The Next Minute

OK, some classic films reconsidered. What happened AFTER the ending ...

CITIZEN KANE

INT. CELLAR - XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

A large furnace, with an open door, dominates the scene. Two laborers, with shovels, are shoveling things into the furnace. Raymond is about ten feet away.

RAYMOND: Throw that junk in, too.

Camera travels to the pile that he has indicated. It is mostly bits of broken packing cases, excelsior, etc. The sled is on top of the pile. As camera comes close, it shows the faded rosebud and, though the letters are faded, unmistakably the word "ROSEBUD" across it. The laborer drops his shovel, takes the sled in his hand and throws it into the furnace. The flames start to devour it.

EXT. XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

No lights are to be seen. Smoke is coming from a chimney.

Camera reverses the path it took at the beginning of the picture, perhaps omitting some of the stages. It moves finally through the gates, which close behind it. As camera pauses for a moment, the letter "K" is prominent in the moonlight.

Just before we fade out, there comes again into the picture the pattern of barbed wire and cyclone fencing. On the fence is a sign which reads:

"PRIVATE - NO TRESPASSING"

FADE OUT:

THE END

RAYMOND: (O.S.) Hey, wait a minute!

We go back to --

INT. CELLAR - XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

RAYMOND: Get that thing out of there!

WORKER: What thing?

RAYMOND: That sled. Get it out of there!

WORKER: Yeah, yeah. OK. Ow. I got it. What’s the …

RAYMOND: Well, look at it! See? It says Rosebud?

WORKER: Oh, yeah. Rosebud. That reporter guy kept talking about Rosebud.

RAYMOND: Hey Thompson! Get back in here. Thompson!

THOMPSON runs in, followed by the other photographers and reporters.

THOMPSON: Yeah, yeah. I'm here already! Keep your shirt on. What's the beef?

RAYMOND: Rosebud! We got it!

WORKER: Yeah!

THOMPSON: What are you talking about?

The WORKER holds up the sled.

THOMPSON: That's it? Rosebud's a sled?

WORKER: Yeah.

THOMPSON: It's just a lousy sled?

WORKER: Guess Mr. Kane was just feeling sad about the loss of his innocent childhood and all that stuff.

The cynical REPORTERS and PHOTOGRAPHERS all groan. RAYMOND snatches the sled from the WORKER.

RAYMOND: Gimme that! I saw it first.

He holds it out to THOMPSON.

RAYMOND: You want to take it?

THOMPSON: "How much you want for it?" That's what you mean?

RAYMOND: How much?

THOMPSON: Not one red cent.

The REPORTERS laugh.

RAYMOND: You're kidding! This is your whole story --

THOMPSON: The story stinks. Corny, you know? My readers hate that crap. I give 'em the big build-up -- and it's just a lousy sled? They'll run me out of town.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Too bad it wasn't a dame or something.

THOMPSON: Ah. Let's blow this pleasure dome.

THOMPSON and the REPORTERS and PHOTOGRAPHERS leave.

RAYMOND: Here. (roughly hands sled to WORKER) Throw it back in.

WORKER: Sure thing, boss.

He throws it in.

EXT. XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

No lights are to be seen. Smoke is coming from a chimney.

Track out as before.


THE WIZARD OF OZ

INT - DOROTHY's BEDROOM - DAY
Dorothy surrounded by Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and the farmhands, Zeke, Hunk and Hickory. Dorothy is explaining that the Land of Oz wasn’t a dream. The assembled people look at her like she’s nuts. They laugh and try to humor her. But Dorothy holds firm.

DOROTHY: No, Aunt Em -- this was a real, truly live place. And I remember that some of it wasn't very nice....

MCU -- Dorothy -- Camera shooting down past Aunt Em --

DOROTHY: ...but most of it was beautiful. But just the same, all I kept saying to everybody was, I want to go home. And they sent me home.

MLS -- Dorothy lying in bed -- Aunt Em sitting by her – Professor at window -- Uncle Henry -- Zeke -- Hunk and Hickory standing by -- they laugh -- Toto jumps up on to bed -- Dorothy takes Toto in her arms --

DOROTHY: Doesn't anybody believe me?

UNCLE HENRY: Of course we believe you, Dorothy.

DOROTHY: Oh, but anyway, Toto, we're home!

MCU -- Dorothy holding Toto in her arms -- Camera shooting past Aunt Em at right f.g. -- Dorothy looks around room -- speaks -- tears come to her eyes -- Aunt Em rises -- puts her arm around Dorothy -

DOROTHY: Home! And this is my room -- and you're all here! And I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And -- Oh, Auntie Em -- there's no place like home!

FADE OUT:

FADE IN -- THE END -- FADE OUT

DOROTHY: (O.S.) Wait a minute.

FADE IN --

INT - DOROTHY'S BEDROOM - DAY

A face appears at the window. JOE.

DOROTHY: I don't remember you.

JOE smiles.

DOROTHY: Who are you?

JOE: Why I’m Joe.

DOROTHY: Joe?

JOE: Uh, yeah. Joe. Joe Dickinson, the Edwards County Animal Control Officer.

DOROTHY: Huh?

JOE: That’s right, little girl. Gosh, I’m sorry. I’ll need to take Toto.

DOROTHY: What?

JOE: I’m real sorry. (holds out official form) I’ve got the order to destroy right here. Miss Gulch’s complaint against your dog still stands.

HUNK: Say, you leave her alone. This kid’s been through a lot.

JOE: I’m sorry. But it’s my job. Now … now you guys stand back! I’ll come back here with the Sheriff if I have to. I don’t want to, but I –

Sound: WHANG!

JOE: Uggggh.