assuming a
tornado. I need you to round up
the other guides, conduct a search
in this area.
(grim)
The bodies have to come down
somewhere.
Fleer nods back toward the Waitress.
FLEER
Deborah's going on about some kind
of giant bat--
SHERIFF
(not surprised)
Lots of debris swirlin' around a
tornado. It's characteristic.
Could've been stuff looked like
flying goddamn elephants.
Fleer nods, moves away. The Sheriff turns, sadly takes in the
scene: bodies, ambulances, ruined church. He sighs.
58.
SHERIFF
(to himself)
What hath God wrought?
And as if in answer, we CUT TO:
INT. BAT CAVERN - DAY
The Probe-bats swoop down into the cave, carrying bodies--some
human, some animal. They move toward a TRANSLUCENT MASS at the
center--it is huge, crowding the cavern. The Probe-bats are
tiny flies buzzing around it.
Probe-bats land on the mass. The human and animal bodies
DISSOLVE, ABSORBED into mass. Some of the Probe-bats merge as
well. Part of the mass SHIFTS--a giant claw, opening and
closing.
The larger picture falls into place, and we see the mass has a
hunched, ominous ANIMAL SHAPE.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - FORT POINT - DAY
Jill spots Benedek and Pike leaving the building. An argument
in progress, Pike making his case.
PIKE
--and this is on your authority?
BENEDEK
It's on the President's authority.
JILL
What do they recommend?
Benedek can't meet her angry gaze.
PIKE
It's a one-of-a-kind life form.
They want to keep it alive.
JILL
No. Goddammit, no! We kill it!
That's our mission--
BENEDEK
We can kill it later.
That is his last word. He strides away. Jill turns, stares at
Godzilla on the bridge, her jaw tight.
PIKE
Happens, I agree with you, Doctor.
59.
JILL
(she turns away)
Small comfort...
EXT. VARIOUS - MEDIA REPORTS - SERIES OF SHOTS
Hand-held VIDEO following Benedek as reporters shove mics into
his face:
BENEDEK
...hearts go out to the families
of the brave men and women lost in
the battle with Godzilla...
NETWORK REPORTER
'Godzilla'--is that with one 'l'
or two?
SHOT of a Newscaster; a video square over his shoulder shows
Aaron in a crowd, people shoving copies of his book at him.
NEWSCASTER
--London gold shot up over two
hundred dollars an ounce,
attributed to the appearance of
the San Francisco monster--
SHOT of Jill, striding past reporters, mics jammed in her face.
She holds her anger in check--barely.
JILL
--what do I think? I think they
should transport it to the middle
of the desert--
INT. FORT TUSCARORA - CAFETERIA - DAY
Tina carries a tray into a dining area. People are clustered
around a television mounted on the wall, watching Jill speak.
JILL
--shove a nuclear bomb down its
throat and blow it up.
The Reporter turns away from her.
REPORTER #1
...that's Dr. Llewellyn, who has
been credited with capturing the
creature--which, we are told,
first appeared in the Arctic sea--
Tina's eyes go wide.
60.
REPORTER #1
--and may have been responsible
for the loss of an expedition team
there early last year...
Tina sits slowly, the tray in her lap.
ON SCREEN: Behind the Reporter, several Flying Crane helicopters
buzz above the bridge--
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
--the helicopters drop to above Godzilla. A fire truck sprays
dark amniotic fluid onto Godzilla's skin.
BACK TO VIDEO as a silver tank, the size of a railroad car, is
lowered via helicopter onto the back of Godzilla's neck.
REPORTER #2 (O.S.)
...I am told is a device that
administers the fluid, keeping the
creature sedated, if you will...
The crew guide the device into place. Huge hydraulic clamps
close, lock it onto Godzilla--
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - FORT POINT - DAY
On Jill; there is a ROAR from the crowd gathered at the south
end of the bridge. Jill turns as the ROAR becomes a CHEER--
She watches as four Flying Crane helicopters strain at cables
attached to Godzilla, LIFTING HIM INTO THE AIR above the bridge.
The crowd cheers wildly--
BACK TO VIDEO - a LOCAL REPORTER, shirt untucked, does a hurried
stand-up. A wobbly ZOOM to the horizon, where a tiny Godzilla
moves past, suspended by cables from the helicopters--a bizarre
Macy's New Year's Day Parade balloon.
LOCAL REPORTER
...unconfirmed reports of gunfire
near the Nevada border.
Apparently some folk are taking
pot shots at the creature--
SHOT of a LOCAL NEWSCASTER, a Godzilla-over-Utah graphic over
his left shoulder.
LOCAL NEWSCASTER
...has been instructed to route
the creature away from all
inhabited areas. The FAA--
61.
SHOT of a large crowd, partying, waving signs; a banner reads
BOULDER WELCOMES GODZILLA. A REPORTER finishes her stand-up,
two boys near her waiting to be interviewed.
REPORTER #3
--no word yet as to the creature's
intended final destination.
(turns to boys)
Tell us, when you saw Godzilla,
were you scared?
LITTLE BROTHER
Aw...I wasn't scared.
NINE-YEAR-OLD
(considers it)
Scared it was going to poop on us!
The two crack up--
INT. HOSPITAL - INTENSIVE CARE WING - HALLWAY - NIGHT
FADE UP TITLE
FORT TUSCARORA BASE HOSPITAL
Ed escorts Aaron, moving along briskly.
AARON
How is he?
ED
Not good. We've brought in
specialists from John Hopkins.
We're doing all we can, but...
He stops at a doorway, pauses.
ED
Be prepared. His appearance may
be a shock. Don't dwell on it.
INT. HOSPITAL - INTENSIVE CARE ROOM - NIGHT
Aaron and Ed enter. Marty's figure is obscured by monitoring
equipment. A SURGEON regards a FLUOROSCOPE SCREEN. The real-
time video shows a full-body x-ray of Marty. His heart beating
is a shadowy rhythmic blur.
ED
(peers at the screen)
Christ...he's changed further?
ON SCREEN: There is a large movement--a SHIFT--of an internal
organ. Marty's liver? Whatever it is, it shouldn't be moving.
62.
SURGEON
All of the large intestine is
gone, along with the exocrine
tissue of the pancreas. The
material was used here, in
restructuring the chest cavity--
He indicates a spidery dark structure in Marty's chest.
SURGEON
Body functions necessary to
immediate survival aren't
affected. Everything else is fair
game.
ED
Impossible.
SURGEON
Apparently not. The infection is
re-scripting his DNA...and as it
changes, he changes.
AARON
Changes...into what?
The Surgeon shrugs. Aaron approaches the bed. He wears a not-
very-convincing smile. He gets closer--and gasps.
Marty has no eyes.
His skull is elongated, his jaw shrunken. His ears have merged
onto the sides of his head. His clavicle and shoulders have
lifted, forming a protective collar around his neck.
But most disconcerting is the flat, featureless expanse of skin
from forehead to mouth.
MARTY
Who's there?
Marty's voice is groggy, weak. Aaron swallows.
AARON
Marty, we got him. Godzilla.
MARTY
Is he dead?
AARON
No. He's...sick, but alive.
MARTY
Like me.
AARON
Actually, he looks a little better
than you.
63.
Marty smiles. Aaron looks away.
MARTY
Aaron...I've had dreams. About
Godzilla.
Aaron forces himself to look back.
AARON
Yeah?
MARTY
I keep wondering...why now?
(beat)
Why show up now? What set the
womb off? The interference...
(beat)
What is he trying to do?
Marty lifts up, turns, his eyeless face searching for Aaron.
MARTY
You have to find out.
Aaron takes Marty's hand, grips it.
AARON
I need to stay here--
Marty shakes his head.
MARTY
No. Please. I can...feel what's
happening to me.
Aaron looks at his friend, anguished.
AARON
I can't--
MARTY
You have to find out. You need to
keep looking. I've been having
dreams...
(beat)
Remember Emperor Kuei Ko?
Aaron frowns, remembering--then nods.
MARTY
(drifting off)
Find out. Keep looking...
Marty's features relax. His grip loosens, his breathing becomes
regular. Ed appears behind Aaron, pulls him away.
Near the door Aaron stops. Sighs heavily. Gazes at Marty's
sleeping form.
64.
AARON
(barely audible)
Good-bye, Marty.
Aaron looks at his friend one last time. Then turns away.
EXT. FORT TUSCARORA - HOLDING TANK BUILDING - DAY
Jill strides along the length of a huge structure. An Air Force
ENGINEER falls in with her, tries to keep up.
ENGINEER
(apologetic)
I'm real sorry about the tail.
JILL
Tail?
ENGINEER
See, the information I had said
the creature was two hundred and
fifty feet tall. They didn't tell
me about a tail. So there was no
way for me to know--
JILL
Know what?
ENGINEER
Well, that it wouldn't fit--
They come to the corner of the structure. Jill pulls up short.
Incongruously sticking out through the massive doors on one end
is Godzilla's tail.
Workers string 'POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS' tape around it--
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - HOLDING TANK - DAY
Jill enters, stares at--
Godzilla, laying on his side, mostly submerged in the tank--
An awesome sight. Close by is the too-long tail; in the
distance, Godzilla's head lies above the water's surface.
TECHNICIANS scurry about a control center which monitors
Godzilla's vital signs.
TECHNICIAN
(shouts)
Power up the grid!
Jill watches darkly as switches are pulled, huge generators
RUMBLE to life--
65.
Several huge metal grids lower from the ceiling, down to just
above Godzilla. Electricity crackles across them. A loud CLANG
echoes in the structure as it locks into place, trapping
Godzilla in the tank.
Jill turns away, angry.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
Jill walks in. Beyond the glass wall, Godzilla slumbers. There
is much busyness in the room. The main monitor map has been
changed: it now shows Godzilla's projected route as a line
across the United States. Jill scowls.
She spots Aaron, talking to Ed, who sits at a keyboard. She
strides toward them.
ED
Here's a match. Modesto,
California. 'A pair of twenty-six
year old twins met for the first
time Friday, despite having lived
their whole lives within a hundred
mile radius-- '
AARON
No. Keep looking
JILL
What's going on here? Who
authorized this?
Ed looks away sheepishly, a caught kid. Aaron is only a little
less abashed.
AARON
Um...I did.
JILL
You did.
AARON
I'm sorry if I overstepped my
boundaries, but Marty said
something that got me
thinking...Do you know the myth of
Kuei Ko?
Jill crosses her arms. Stares at him.
JILL
You've co-opted my people and my
department on the basis of one of
your fractured fairy tales?
66.
AARON
Listen, okay? Kuei Ko was a
mighty ruler with a vast
kingdom...You know, the usual.
One night, a sparrow came to him
in a dream. It told him one of
his wives was pregnant.
(he's warming to it)
Except it wasn't his child. His
wife would give birth to a
monster...a monster with the power
to destroy him...his kingdom...and
the world.
ED
(calling up from his
keyboard)
Wichita, Kansas. 'A hole-in-one
is rare. Three consecutive aces
on the same hole is almost
impossible--'
AARON
(shakes his head)
Keep looking. So, anyway, Kuei Ko
journeyed to the Land Without
Light...to kill the monster before
it could be born.
JILL
That's a lovely story. What does
it have to do with this?
AARON
Did I mention that Kuei Ko was a
dragon? What Marty meant, I
think, was to find out where
Godzilla was headed.
JILL
What?
Aaron points up at the map.
AARON
Godzilla was moving in a straight
line--like he had a purpose. We
just projected his route, and
started looking along the line for
reports of strange phenomenon and
occurrences--
JILL
You think he had a purpose? That
there's some...reason for--
67.
AARON
Why now? Why did Godzilla show up
now? He might not be an isolated
incident--
JILL
You don't think we should kill
him. Do you?
(Aaron doesn't answer)
Do you?
They stare at each other. Ed lets out a low whistle, drawing
their attention.
ED
Holy cow. Listen to this.
Traveller, Utah. Three stories...
'Additional cattle mutilations
discovered,' uh, 'church destroyed
in freak accident...'
Aaron leans forward.
ED
'Strange lights reported in the
sky over six counties...'
AARON
That's it. Utah.
(beat)
I think if Godzilla does have a
purpose...that's where we'll find
it.
(a little frightened)
This guess, I wouldn't mind being
wrong.
A beat, and then he exits. Jill turns to look through the glass
at Godzilla.
JILL
(to herself)
Is it possible..?
Then she starts: she has spotted a familiar figure in a white
smock: Tina, looking very small, staring up into the face of the
monster.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - HOLDING TANK - DAY
We hear the distinctive beating of Godzilla's heart. Tina
stares, transfixed. Jill grabs her shoulder.
JILL
Tina--how did you get in here?
68.
Tina indicates the clearance badges pinned to her white smock.
But Jill is taken aback by the tears glistening on Tina's cheeks--
and the resigned, serene set to her features. Tina nods toward
Godzilla.
TINA
This...this is what killed Dad.
JILL
(beat)
Yes.
TINA
This is what you're job was...
finding it.
JILL
Yes. Killing it.
Tina looks at Jill.
TINA
Why? What's the point?
Jill is surprised by the question. It should be obvious.
JILL
Look at it! It's killed hundreds
of people. It killed your father.
Isn't that enough?
TINA
My God, mom...You look at it!
Look at its scale. I bet it
didn't even notice dad!
(dryly)
Except as maybe a little wet spot
on the bottom of its foot.
JILL
Shut up! You don't know what
you're talking about--
TINA
Don't you say that. I know! You
lost dad.
(beat)
I lost you both.
Jill turns away. Anger, remorse, grief, war on her face. She
is close to tears. But an act of will puts a stop to it.
69.
JILL
(tightly)
You shouldn't be here. It's not
safe. I spoke to Aunt Julia.
She's out of town, but she said
you could stay at her apartment.
In New York.
Tina gapes at her. She reaches a hand toward Jill--drops it
before contact is made.
TINA
Fine. I'm gone.
She strides out, leaving Jill alone. Jill wipes at her eyes,
brushing away any tears that may have begun. Back in control,
she looks up at Godzilla.
In the water the monster shifts slightly, and a small, mournful
sound escapes from his throat.
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DINER - DAY
Aaron steps out of his rental car, takes in the small town. He
heads for the Diner--
--and suddenly the Waitress appears in front of him.
WAITRESS
God is merciful, but the day of
his wrath is come. Who shall be
able to stand?
AARON
Uh, yeah...'Jesus wept.'
He hurries past her into--
INT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DINER - DAY
Aaron sits at the counter near Fleer, picks up a menu. The
Sheriff gives Aaron the once-over.
SHERIFF
If you're a reporter or a gawker,
we don't need you here.
A little apprehensive, Aaron hands over his I.D. badge. The
Sheriff studies it.
AARON
I'm, uh, with the government.
(beat)
So what's there to gawk at?
70.
FLEER
Huh. You can take your pick.
We've got cattle mutilations, our
church's been tore up--
Suddenly the Waitress is there, close to Aaron's ear.
WAITRESS
It's God's judgment. And the
lights in the sky--that was his
terrible swift sword.
Aaron turns toward her, encouraging her.
AARON
There were lights in the sky.
WAITRESS
(nods)
Then came the frogs, that was our
warning--
(Aaron frowns)
A plague of frogs. Like Moses
visited upon the Pharaohs--
She looks around, heads for a stack of newspapers. The Sheriff
hands Aaron back his I.D., sighs.
SHERIFF
I'm sure getting tired of her
saying 'visited upon.'
AARON
Frogs..?
SHERIFF
Yeah...well, it rained...frogs.
FLEER
Weird shit.
WAITRESS
See? They're the only ones
willing to print it.
She thrusts a tabloid newspaper at Aaron. We get a brief
glimpse of the cover: COP TIPS WAITRESS 2M$. Inside, a photo of
John and Stu, holding buckets of frogs. Headline reads 'TOWN
DESTROYED BY FROGS--Biblical Retribution?'
WAITRESS
It's the end of the Millennium,
and the Apocalypse is near. The
wicked and just will do battle--
Aaron doesn't listen--he's thinking, figuring something out--
71.
AARON
Is there a lake around here?
(beat)
Fairly isolated, not a lot of
visitors...but nearby, say within
ten, fifteen miles...
Fleer and the Sheriff look at each other.
FLEER
Sounds like you're talking about
Lake Apopka.
AARON
Lake Apopka. How do I get there?
FLEER
You don't...not in that car. No
roads.
Aaron glances out the window. Spots Fleer's jeep, and Fleer's
sign across the street.
AARON
You're Nelson Fleer?
(Fleer nods)
Can I hire you? As a guide?
FLEER
Hmm...Government man. You're
those guys who pay five hundred
bucks for a screwdriver, right?
(grins, nods)
We can work something out.
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
Fleer's Jeep takes off, Aaron hanging on for dear life. The
Sheriff shakes his head, watching as it leaves.
SHERIFF
Government man. Shit, what's next
for this town?
WAITRESS
Fire and brimstone and the wrath
of God.
She crosses herself. The Sheriff scowls at her, worried.
INT. HOSPITAL - INTENSIVE CARE ROOM - DAY
At an x-ray screen, the Surgeon confers with Benedek.
72.
SURGEON
The circulatory system is on the
verge of collapse.
(shakes his head)
It simply may not be a viable life
form--
BENEDEK
What can you do?
They move back toward the bed, where an anesthesiologist and
nurse prepare instruments.
SURGEON
The immediate threat is liquid
creating pressure on the brain
stem. We have to drain it.
Benedek considers.
BENEDEK
Do it.
A hand--more like a claw now--grabs Benedek's wrist.
MARTY/ALIEN
|Wait.|
Benedek stares down at--
Marty--who is now more ALIEN than human.
He has eyes again--huge ebony orbs that seem to have erupted
from beneath his skin. His head is disfigured--he is growing an
exoskeleton. His nose is just two slits.
MARTY/ALIEN
|There is a |reason|. Bring |
|...Llewellyn.|
Marty's voice isn't his voice anymore--it HISSES from deep in
his throat. Rhythm, inflection, tone are all different.
Frightened, the Surgeon backs away; he knocks over the
instrument tray. Instruments CLATTER to the floor--
INT. HOSPITAL - INTENSIVE CARE ROOM - DAY
Jill hurries in, moves to Benedek's side. Looks at Marty.
JILL
Has he said anything else?
BENEDEK
A few words. This is going to
sound crazy, but...I don't know if
it's him speaking...or it.
73.
JILL
It?
BENEDEK
The thing he's turning into--
JILL
I need to talk to him.
(corrects herself)
It. Whatever.
Jill moves to the bed. Touches Marty's shoulder.
JILL
Marty? Can you hear me?
Marty's huge new eyes focus on her. His face contorts. An
incredible effort, an incredible strain, for one word:
MARTY/ALIEN
|Danger...|
JILL
What kind of danger?
Again, Marty's body contorts--
Then, it's as if something just gives up. Marty's face relaxes.
His expression is calm, serene. Suddenly:
MARTY
(distorted, but normal
inflection)
Dr. Llewellyn...is that you?
JILL
Yes. Uh...you can call me Jill.
MARTY
It...doesn't know the words yet.
So...I have to talk...
JILL
Marty...does it...are you in pain?
MARTY
...no. It's amazing, Jill. I see
in infra-red now--I think.
The Surgeon checks the cardiograph monitor. Frowns.
SURGEON
He's in a brachycardia state.
(to Jill)
He's weakening.
Jill takes Marty's hand/claw.
74.
JILL
You--it--said the word 'danger.'
Mary pauses, as if listening. Then:
MARTY
Aliens...spreading through the
stars...Destroying worlds...
Stunned silence in the room.
BENEDEK
There was a time...that would have
sounded crazy.
JILL
How, Marty?
MARTY
Alien probe lands...on a
world...creates a...beast out of
the genetic material of that
world. Designed to kill--
JILL
(surprised)
Godzilla is an alien--?
Marty's face and body contract. His voice is a low hiss:
MARTY/ALIEN
|No. Not Godzilla. Another.|
BENEDEK
(the worst possible
news)
Another?
JILL
An alien creature?
Marty's features relax.
MARTY
A doomsday beast...is created.
It...reproduces. Destroys. Wipes
out dominate life forms...
(beat)
Later, the aliens come. To a
planet already...conquered...
Jill leans forward.
JILL
One is coming here--that's the
danger? When will it arrive?
EXTREME CLOSE UP, Marty's face, black eyes staring blankly:
75.
MARTY
It's already here...
EXT. UTAH - ROUGH TERRAIN - DAY
Fleer's truck bounces up a steep rise, Aaron hanging on.
FLEER
So what are you thinking happened?
AARON
I think the lights in the sky were
caused by a meteor...It drops
through the atmosphere. Friction
superheats it to about a thousand
degrees centigrade.
(illustrates with hand
gestures)
It hits the water, and the water
boils instantly. The steam
evacuates up...cold air rushes in,
forms a water spout, which sucks
up everything around it--
FLEER
--and ten miles away, it rains
frogs and fish--
They reach the top of the rise, pull to a stop. Look out--
WIDE SHOT - LAKE APOPKA. Or what is left of it. The epicenter
of a huge explosive force. Trees snapped like twigs, bent
backward out from the lake. Mud and dying moss surround it--the
water level half what it should be.
Fleer stares, surveying the damage with awe. Aaron gazes
speculatively at the lake.
AARON
Can we go in there?
FLEER
How's that?
AARON
What I'm looking for might--must
be in there.
Fleer smiles. Hops out of the Jeep. Grabs one of the tanks.
FLEER
Underwater. Imagine that.
There's a rate jump from
wilderness guide to dive
expedition leader.
(grins)
Big jump.
76.
INT. HOSPITAL - INTENSIVE CARE ROOM - DAY
Jill knows time may be short. She hurries her questions:
JILL
Marty--this...creature you are
becoming. Where did it come from?
MARTY
Civilization...old...from the
stars...gone now. Earth had three
moons, then.
(as if seeing it)
Huh. Pretty.
JILL
What was it called? Atlantis?
Lemuria? Mu?
Suddenly the thing speaks through Marty:
MARTY/ALIEN
|We needed words...needed to warn
you... did not know what form life
would take...|
Jill gets a look of understanding--even amazement.
SURGEON
...so they created a virus that
would reprogram DNA...and transfer
RNA? Amazing.
BENEDEK
They made one of theirs out of one
of ours--
Marty's body spasms. On the cardiograph Marty's heart is a weak
flutter. The Surgeon turns to Jill.
SURGEON
Dr. Llewellyn--we're losing him--
Jill leans close to Marty.
JILL
Marty--can you tell us--what is
Godzilla?
MARTY/ALIEN
|We left it in stasis...created
from dinosaur genetic template.
Alien probe would awaken it...|
JILL
How do we kill it?
77.
MARTY/ALIEN
|Godzilla will kill it. Before it
...reproduces--|
JILL
No--not the beast. How do we kill
Godzilla?
MARTY/ALIEN
(voice fading)
|Can't...kill...Godzilla...|
Marty loses consciousness. The EKG stops BEEPing. Flatlines.
SURGEON
Crash cart! Code blue!
Nurses, the Surgeon move in, try to resuscitate Marty. The
monitor stays flatline.
Jill rises. Stands back, away from the flurry of activity
around Marty...stunned by his final words.
MARTY (Cont'd)
Earth had three moons, then.
(as if seeing it)
Huh. Pretty.
JILL
What was it called? Atlantis?
Lemuria? Mu?
Suddenly the thing speaks through Marty:
MARTY/ALIEN
|We needed words...needed to warn
you... did not know what form life
would take...|
Jill gets a look of understanding--even amazement.
SURGEON
...so they created a virus that
would reprogram DNA...and transfer
RNA? Amazing.
BENEDEK
They made one of theirs out of one
of ours--
Marty's body spasms. On the cardiograph Marty's heart is a weak
flutter. The Surgeon turns to Jill.
SURGEON
Dr. Llewellyn--we're losing him--
Jill leans close to Marty.
78.
JILL
Marty--can you tell us--what is
Godzilla?
MARTY/ALIEN
|We left it in stasis...created
from dinosaur genetic template.
Alien probe would awaken it...|
JILL
How do we kill it?
MARTY/ALIEN
|Godzilla will kill it. Before it
...reproduces--|
JILL
No--not the beast. How do we kill
Godzilla?
MARTY/ALIEN
(voice fading)
|Can't...kill...Godzilla...|
Marty loses consciousness. The EKG stops BEEPing. Flatlines.
SURGEON
Crash cart! Code blue!
Nurses, the Surgeon move in, try to resuscitate Marty. The
monitor stays flatline.
Jill rises. Stands back, away from the flurry of activity
around Marty...stunned by his final words.
EXT. UTAH - LAKE APOPKA - DAY
Fleer and Aaron, in the water, adjust their diving equipment.
Fleer watches Aaron, measuring him.
FLEER
So. Done much diving?
AARON
Some. At Club Med once--
FLEER
Well, this is nothing like that.
In cave diving, you're going into
absolute pitch dark. There're
weird currents and sharp rocks--
Aaron nods. Fleer clips safety line, flashlight, slate and
pencil onto his belt.
79.
FLEER
Just try not to panic. You don't
want to be like the kid who sucked
his mouthpiece into his throat
trying to get the last cubic
centimeter of air--
They back their way into the water.
AARON
If cave-diving is so dangerous,
why do you do it?
Fleer sets his dive watch, fits his mask.
FLEER
Better than the ocean. There you
got eels, squid, jellyfish...
(he shudders)
Too much weird shit.
He sinks down backwards into the water. Aaron follows--
EXT. LAKE APOPKA - UNDERWATER - DAY
Fleer and Aaron swim through flickering shafts of sunlight.
Discharged air bubbles glitter, swirl toward the surface.
The CAVE OPENING looms ahead. They follow their flashlight
beams into darkness. Fleer, in the lead, spots something--
Ahead the cave narrows to a tight bottleneck. Fleer pulls out a
packet of red dye, breaks it. The bright-colored dye moves
steadily away from the opening, indicating a current.
Fleer gives Aaron a 'thumbs up' sign. He ties his safety line
to a rock outcropping...then removes his tank. Aaron looks at
him incredulously.
Still breathing through the regulator, Fleer shoves his tank
through the bottleneck. He then squirms through after it--
Aaron can't believe it. Slowly he removes his own tank. Pushes
it through ahead of him, following Fleer.
INT. CAVE SYSTEM - UNDERWATER - DAY
P.O.V., AARON, through his dive mask, the narrow angle
increasing the sense of claustrophobia. We hear his BREATHING,
slow and steady, as he moves past limestone walls.
The walls give way; Aaron and Fleer emerge into open water.
Fleer glances up. Sees the surface above. Grins, motions to
Aaron. Swims upward--
80.
--suddenly, shockingly, coming straight at him, BRIGHT in the
light of his flashlight is the MOUNTAIN LION.
Fleer freaks out. Flails his arms, legs, trying to get away--
The Mountain Lion APPROACHES, fangs bared in a perpetual
snarl...then floats serenely past, suspended in the water, moved
by the current.
It spins, caught in an eddy. We see it's pretty well torn up.
A paw and some of its torso are still connected to the head, but
most of the body is gone.
Fleer recovers. Calms himself. Aaron taps him on the shoulder.
Fleer holds up his hand--he's okay. He scribbles on his slate,
holds it up to Aaron. It says 'RATE DOUBLED.'
INT. CAVE SYSTEM - BAT CAVERN - DAY
Aaron breaks the surface of the underground lake. Fleer is
already climbing out of the water. He yanks off his mask.
FLEER
God damn what was that doing
there? I don't need that shit in
my life...
He squirms out of his tank. Aaron climbs out of the water.
FLEER
(still pissed off)
And what's that smell?
Aaron examines the limestone cavern. Most is obscured by
darkness. In one corner, a waterfall splashes down. Aaron
spots something, moves toward it--
AARON
Over here.
It is the mutilated remains of a cow. Aaron crouches next to
it. Fleer stares--now he's seen it all.
FLEER
A cow.
AARON
Odd--there's not just physical
damage. Looks like chemical
deterioration as well.
A sudden, disorienting shift to--
P.O.V., LOOKING DOWN at Aaron and Fleer, from out of a crevice.
Watching them--
81.
FLEER
Something must've dragged it in
here. The mountain lion?
The thing above them SHIFTS...then leaps forward, swooping down
toward them--
AARON
Maybe whatever got the mountain
lion--
Fleer jumps. SWOOPING past are several small, dark shapes--
bats. Just normal-sized bats, providing a false scare. Fleer
waves at them, cursing, shooing them away.
Aaron ignores the bats, glances around the chamber.
Spots something. Frowns.
AARON
My God...
FLEER
What?
He looks toward where Aaron is looking. Thirty feet away is
what seems to be a unique rock formation--a GIANT CLAW, as big
as a house.
Aaron climbs a boulder to get a better view, reaches the top.
Fleer follows. Beyond them we see the claw is part of a huge
forearm, which is part of a massive HUNCHED ANIMAL SHAPE,
filling the cavern--
THE GRYPHON
Huge. Magnificent. Horrible.
A nightmare waiting to be born.
Leathery, blood-red wings like a bat. The body of a mountain
lion. It resembles the mythical Gryphon, as in Junji's
drawings.
This is what the huge bat-probe creatures created by merging;
none are left to be seen. Aaron and Fleer are ants before it.
AARON
(awed)
...the Behemoth...
Aaron takes an emergency flare from Fleer's belt, lights it.
BRIGHT LIGHT fills the cavern, chasing the shadows--
Smoke drifts up from the flare. High above, the Gryphon's nose
twitches. It scowls, eyes still closed--
82.
Aaron holds the flare high. They turn slightly as they look up,
taking the creature in. Behind them, they do not see as the
giant claw CLUTCHES.
FLEER
It's not alive--nothing that big
could be alive...
(beat)
It goes all the way to the ceiling--
AARON
That's not a ceiling. Those are
wings.
The turn back toward the huge claw--as it CLUTCHES again--
FLEER
Shit! It's alive--
Fleer grabs the flare from Aaron, drops it, STOMPS on it. It
still burns. Cursing, he STOMPS some more, extinguishing it--
Too late. The giant monster shifts...MOVES. Walls of the
cavern split; huge chunks of rocks fall--
Aaron and Fleer scramble back toward the lake, grab up their
gear. The Gryphon lets out a bone-jarring SCREAM--
Fleer looks over his shoulder, sees inside its mouth--
FLEER
Oh, God. It's got snakes. Snakes
for a tongue--
And it does. Many snakes, a hydra-headed thing, squirming where
the tongue should be. It's eyes glow yellow in the darkness,
reflecting light like a cat's eyes.
Fleer and Aaron leap into the pool--
INT. CAVE SYSTEM - UNDERWATER - DAY
Aaron and Fleer plunge in. A SNAKE HEAD darts into the water,
snapping blindly. Aaron twists away, avoids getting bitten in
half. The Snake-head withdraws--
Fleer finds the safety line. They pull themselves along. We
hear the SOUND of BREATHING, loud and fast, through their
regulators--
They reach the bottleneck. Muffled ROARS of the Gryphon can be
heard. Fleer and Aaron snake out of their tanks--
In the cave, one of the Gryphon's claws SLAMS down into the
underground lake.
83.
Water SURGES; Fleer slams into the rock wall, loses hold of his
regulator. He swims into the bottleneck--
Aaron takes a last breath from his regulator. Lets go of his
equipment. Follows Fleer, through the narrow opening--
EXT. LAKE APOPKA - UNDERWATER - DAY
Fleer shoots through the circular opening, followed by Aaron.
They swim for the daylight--
EXT. UTAH - LAKE APOPKA - DAY
Fleer and Aaron break the surface, gasping for air.
Suddenly, the earth TREMBLES--then SHAKES. Beyond a rise,
concessive force blasts dirt and boulders into the sky.
Aaron and Fleer swim, stagger up onto shore. Beyond them, the
Gryphon stands, rises to its full height above the trees.
The nightmare has been born.
It shakes off rocks and debris. Its skin is smooth and slick.
It blinks in the sun. Screams its ear-splitting SCREAM--
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - HOLDING TANK - DAY
--the SCREAM echoes, fades. Soldiers and technicians go about
their tasks. A few yards from Godzilla's jaws, A FOREMAN and
SURVEYOR use ultrasound equipment to scan Godzilla.
On a small table, a Styrofoam cup blows over, spills. The
Surveyor notices, looks at the Foreman accusingly.
SURVEYOR
Hey. Thanks for spilling my
coffee.
FOREMAN
Huh? Not me.
They do not notice as flat lines on their monitor are
interrupted with tiny spikes--
SURVEYOR
(points at the cup)
Yeah you did. Look.
They look at cup--just as it leaps completely off the table.
They look at each other, puzzled.
A beat, then the entire table overturns in a blast of wind.
The two look toward Godzilla's jaws--
SURVEYOR
Ohshit--it's awake--
84.
FOREMAN
(backing away)
Okay. Um...let's give it some
room--
A low GROWL from deep in Godzilla's throat. Technicians
immediately drop their equipment, run--
Godzilla twists, turns...water SLOSHES over from the tank,
knocking a fleeing soldier off his feet.
Godzilla rises up--
HUGE SPARKS, BOLTS OF ELECTRICITY SHOOT ACROSS him as he makes
contact with the metal grid above. Godzilla falls back,
trapped. There is an anguished, angry ROAR--
EXT. UTAH - NEAR LAKE APOPKA - DAY
Fleer and Aaron crouch behind a tree. They break cover, flee
uphill toward Fleer's Jeep.
Looming over the lake, the Gryphon opens its wings and SCREAMS,
snake-tongue writhing. Energy builds up along its wings, SHOOTS
OUT, a deadly ENERGY BOLT--
--a tree near the Jeep EXPLODES as Aaron and Fleer dive in--
EXT. UTAH - DAY
The Jeep bounces along, Aaron driving. Fleer looks back--
THE GRYPHON RISES UP INTO THE SKY, its giant leathern wings
spread wide, blotting out the sun--
FLEER
Shit. It can fly--
AARON
Hang on.
Aaron swerves the Jeep hard onto a two-lane road, nearly rolls
it. In the distance is a railroad overpass.
GRYPHON'S P.O.V., above the Jeep, gaining on it. The Jeep
disappears under the overpass. Appears on the other side.
ENERGY BOLTS shoot out--
--and the Jeep EXPLODES spectacularly.
EXT. UTAH - BENEATH THE OVERPASS - DAY
In the dark shade of the overpass. Aaron gets to his feet,
dusts himself off. Fleer sits there, staring at his ruined,
burning Jeep, and the Gryphon, swooping off into the sky.
85.
AARON
Let me guess--you just finished
paying it off.
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - GAS STATION - DAY
A balding TOURIST, his family in a station wagon, does that
funny little dance you do trying to get the gas hose untangled.
He succeeds only in making it more twisted.
In his struggles he does not notice the surrealistic sight
behind him: in the distance, coming over a rise in the road is
THE GRYPHON, down on all fours, stalking toward town, slinking
along like a cat.
In the station wagon, a TOURIST KID notices the creature. His
eyes widen. He hurriedly searches for something inside a
bag...rummages desperately, finally pulls out--
--a video camera. He switches it on, aims it at the Gryphon--
Just as the Gryphon POUNCES onto a roadside bait shop, SMASHING
it. The Tourist turns, sees the creature. Drops the gas hose,
dives into the station wagon. The Gryphon SCREAMS--
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - CAFE - DAY
The Waitress, in front of the cafe, freezes at the sound of the
scream. The Sheriff exits the cafe, stops, staring past her, a
look of horror on his face. She turns slowly to see--
The Gryphon, rising to full height over the town, the Tourist's
station wagon fleeing before it. A panel truck going the other
way slams on its breaks. The Gryphon paws at it--the truck is
hit with such force it stands up, spins on one corner of the
chassis.
The Sheriff rushes past the Waitress.
SHERIFF
In the truck--hurry!
But the Waitress doesn't move.
At the other end of town, the Gryphon glances around, spots
something--
The above-ground gas storage tank near the gas station. Next to
it is a large propane tank.
The Gryphon crouches. ENERGY BEAMS SHOOT OUT, and the tanks
EXPLODE--
SHERIFF
(to Waitress)
Come on!
86.
But the Waitress chooses to run, down the center of the street.
The Sheriff dives into the cab--
The Gryphon beats its wings, FANNING the fire. A WAVE OF
FLAMING GASOLINE rolls across Traveller--
The Waitress is engulfed in flames. She continues to run a few
steps, burning, then falls to the ground.
Satisfied, the Gryphon takes to the air, leaving the ruins of
the town behind--
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY - LATER
Ruined. Destroyed. Aaron and Fleer hurry up the road...slow as
they survey the devastation. Fleer is near tears.
Aaron approaches the dazed Sheriff, sitting on the burned porch
of the cafe.
AARON
Is it still alive? Where did it
go?
SHERIFF
It's gone...it took off.
(points)
That way.
AARON
East? Shit. I need your truck.
The Sheriff nods. Aaron moves toward the truck. To Fleer:
AARON
C'mon. There's a jet waiting.
I've got to get back to the
Project.
(to Fleer)
You coming?
Fleer is incredulous.
FLEER
You're going up in the air? With
that thing?
AARON
You want to take your chances on
the ground?
Fleer glances around at the ruined town--
87.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
Pandemonium. Jill, Benedek present. Godzilla's ROARS can be
heard. Ed rushes in from the holding tank.
ED
(to Jill)
The fluid isn't working. It's
just the grid holding him--
To one side, a TECHIE monitors channels. A SPECIAL BULLETIN
flashes on. The Comm Officer stares. Turns to Jill:
TECHIE
Doctor, I've got a broadcast here,
local news--
ON SCREEN: the shaky, hand-held image of the Gryphon, shot by
the Tourist Kid through back window of the station wagon.
TECHIE
Doctor, it seems to be another
creature.
BENEDEK
What?
All eyes turn to the screen. CAMERA bounces wildly, settles on
the Gryphon as it fires; the gas tank EXPLODES. Horribly, we
are to re-witness the scenes of Traveller's destruction.
The Gryphon fans the flames, and we see the Waitress burn, drop
to the ground.
BENEDEK
Jesus--
TECHIE
Aaron Vaught is reporting in--
Jill gestures to hear it on the main speaker. The jet's
turbines can be heard; they are in-flight.
AARON (O.S.)
(filtered)
--creature has wings like a bat.
The body of a lion, like the
mythical Gryphon...It can fire
what seem to be electric bolts--
FLEER (O.S.)
(filtered)
Like a goddamn eel...
JILL
Aaron, Jill here. Where is it
headed?
88.
INT. JET - COCKPIT - IN FLIGHT - DAY
Aaron sits in the co-pilot's seat. Through his window, in the
distance, is the Gryphon. Aaron watches it as the jet
overtakes, passes it.
AARON
It's headed east. Jill, I think
it's coming toward you. I think--
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
Everyone knows what this means.
AARON (O.S.)
(filtered)
--it's coming to kill Godzilla.
As if in answer, Godzilla ROARS, vibrating the entire structure--
EXT. FORT TUSCARORA - HOLDING TANK STRUCTURE - DAY
Godzilla's huge tail whips back and forth, dangerously near the
base power station.
With the next whip, Godzilla's tail hits the station. There is
a SHOWER of SPARKS--
--and then the power station EXPLODES--
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
ALARMS sound loudly. The lights go out--only the monitors stay
lit. Emergency lights come on.
ED
Uh-oh.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - HOLDING TANK - DAY
Godzilla ROARS--
EXT. FORT TUSCARORA - HOLDING TANK STRUCTURE - DAY
With a THUNDERING, RIPPING SOUND, Godzilla RISES, crashing
straight up through the roof of the structure. Part of the roof
dangles on Godzilla like a hat--it looks kind of dumb. Almost
angrily, Godzilla knocks it away--
89.
A SOLDIER flees Godzilla. He zigs, zags--
--as the shadow of the roof segment gets larger--
--then lands right on top of him. A beat, then we see the
soldier, unhurt, climbing out though an upper window of the
roof. He darts away just as it gets stepped on--
Jill steps out of the building. People flee past her as she
stands, staring at Godzilla.
Tanks on the periphery of the airfield FIRE at Godzilla, with
little effect. Godzilla turns, scanning the horizon. He stops,
seems to look directly at Jill. Is he aware of her, or staring
in her direction simply by chance? We don't know.
Jill stares back at the monster.
The moment is broken by the distant SOUND of a boat horn.
Godzilla abruptly turns in the direction of the sound--
EXT. BUZZARD'S BAY - SHORELINE - DAY
Godzilla approaches, drops down onto all fours. He slips into
the water. He sinks, and is gone.
EXT. MISSISSIPPI RIVER - DAY
A small passenger plane flies above the river. Marshland on
either side.
INT. PASSENGER PLANE - DAY
A VACATIONER snaps photos out the window.
PILOT
As the central river artery of the
United States, the Mississippi is
one of the busiest commercial
waterways in the world--
VACATIONER
Hey. Cool statue.
The Pilot pauses. Frowns.
PILOT
There's no statue on this tour.
EXT. MISSISSIPPI RIVER - DAY
The plane is buzzing over--
The GRYPHON. It takes to the air, flying up past the passenger
plane. The plane is shaken by the turbulence caused by its
massive wings.
90.
INT. PASSENGER PLANE - DAY
The plane is out of control. The Vacationer looks sick.
VACATIONER
Next time, I just stay home. No
more traveling, no more--
The Pilot fights the controls as the plane dives.
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY
ED
(calling out)
Godzilla's been sighted. Moving
slowly down Long Island Sound,
south of Bridgeport.
The room is crowded, bustling. Jill and Benedek look up.
JILL
Given their relative speed--where
will they meet?
ED
We're calculating it now.
On the main monitor is a map. Two electronic lines are drawn on
it, one projecting Godzilla's path and extending it...
The other projects the Gryphon's path, extends it...
Aaron bursts into the situation room. Fleer follows.
AARON
What happened out there?
JILL
(simply)
He left.
AARON
We just got in the way.
Godzilla's...instinctually
programmed--to find that thing--
ON THE MONITOR: The lines are drawing closer
JILL
And kill it. Before it can
multiply. Marty told us before
he...
(beat)
Aaron...he died.
Aaron knew it was coming, but it's still a shock.
Jill reaches out to him--hesitates, then takes his hand. He
looks up at her, nods, smiles sadly.
91.
ON THE MONITOR: The two lines intersect at...
ED
Oh, shit.
(a little awed)
Manhattan.
Jill freezes, goes pale. It hits her that Tina is in danger.
BENEDEK
Do we even try to evacuate? It
might kill more people than it
saves--
FLEER
You got to tell 'em. Give them a
chance--
AARON
(nodding)
We can't just abandon people--
BENEDEK
What do you think, Dr. Llewellyn?
Jill hasn't been listening, lost in her own thoughts. She moves
to a phone. Quickly punches a number.
BENEDEK
Dr. Llewellyn?
We hear the BUSY SIGNAL. The call did not go through.
Jill drops the phone. Heads for the door.
BENEDEK
What are you doing?
JILL
Tina is in New York.
BENEDEK
You can't leave now--
JILL
Tina is more important.
(beat; her advice:)
We can't just abandon people.
And with that she is out the door. Benedek, Aaron and Fleer
watch her go. A beat; then Benedek turns to Aaron.
BENEDEK
As acting head of the St. George
Project, what is your advice to
the military?
92.
AARON
Uh...evacuate New York City.
Right?
INT. GREENWICH VILLAGE - APARTMENT - DAY
Tina, scared, bangs futility on the buttons of the phone. An
'All circuits busy' message plays in her ear. The television is
on, tuned to CNN, showing the Utah footage of the Gryphon.
CNN ANCHOR (O.S.)
Once again, we'll show you
dramatic footage of the Utah
monster that now appears to be
approaching New York City...
Again, we see flames, the burning waitress stumble and fall.
Tina gives up on the phone, rushes for the door.
EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE - APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY
Tina exits the foyer door, stops at the first step, shocked.
The street in front of her is PANDEMONIUM. Cars jam the street,
horns HONKING. LOOTERS stream in and out of a corner grocery
store. A trash can, contents in flames, is thrown onto the hood
of a police car.
On the bottom steps of the stairs a DEVOUT WOMAN kneels, purse
beside her, praying intently. A teenager snatches the purse,
rummages through it. Nothing. He throws it at the woman.
She doesn't seem to care. She looks at Tina, smiles.
DEVOUT WOMAN
(holds out her hands)
Pray with me, darling. Pray for
the rapture to take us.
Tina backs away, into the foyer. Slams the door shut.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
A Huey helicopter, carrying Jill, flies over the East River,
past the Brooklyn Bridge, crowded with evacuating people. The
HUEY PILOT listens to his headphones.
HUEY PILOT
Manhattan airspace just became
restricted to essential only.
JILL
I've got clearance.
93.
HUEY PILOT
I know...I'm just saying--
He chokes on his words. Jill follows his stare:
The Gryphon moves lazily through the sky.
HUEY PILOT
...it's real...
He veers the Huey away from Manhattan.
JILL
What are you doing?
HUEY PILOT
I just stopped being essential.
JILL
Wrong. You're taking me into
Manhattan. Turn this thing
around.
The Huey Pilot gives her a hard stare--then banks the copter
hard, makes a beeline straight for the Wall Street Heliport. He
keeps the Huey hovering just above the ground.
HUEY PILOT
Here we are. Manhattan.
JILL
My daughter's in the village--
HUEY PILOT
Then she's on her own.
The Huey Pilot starts to lift the copter. Jill pushes open the
door, jumps out.
HUEY PILOT
Have a nice walk.
And he's gone, heading the Huey back across the river. A matte
black Apache Gunship cuts across the Huey's path, heading toward
Governor's Island.
WE DROP DOWN from the helicopters to the East River. The
skyline reflected in the water. Just south of the Brooklyn
Bridge, something disturbs the stillness:
Half above the surface are GODZILLA'S EYES as he pushes through
the river.
94.
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
FADE UP TITLE:
GOVERNOR'S ISLAND
Aaron, Fleer and Benedek are at the hastily constructed Command
Post, near the water's edge. Phones, communication gear,
monitors. Across the water is the Manhattan skyline, and
Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty prominent--
FLEER
That thing is really pissing me
off--
--and we see it's not the Statue. The Gryphon has clawed up
onto the pedestal. The Lady has fallen before it; she lies
crushed and broken at its feet.
The black Apache GUNSHIP, bristling with weaponry, lands. Pike
steps out, unintimidated by the whirring rotors. He nods to the
crew--wearing all black, no military insignia. Pike heads for
the command post.
PIKE
Godzilla's in the East River,
headed this way.
(to Aaron)
I don't want to hear any quotes.
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Godzilla reaches the docks of the lower East Side and pulls
himself ashore, blithely doing major property damage.
ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE: Godzilla is spotted. Cars, gridlocked
by the evacuation, are abandoned as the people flee.
ON THE DOCKS: Godzilla ignores the people who run from him. He
pauses, gets his bearings. Rips through the EL tracks. A train
jumps the line. He moves through the canyon of buildings toward
the Battery, at the tip of the island.
EXT. SPORTING GOODS STORE - DAY
LOOTERS emerge from shattered windows, toss guns into the back
of a van. One has an armful of automatic weapons.
LOOTER
Look! Full auto! Guy had 'em
locked in the back!
His cohort is about to reply--but his jaw drops. He stares at
something behind the Looter--then turns and runs.
95.
The Looter turns. Godzilla towers above. Steps toward him.
LOOTER
Holy...Get away! Get away!
He drops all but one rifle, starts FIRING up at Godzilla.
Godzilla's eyes narrow. He takes another step--
The Looter is crushed beneath Godzilla's foot. Godzilla stomps
a few more times for good measure. Turns--
Beyond Battery Park, across the water, is Liberty Island. And
the Gryphon.
Godzilla ROARS--
The Gryphon's head whips around. It sees Godzilla.
Godzilla stretches himself to full height, an obvious challenge.
ROARS again.
The Gryphon SCREAMS. Spreads its wings. Takes to the air.
It rushes towards Godzilla--
Godzilla waits--
THE TWO MONSTERS CRASH TOGETHER--
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
The gathered watch as Godzilla is lifted bodily, rammed back.
FLEER
That's gotta hurt--
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
Godzilla grabs the Gryphon's leg, pulls it down--
The Gryphon flaps furiously, pulling away--
Godzilla wraps his tail, monkey-like, around the I-Beams of an
under-construction building.
The Gryphon SCREAMS--
Godzilla hauls it nearer--
--and BITES into the leg--
The Gryphon CRIES OUT in pain, rears back--
--and fires a BOLT at Godzilla--
Godzilla is blown backwards, into the building skeleton, which
topples--
The Gryphon presses its advantage, FIRES another bolt--
Godzilla staggers, moves off, back into the concrete canyons--
96.
The Gryphon soars past him, turns, then comes straight back,
rakes him with extended talons--
Godzilla ROARS. The Gryphon SCREAMS--
EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE - DAY
The SCREAM echoes. Jill glances up. The streets are nearly
deserted. Scattered fires burn. Something SHATTERS behind her;
she turns, sees nothing--quickens her pace, up the steps into
the apartment building.
INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY
Jill moves along warily. Doors are broken in; property
scattered through the hallway. The aftermath of smash-and-grab
looting. An apartment door bursts open--
Two young boys run past Jill, carrying stereo equipment.
Jill catches her breath, hurries to a door. It's closed tight.
She tries the knob. Locked. Bangs on the door.
JILL
Tina! Tina--
The door snaps open--and Jill's staring down the barrel of an
automatic.
TINA
I told you: go away--
(she recognizes Jill)
Mom!
She grabs Jill in an embrace. They speak at once.
JILL TINA
Tina, you're all right, I can't believe you're
Thank God... here--
Jill holds her back at arms length, examining her, relieved.
Her eyes fall on the gun. She frowns.
TINA
Aunt Julia's. It's safe.
(puts on the safety)
Safety's on.
She sticks it in her waistband. Jill considers saying something--
then shrugs.
TINA
I'm...glad you came.
They gaze at each other, sixteen years of history between them--
and then they embrace again, holding on to each other.
97.
JILL
Now, we've just got to find a way
off this damn island...
TINA
(laughs)
...just like Gilligan...
Jill smiles--and the deep THWUP-THWUP of a HELICOPTER
reverberates through the building. Jill looks up--
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
A helicopter swoops and banks, trying to keep up with the
Gryphon. The Gryphon soars over the buildings, chasing
Godzilla, who scurries along the streets, sometimes on all
fours, a mouse chased by a hawk.
EXT. WORLD TRADE TOWERS - DAY
The Gryphon spots Godzilla, between the Twin Towers. Scowls,
realizes: it is Godzilla's reflection in the north tower. The
Gryphon banks around, swoops down, toward the image--
--then turns, lashes out at the Godzilla near the south tower,
smashing it--
Except that's a reflection, too. During the Gryphon's bank
turn, Godzilla moved to the other side. Godzilla springs at the
Gryphon, teeth and claws tearing into its wings.
The Gryphon throws itself backwards, smashing Godzilla against
the Tower. They flail violently, crushing and destroy the
Tower's base.
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
In the distance, dust rises from the World Trade Center. One of
the towers leans over dangerously. The monitors show helicopter
views of the battle. Benedek, Fleer and Pike are ashen.
BENEDEK
Can even Godzilla beat that thing?
FLEER
Don't be defeatist...
AARON
(to himself)
Why isn't he using his fire?
He stares at the monitors, trying to figure it out.
98.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
The Gryphon pulls itself into the air. Godzilla makes a leaping
snap for its legs--catches them, hauls the Gryphon down.
The Gryphon reverses its momentum suddenly, sending both
monsters hard into the dangerously leaning tower.
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
ON JILL AND TINA. They look up as--
The TOWER COLLAPSES--
The ground shakes beneath their feet. Loose masonry crashes
down around them--
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
The observers are aghast--a dust cloud rises from the city, the
skyline now absent one-half of the World Trade Center.
And then the Gryphon appears, flying shakily, still aloft.
It fires another bolt--
BENEDEK
It...survived that...
AARON
The restraining device!
BENEDEK
What?
AARON
We've got to get it off him! It's
keeping Godzilla from using his
fire! Hell, it's probably--
He cuts off. An image on a monitor catches his eye.
ON SCREEN: Godzilla, slumped against a building. Not moving.
BENEDEK
My God...
AARON
It's probably killing him.
PIKE
That's a good thing, Vaught. We
want these things dead, remember?
And if one kills off the other,
that's one less we have to kill.
AARON
You don't get it, do you? We've
got nothing to fear from Godzilla--
99.
PIKE
You're insane! Look at what its
caused--
Aaron turns away dismissively. Deals only with Benedek.
AARON
Admiral, we've got to get that
thing off him.
Benedek looks down at Godzilla's image on the monitor. Reaches
a decision. Looks at Aaron.
BENEDEK
How?
Pike starts to object--but Benedek cuts him off.
BENEDEK
My command, Mr. Pike.
(to Aaron)
How?
AARON
Um...
From behind him, Fleer speaks up.
FLEER
C-4. Plastique explosive.
AARON
(to Benedek, without
missing a beat)
C-4. Plastique explosive.
(to Fleer)
How do we plant them?
FLEER
We..?
He and Aaron lock eyes, regard each other.
FLEER
You're serious about this?
Aaron does not need to answer. Fleer sighs.
FLEER
No amount of money is worth
this...
(beat)
We need a helicopter.
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
Jill and Tina at a pay phone. Jill drops the receiver.
100.
JILL
All circuits busy...Dammit.
She spots an electronics store across the street. Strides
toward it. Picks up a fallen chunk of masonry--
TINA
Mom--what are you doing?
--Jill hurls the chunk at the window, SHATTERS it.
TINA
(shocked admiration)
Mom...
Jill reaches in, grabs a cellular phone. A sign beside it reads
'TRY OUR DEMO--make a free call.' She starts punching buttons.
JILL
I think the owner'll be eligible
federal disaster assistance...
(into phone)
Llewellyn, Jill. Security code:
seven alpha. Day code: plant,
echo, water. Voice print: 'Mary
had a little lamb, its fleece--'
(beat)
Yes--get me Admiral Benedek--I
don't care where he is, connect
me!
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
A phone chirps. Benedek picks it up.
BENEDEK
Benedek.
(beat)
Where are you?
INTERCUT AS NEEDED
JILL
Manhattan. My daughter and I. We
need a lift out of here.
BENEDEK
I can't do it. The only thing
we're sending in now are gunships
to provide cover for Vaught.
JILL
What? Why? What's he doing?
101.
BENEDEK
He's going to get the restraining
device off Godzilla. He says its
keeping Godzilla from beating the
Gryphon. What do you think?
Jill considers...and comes to a conclusion.
JILL
(simply)
You should believe him. He knows
what he's talking about.
BENEDEK
You should get to cover--find a
basement fallout shelter--
Jill has closed the phone, cutting him off.
JILL
(thinking aloud)
Aaron will make them land...
(to Tina)
C'mon.
She catches Tina's hand, leads her toward Godzilla.
TINA
Mom--don't we want to go--
(points in opposite
direction)
--that way?
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
A transport helicopter cuts through the sky. Two Apache
helicopters provide cover.
The Gryphon sees them coming. Wheels toward them. The gunships
engage the Gryphon, peppering it with missiles.
The door of the transport 'copter slides back, revealing--
INT. HELICOPTER - DAY
Fleer and Aaron wear harnesses and radio headsets. Fleer is
showing Aaron the ropes--literally.
FLEER
You ever repel before?
AARON
Yeah...some rock climbing in
Yosemite.
102.
FLEER
Well, this is nothing like that.
Here, you're in freefall, and
you've only got two options to
stop you. Option one's this
little brake here.
AARON
And option two...?
But Aaron realizes what Fleer's going to say--
AARON/FLEER
The ground.
A gunship EXPLODES, shot down by the Gryphon, the blast making
them shield their eyes.
FLEER
Jesus...
AARON
We've got to end this.
The helicopter drops down between buildings, hiding the battle
from view.
CHOPPER PILOT
We're over him...Man, that's an
ugly sucker.
Fleer and Aaron look out, down at Godzilla.
Godzilla is slumped against a building, almost upright. It's
two hundred feet from the restraining device to the ground.
FLEER
(deadpan)
Whatever you do, don't look down.
Aaron scowls at him. They clip their harnesses to lines. Drop
the lines down, past the silver restraining device.
CHOPPER PILOT
I'll hold her solid...but make it
quick.
They nod, prepare to step off--
FLEER
You know what's funny? This
doesn't seem weird...
He and Aaron exchange a look. And then they go, out the door.
103.
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
JILL AND TINA round a corner. They help each other across a
huge fissure in the street, careful of electrical conduits and
broken gas mains. They look up in time to see:
Aaron and Fleer drop toward Godzilla, Fleer smoothly, Aaron less
so.
TINA
Jeez--are they nuts?
ON GODZILLA: as Fleer and Aaron slide past Godzilla's
unconscious face. Fleer drops lightly onto the restraining
device, canted at an extreme angle. Aaron nearly misses the
device. Fleer reaches out, hauls him on.
FLEER
How you doing?
AARON
Invigorated....
Fleer smiles, begins unpacking bricks of C-4 explosive.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
The second Apache narrowly avoids a bolt from the Gryphon, fires
back. The Gryphon beats its wings furiously--
--the helicopter is blown backwards into the EMPIRE STATE
BUILDING. It explodes, damaging the top floors of the building.
The helicopter falls to the street below.
The Gryphon wheels back toward Godzilla--
Two more missiles explode on its back. It SCREAMS, turns back--
Pike's BLACK APACHE zooms past, peppering the Gryphon with
gunfire.
INT. PIKE'S APACHE - DAY
The Gryphon sweeps past the copter, buffeting it. In front of
them now, the Gryphon prepares to beat its wings like before--
PIKE
Put the building between us!
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
Pike's Apache sweeps behind the Empire State Building. More
windows are blown out by the Gryphon's onslaught. The Gryphon
circles the building, after the Apache. The Apache keeps the
building between them.
104.
INT. PIKE'S APACHE - DAY
PIKE
Fire through the building.
GUNNER
Sir..?
PIKE
Fire through the building.
GUNNER
Sir...that's the Empire State
Building.
PIKE
(beat)
And..?
The Gunner has no response. He turns to his instruments.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
Missiles fire from the Apache, RIP THROUGH the top floors of the
Empire State Building, hit the Gryphon. More missiles, more
hits. The Gryphon loses a little altitude. The top of the
building shifts--
--then TOPPLES, mooring tower and all, onto the Gryphon, the
debris slamming into it, driving it down.
The Gryphon hits the street, the wreckage raining down on it,
half-burying it. It lies still.
INT. PIKE'S APACHE - DAY
Pike smiles.
PIKE
That's one. Let's make sure the
other one doesn't get up, either.
GUNNER
What about the people--
PIKE
Acceptable losses. We'll build
'em a monument. Go.
The pilot turns the chopper toward Godzilla--
105.
INT. HELICOPTER - DAY
The Pilot looks up--
Sees the Gunship, making a beeline for him. He is puzzled by
its attack posture.
The chain guns open fire.
PILOT
Shit!
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
ON GODZILLA: Bullets rip across Godzilla, toward Fleer and Aaron
on the restraining device. They dive for what cover they can
find behind Godzilla's dorsals.
ON JILL AND TINA: who see the attack.
TINA
Aren't they on our side?
JILL
Pike.
ON PIKE: in the helicopter.
PIKE
(nonchalant)
Missiles, please.
ON THE GRYPHON: The pile of debris at the base of the Empire
State Building shifts...then the Gryphon emerges from it. It
shakes itself off, sending up a cloud of masonry and dust.
It looks up--
And spots PIKE'S GUNSHIP.
The Gryphon's eyes narrow, and it leaps into the air--
ON FLEER AND AARON: Fleer sees the missile launchers.
FLEER
Uh-oh.
AARON
Uh-oh what?
ON PIKE: Who smiles as the pilot puts a hand on the fire
control. The targeting screen shows the restraining device dead-
bang center--
THE GRYPHON HITS the chopper. Missiles fire. Hit the building
beside Godzilla, shrapnel spraying the transport helicopter.
The concessive force buffets it, pushes it toward the building
opposite--
ON GODZILLA: Fleer and Aaron are dragged across the device--
106.
The helicopter rotor dips, catches Aaron's line--it SNAPS--
ON GODZILLA: Fleer is still being hauled off the restraining
device--he grabs at his harness release--
--the helicopter smashes into the building, falls--
--Fleer tumbles out of his harness as it is yanked away--
--but he's out in space, a long drop below--
--the helicopter CRASHES to into the street, explodes--
--Aaron grabs Fleer's arm--
Fleer slams into the side of the device--but he does not fall.
Aaron, lying prone, holds him.
FLEER
...thought I was going to use
option two...
Aaron grunts, hauls Fleer back up.
ON PIKE'S APACHE: it spins out of control. The Gryphon's huge
paw swipes across the cockpit--and the cockpit, pilot and gunner
are gone. The Apache hits a roof, crashes off, into the street
below.
Gryphon refocuses on Godzilla. Screams as it dives for him--
Fleer and Aaron whirl--
See the Gryphon dropping straight for them, claws extended for
the kill--
--It SLAMS into the tops of the surrounding buildings. The
street is too narrow for its wingspan. It SCREAMS in
frustration. Then spots:.
A WIDE INTERSECTION. The Gryphon lands. Tries to move down the
street toward Godzilla. Again, its wingspan is too wide.
The Gryphon paces back and forth, snarls. Its eyes narrow--an
idea occurs. It folds back its wings. Now it can fit between
the buildings. It crosses the fissure, stalks toward Godzilla.
ON JILL AND TINA: who are between the Gryphon and Godzilla.
Jill looks up at Aaron and Fleer, who are totally exposed.
JILL
Uh-oh...
She looks around the street. Heads for an abandoned fuel
tanker. It's locked. She SMASHES the window with a trash can.
TINA
Mom...you're getting a real jones
for vandalism.
JILL
I take after my daughter...
107.
Jill climbs into the cab...roots around in the back. Finds some
road flares. Then looks at the ignition. Checks behind the
visor. No keys.
JILL
Damn!
From outside comes an eager snarl.
ON AARON: who hears it, looks up--the Gryphon is uncomfortably
close. Fleer looks up, too--then returns to setting a timer.
FLEER
Ignore it. Just do the job.
Aaron resumes reeling in the line still attached to his harness--
but keeps a wary eye peeled.
AARON
(under his breath)
...until you can't do the job.
ON JILL: who grabs Tina's arm, hauls her into the truck.
JILL
You can hot wire it, right?
Tina's surprised--then nods. She scrambles beneath the
dashboard. Strips out the wires quickly.
JILL
Remember: green to red...
Tina glances up at her, smiles, makes an adjustment. The engine
grinds, then starts.
JILL
Can you drive it?
TINA
I can find first gear...
JILL
Good enough...get it rolling
toward that thing, then jump
clear.
Tina nods. Jill gives her a quick hug, a kiss, then climbs out
of the cab, up on top of the truck.
Tina puts it in gear--grinds 'em a little. Starts forward.
ON GODZILLA: Fleer pulls another timer out of the bag.
FLEER
Shit!
AARON
What?
108.
FLEER
One of 'em's busted...crap.
(he looks up at Aaron)
I can only set it for thirty
seconds.
Aaron looks at the street. The Gryphon is nearing, picking its
way across broken chunks of pavement, crushing cars.
AARON
Thirty seconds can be a
lifetime...Do it.
Aaron ties his line off on the restraining device. Fleer hooks
up the explosives.
ON JILL: as she scrambles back to the top hatch on the tanks,
opens it. Lights the flares.
The truck is heading for the Gryphon. The Gryphon stops...
cocks its head. What is this?
JILL
(a mantra)
Get out, Tina, get out, Tina, get
out, Tina...
And then Tina jumps clear, rolls. She sits up, stares after--
--the Tanker. Jill perched on top, flares blazing. Heading
straight for the Gryphon, picking up speed--
TINA
Get out, mom, get out, mom, get
out, mom...
Jill waits--waits a little longer--then drops the flares into
the tanks and JUMPS--
She lands in a pile of full garbage bags. Tina runs to her--
--the truck roars toward the Gryphon. And then--
The Gryphon sidesteps. The truck passes between its legs. It
looks down, under itself, following the truck's passage.
TINA
Shit! It missed!
The truck crashes into the fissure behind the Gryphon. The
Gryphon looks up--locks its stare on Jill and Tina.
TINA
Oh, shit...
The Gryphon paces forward--
--Jill grabs Tina, dodges the swipe of a huge paw, pulls her
into an abandoned storefront.
109.
The Gryphon's head looms huge in the shattered front window. It
reaches a paw in toward Jill and Tina, claws nearly reaching
them, backed into a narrow recess--
Suddenly, behind the Gryphon, the TRUCK EXPLODES--
--and IGNITES the GAS MAIN. Another EXPLOSION. The pavement
roils like a WAVE. A MOVING WALL OF FLAME EXPLODES from the
street, catching the Gryphon as it springs.
Jill and Tina run for safety as the ground shakes, dodging
falling debris.
TINA
Goddammit, mom, you could've let
me in on your plan!
JILL
Stop cursing.
ON GODZILLA: Fleer and Aaron grab for handholds.
FLEER
What the hell--?
In the street, the Gryphon is trapped in a wall of flames,
panicked, screaming, trying desperately to spread its wings.
It finally twists free, demolishing buildings on either side of
the street, its final SCREAM so ear-piercingly loud that windows
shatter.
The Gryphon, still afire, climbs into the sky, a falling star in
reverse.
AARON
That's going to make our
explosions look puny...
FLEER
It's not the size...it's how you
use it.
He sets the final charge in place. Looks up at Aaron.
Aaron nods, rope in his hands, poised to leap off the device.
Fleer pushes the buttons on both charges, then swings out onto
Aaron's back. They step off into space, repelling down to a
terrace one hundred feet below.
The timer counts down: 21, 20, 19...
JILL AND TINA watch as the two figures drop down the rope.
The timer hits 13, 12, 11...
110.
Aaron's harness hits frayed line, tangles, freezes. Twenty feet
to go. He can't free the line.
FLEER
What's wrong?!
AARON
Frozen--I can't get it--
FLEER
Hit the release!
The timer ticks off 7, 6, 5...
Aaron yanks the release--he and Fleer drop from the rope--
THE CHARGES EXPLODE--
Aaron and Fleer hit the terrace hard--
THE RESTRAINING DEVICE BLOWS FREE--
Line begins pooling beside Aaron--his eyes widen. Looks up--
The restraining device tank FALLS DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEM--
They scramble for safety--Fleer grabs Aaron's collar, hauls him
out of the way just as the device CRASHES to the terrace.
They lie there, breathing hard--
And then the building shakes. And there is a ROAR.
Godzilla is awake. He uses the building to haul himself up.
Aaron and Fleer get the hell out of there. They race down
stairs as the building collapses around them.
ON JILL AND TINA: as they run for the building.
TINA
Did they get out?
Godzilla towers above them. He ROARS again. And above him, the
Gryphon SCREAMS. Godzilla looks up.
The Gryphon dives toward earth. Patches of its skin are
blackened, still smoking. It fires a BOLT at Godzilla--
--who staggers, but does not fall. And then--
--Godzilla BREATHES FIRE, hits the Gryphon head on--
The Gryphon screams again, this time in pain, and veers off,
toward the East River.
Godzilla ROARS again, and pounds away, giving chase.
111.
TINA
There they are!
Aaron and Fleer emerge from the demolished building, supporting
each other, exhausted.
But the tremors of Godzilla's exit dislodge a large, already
precarious sign; its bulk swings down toward the two men--
They dive flat. The sign barely misses them, crashes to the
ground. They lie there, unmoving. Jill and Tina reach them.
JILL
Aaron--are you all right? Aaron?
TINA
(to Fleer)
Are you okay, mister?
AARON
(eyes closed)
Jill, Tina, Nelson Fleer. Nelson,
Jill and Tina.
Jill laughs out loud in relief. From the river comes a ROAR--
EXT. MANHATTAN - STREET - DAY
Pike comes to, battered, bleeding, lying inside the wrecked tail
section of his Apache. He unstraps himself. A weapons locker
has sprung open; he grabs an M16. Using the rifle as a crutch,
he climbs out.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
The Gryphon gazes down. Below, Godzilla moves between
buildings, slips into the East River. The Gryphon DIVES--
EXT. MANHATTAN - STREET - DAY
Aaron, Jill, Fleer and Tina run. The street is plunged into
DARKNESS by the shadow of the Gryphon, then back to light once
it passes. Jill pulls up short--
Pike is standing right there, holding the machine gun. Beyond
him is the gaping entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
JILL
Pike--you bastard--
PIKE
(levels the rifle)
Please, Doctor. Calm down.
From the river comes a scream, a roar, the sounds of battle--
112.
--and them the Gryphon SMASHES down on its back intolerably
close to the group, the IMPACT knocking them off their feet.
The Gryphon twists to its feet--
Pike, frightened, sprays it with MACHINE GUN FIRE, peppering the
Gryphon. It reacts to the gnat-like irritation, spots Pike and
the others--
TINA
The tunnel!
The Gryphon lashes out at them. They scramble for the tunnel--
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
The group runs into the tunnel, the Gryphon after them, a cat
after mice. It tries to reach in after them, but its arm is too
large. Pike, bringing up the rear, empties the M16 at it. The
Gryphon SNARLS. Opens its mouth--
Its TONGUE OF SNAKES lashes out, two of them catching Pike
around the waist and leg.
PIKE
Help me!
Aaron catches for his arm, but Pike is yanked away. He is
dragged out of the tunnel, into the Gryphon's mouth. The
Gryphon bites down--
Jill, Aaron, Tina and Fleer are shocked. Fleer spots a large
tunnel utility truck. Gestures, leads them to it.
EXT. MANHATTAN - STREET - DAY
The Gryphon throws back its head, SWALLOWING PIKE. The Gryphon
shuts its eyes--twitches involuntarily. From the distance comes
Godzilla's ROAR.
The Gryphon looks up at it. Glances around the area. Its eyes
fall on:
THE RESTRAINING DEVICE TANK, lying in the street. Amniotic
fluid leaks slowly from several cracks.
The Gryphon scowls, narrows its eyes, as though trying to
remember something--
It does. It seems to smile. And then--
--THE GRYPHON ROLLS ITS HEAD, CRACKING ITS NECK--Pike's tic
exactly.
The Gryphon pounces on the tank. It glances toward the East
River. Clutching the tank in its front paws, the Gryphon takes
to the skies--
113.
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
The utility truck races through the tunnel, ramming through
abandoned cars. Fleer, at the wheel, hits the brakes. The
truck slues to a stop. The entire width of the tunnel is
blocked by a semi and trailer, halfway through an aborted U-
turn.
JILL
I guess we walk.
They climb out, hurry past the semi. On the wall is a sign:
'Brooklyn Battery Tunnel - MIDPOINT.'
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Over the bay, the Gryphon spots Godzilla. Heads for him,
skimming above the water.
Godzilla sees the Gryphon coming. Cocks his head to one side.
The Gryphon holds the tank in its paws, closing on Godzilla.
Godzilla steps back, wary, almost looking for a place to retreat
to. The Brooklyn Bridge is behind him. He glances back at the
Gryphon--
The Gryphon squeezes the tank in anticipation. Metal howls with
strain. Amniotic fluid seeps out of the tank--
Godzilla sinks down into the water, seemingly afraid. Just his
head visible above the water line--
Suddenly Godzilla BREATHES FIRE--not at the Gryphon, but ACROSS
THE WATER, creating a curtain of steam. An instant fog bank.
The Gryphon is blinded but can't pull up--
Godzilla dives--
The Gryphon screams, banks, suddenly flying blind--
And then THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE looms up out of the fog. The
Gryphon HITS THE BRIDGE FULL SPEED. Tangles in the cabling.
Drops the tank--
Godzilla erupts from the water, smashes into the Gryphon--
The Gryphon tears one arm free from the cables. Reaches for
the tank--
With an almost casual flip of his tail, Godzilla sends the tank
flying out of the river, into Manhattan. The Gryphon SCREAMS in
frustration.
The Gryphon twists, and Godzilla becomes tangled with some
cables. The Gryphon snaps its wings open--a bio-electric bolt
scrabbles across them--
The cables are electrified. Godzilla is ELECTROCUTED. The
Gryphon tears free, slams into the reeling Godzilla. Godzilla
stumbles backward--
114.
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
The tunnel SHAKES. Roof tiles come loose, clatter down.
Aaron, Jill, Fleer and Tina freeze. Look up.
FLEER
Uh-oh.
Another BOOM and cracks appear. Water begins to seep through.
AARON
I guess we run!
They start running.
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Godzilla has a deathlock on the Gryphon. The Gryphon flaps
furiously, straining with all its might. Both monsters are
lifted out of the water--
Godzilla twists around and BITES the Gryphon's WING, tears a
chunk out of it--
The monsters crash back into the water--
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
Jill, Aaron, Fleer and Tina look back, over their shoulders--
In the distance, about a half-mile away, the roof of the tunnel
CAVES IN--
Godzilla's foot appears, crushing down from the ceiling--
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water pour in past Godzilla's
leg, gushing down from above. Tons of water, filling the
tunnel, sweeping toward the foursome--
Jill spots an abandoned car--a red Subaru. Its door open.
JILL
In there!
The ROAR of the approaching water is DEAFENING. They have only
seconds. They scramble for the car--
POV - THE WALL OF WATER, as it rushes toward them and the car,
picking up speed--
INT. SUBARU - DAY
Aaron behind the wheel, Jill beside him, Fleer and Tina in the
back. They slam the doors shut--
AARON
Seat-belts!
115.
They pull the shoulder belts across. Fleer frantically searches
for his latch--its buried in the seat. He digs it out. The
belt tongue goes in with a soft 'click'--
Just as the wall of water SLAMS INTO THE CAR--
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
The Subaru is tossed like toy.
It rolls. Twists. Is swept along, caroms off a police car--
All are shoved along by the immense force of the water. It
washes over the cars, covering them, filling the tunnel--
INT. SUBARU - DAY
The foursome are thrown violently, the seat-belts barely holding
them in place. The vehicle is completely submerged. Some water
seeps in, but the passenger compartment for the most part holds--
Tina screams as a MAN'S FACE is driven hard against the side
window, then washed away.
FLEER
Uh-oh.
The BUMPER of a bottled-water TRUCK is visible, growing larger
in the windshield. They're hurtling toward it--
INT. TUNNEL - UNDERWATER - DAY
The angle of the two vehicles causes the Subaru to be shunted to
one side, smashing in tight between the truck and the wall of
the tunnel. A violent, sudden STOP as the hood CRUMPLES.
INT. SUBARU - DAY
The foursome breath hard as they recover. Aaron straightens
behind the wheel--and grimaces in pain, unnoticed by the others.
There comes the loud CREAK of metal under stress. A small rear
window CRACKS with gunshot suddenness. Water seeps through the
cracks.
FLEER
We've got to equalize the pressure
or it's going to crush us.
Everyone-- crack your window a
little bit.
They do so. Water pours in.
116.
FLEER
Now we can open the doors to get
out--
AARON
One problem.
Jill looks over at him. Gasps. The steering wheel and
dashboard have been torqued, pinning him. She leans across,
tries to wrench the wheel up.
JILL
Dammit! Can you wiggle out?
AARON
No...not yet.
The water in the car is waist level now--and rising. Fleer
leans across the seat. Together, he and Jill try to pull the
wheel up. Nothing.
TINA
Can you get the seat lever?
Aaron reaches down, finds it--pulls it. A loud CLUNK. Fleer
tries to pull the seat back. No go.
FLEER
(straining)
It feels like its just about to
give--
Water is at their shoulders now.
AARON
Get out of here. All of you.
JILL
Don't be stupid.
AARON
You, either. Get out.
He tilts his head back to breath. A final deep breath, and he
is submerged. The car is filled.
UNDERWATER, Aaron indicates: 'get out.' Jill and Fleer, holding
their breath, keep trying to free him. He pushes them away.
Tina looks on, frightened. She reaches for the door latch,
pushes the door open--
It hits the tunnel wall--and stops. She goes wide-eyed. Pushes
it a couple times. No go.
Jill and Fleer exchange a glance. They try their doors. They
are wedged shut by the bottled-water truck.
117.
Tina rolls her window all the way down--but the tunnel wall
prevents her from wriggling out. The truck presents the same
obstacle on the other side.
Jill, Fleer and Aaron exchange a dismayed glance.
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Godzilla holds the Gryphon beneath the water. The Gryphon bucks
furiously. Levers its rear legs into Godzilla's belly, and
pushes, claws ripping flesh, shoving Godzilla back.
The Gryphon surfaces, gasping for breath. It SLASHES its wing
tips across Godzilla's eyes, and takes off. Godzilla hits it
with a BLAST OF FIRE as it moves away--
INT. SUBARU - UNDERWATER - DAY
Aaron gets an idea. He reaches down and pulls the rear hatch
release. It pops open. The last air in the car evacuates in a
large bubble. He indicates: 'GO!'
Fleer shoves Tina out. Hesitates. Aaron gestures angrily.
Fleer goes. Sadly, Jill takes Aaron's hand. A moment between
them. Jill looks away--
Through the windshield is the water bottle truck. There are
capped, filled bottles. Bubbles pour out of uncapped, empty
bottles, still in their racks. But several racks are empty.
Jill pushes away from Aaron, out of the car.
INT. TUNNEL - UNDERWATER - DAY
Fleer and Tina swim above the Subaru. The tunnel is illumined
by a weird combination of emergency lamps and headlights
stabbing through the water. Jill swims up to them, looking up
past them--
The ceiling is dark, unknowable.
A leap of faith, then. She gestures 'follow me' to Fleer and
Tina, and swims upward--
INT. SUBARU - UNDERWATER - DAY
Aaron is not moving, conserving his breath. Only his eyes belay
his panic. They dart from side to side. Tears well up. He
clenches his jaw. His eyes roll back as his air runs out. His
mouth opens, a few last bubbles escaping--
Suddenly, Jill is there, swimming up to him--
--and KISSING HIM. Air bubbles rise up from their lips. Aaron
is shocked--realizes she has transferred air to him.
118.
Fleer is behind him then. Jill braces her feet on the dashboard
and pulls up at the wheel while Fleer strains against the seat.
Aaron twists--
--and comes free. The three swim out of the car.
INT. TUNNEL - UNDERWATER - DAY
Aaron follows Jill and Fleer toward the ceiling of the tunnel.
Tina waits for them, buoyed up against the tiles by the three
large water bottles she is holding onto. They are capped, and
empty--except, of course, for air. At the base of one they've
made a pinhole, which Tina covers with her thumb.
Aaron grins. Brilliant. Jill takes the pinholed bottle from
Tina--air bubbles stream up as they transfer it.
Jill puts her mouth to the pinhole, takes a breath in
demonstration. Holds the bottle out to Aaron. Their faces
close together, he draws a deep breath, holding her gaze. An
intense moment between them.
Tina, watching them, frowns, puzzled. What's going on there?
Then Jill smiles at him. Tilts her head toward the exit. Aaron
smiles back, nods.
INT. TUNNEL - UNDERWATER - DAY
Each with a water bottle, the foursome half-swim, half-walk
upside down on the ceiling, making their way toward the light at
the tunnel mouth.
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Blood from Godzilla's wounds stains the water. Godzilla ignores
it. He stands, not moving, staring into the sky, scanning it--
much as he did in the Taki Islands. Then he stiffens--he's
spotted something, a small dot in the distance.
EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - DAY
The Gryphon, too, is wounded. Literally licking its wounds. It
flies slowly, circling Manhattan far below. It circles faster,
becoming more agitated--
It SCREAMS--and sweeps its wings back. It begins a power dive,
straight toward Godzilla.
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Godzilla makes a slight sound at the back of his throat--he
knows the Gryphon is coming. But he doesn't move. He waits.
119.
The Gryphon hurtles toward earth, claws bared, its speed peeling
its lips back in a viscous snarl--
Godzilla waits--
The Gryphon is nearly on Godzilla, screaming toward him--
GODZILLA LEAPS FORWARD SUDDENLY, EXPOSING THE THREE ROWS OF
JAGGED DORSAL FINS ALONG HIS BACK--
The Gryphon is RIPPED OPEN, from stem to stern. Both monsters
crash down into the river. A huge impact wave races in both
directions down the East River, flooding streets on either shore--
EXT. TUNNEL MOUTH - DAY
Aaron emerges from the watery depths of the tunnel, into
sunlight, Jill, Tina and Fleer right behind him. A number of
military vehicles, helicopters and personnel in the area.
The foursome suck in air and hug in celebration--but then Aaron
freezes. The others turn to see what he's staring at:
EXT. EAST RIVER - DAY
Godzilla shakily finds his footing. He tackles the Gryphon, who
struggles wildly, a wounded and vicious animal. It tries to get
airborne. Godzilla grabs the Gryphon's tail, hauls it down.
Godzilla levers his fingers into the Gryphon's rib cage and
PULLS ITS BODY APART with a vicious CRACK--
Godzilla slams the Gryphon back into the river.
He strikes like a snake, teeth glinting, jaws slamming shut
beneath the water--
GODZILLA TEARS THE HEAD OFF THE GRYPHON, holds it up.
Stares at it. Its eyes are closed. Its not moving--
And then the EYES SNAP OPEN--
--and the body ERUPTS from the water, clawing blindly at
Godzilla even as it tries to repair itself. Godzilla BREATHES
A STREAM OF FIRE into the body--
Like being microwaved, the body ignites from the inside-out--
--and EXPLODES.
Hanging from Godzilla's hand, the head snarls and bites.
Godzilla gives it an almost-exasperated look--
--and SPIKES the head on jagged remains of one of the towers of
Brooklyn Bridge.
The head stops snapping. Weird blue eyes stare starkly.
Godzilla leans close to it. Stares back.
120.
It is dead. Godzilla ROARS.
Injured, bleeding from dozens of wounds, but triumphant,
Godzilla begins pushing through the water, back to open sea.
EXT. TUNNEL MOUTH - DAY
Aaron realizes he's been holding his breath. Exhales in relief.
TINA
Is...is it over?
JILL
I think so. I hope so.
Fleer stares out at the battleground. The river red with blood
and ichor. The head staked atop the bridge.
FLEER
I don't care how much you pay
me...I am not gonna help clean
this up.
Suddenly, from the sky comes a SCREAM--
EXT. SKY - DAY
It is the SCREAM of fighter jets, streaking toward them.
EXT. TUNNEL MOUTH - DAY
FLEER
That's an attack formation...
The jets FIRE. Missiles streak toward Godzilla--
IMPACT. Godzilla ROARS in pain.
The jets streak past, banking to come around for another pass.
FLEER
(yelling at the fighter)
Hey! Knock it off!
AARON
Jill--they can't--
JILL
I know.
She looks around--and spots:
A familiar Huey Helicopter.
JILL
You!
The Huey Pilot turns--and is startled to see her.
121.
HUEY PILOT
Christ, I thought I was rid of
you.
JILL
We need your helicopter.
HUEY PILOT
(laughs)
Forget it. I told you--I don't
have clearance--
JILL
I'm giving you the clearance--
HUEY PILOT
Screw you. Bring me up on
charges, I don't care. No way I'm
leaving the ground.
There is the sound of a gun cocking--
Behind Jill, Tina has leveled her pistol at the pilot.
TINA
You really ought to listen to my
mom.
The Huey Pilot stares agog. Smiling, Fleer slips the pilot's
sidearm from its holster.
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
BENEDEK
Tell Red Wing One to target its
wounds specifically--and not let
up! I want saturation fire!
INT. FIGHTER COCKPIT - DAY
The FIGHTER PILOT has Godzilla in his sites. Godzilla looks up,
wounded and tired, showing a lot of the white of his eyes. He's
prepared to die.
FIGHTER PILOT
Roger that, Ground. Commencing
strafing run--What the--
THE HUEY COPTER has risen up suddenly, between the fighters and
Godzilla.
EXT. SKY - DAY
The fighters veer aside, jetwash buffeting the rescue copter.
122.
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
Benedek has seen the action through binoculars.
BENEDEK
(into mic)
Red Wing One, make another
approach. Unidentified Copter,
get the hell out of there! Do you
copy?
JILL (O.S.)
(filtered)
We're not going anywhere, Benedek.
Benedek stares at the speaker.
BENEDEK
Dr. Llewellyn?
INT. HUEY - DAY
The Huey Pilot at the controls, nervously aware of Tina holding
the gun. Tina, not really paying attention, lets the barrel of
her gun droop. Fleer lifts it back on line with a finger.
Jill is on the radio, Aaron beside her.
JILL
Benedek--call off the fighters!
INTERCUT WITH BENEDEK
BENEDEK
Don't be insane, Jill! Godzilla
is weak, wounded--
JILL
We can't kill Godzilla.
BENEDEK
I say we can. Red Wing, target
the creature. If the helicopter
doesn't move, splash it!
JILL
Benedek, think! We couldn't have
stopped the Gryphon without
Godzilla. We know it came from
space--how many more are there?
Benedek starts to say something--pauses.
123.
INT. FIGHTER - DAY
The jet's computer targeting system locks on to the Huey,
Godzilla beyond it.
FIGHTER PILOT
(into radio)
We have a lock on the target.
EXT. GOVERNOR'S ISLAND - DAY
Benedek is torn.
JILL
(filtered)
(repeats it)
How many more?
It's a tough call for Benedek--but he reaches for the mic.
BENEDEK
Red Wing One--break off attack.
EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY
The jets sweep past the copter, then past Godzilla. Godzilla
watches them go by, then turns for the sea--
And COLLAPSES, suddenly just deadweight. He slowly sinks out of
sight, unmoving. The water is stained pinkish by his blood.
INT. HUEY - DAY
TINA
Is it...is he dead?
AARON
I...don't know.
FLEER
Goddammit. We were too late.
Jill stares sadly down at the ocean. She lowers her head.
JILL
(a whisper)
...no.
(looks at Aaron)
I guess I'm out of a job.
AARON
You and me both...
TINA
He's still out there, mom.
124.
JILL
(wanting to believe it)
Yes...he's still out there.
A pause.
AARON
So what do we do?
Jill's response is simple: she puts an arm around Tina, draws
her close. A moment...then she puts out a hand to Aaron...who
takes it.
Together, they look out at the calm water.
And then Fleer spots something:
FLEER
(admiration)
I knew he was a tough bastard.
(points)
Look!
IN THE OCEAN: disturbing the surface is a V-shaped wake, caused
by Godzilla's passage beneath the water. The wake becomes
longer as he picks up speed and heads out toward open sea.
CAMERA DROPS TO BELOW THE WATER into the murky depths. Silence,
Godzilla isn't there...but then we hear the characteristic
BOOMING of Godzilla's heart.
And as the screen FADES TO BLACK, we hear one last thing:
GODZILLA'S DISTINCTIVE ROAR.
THE END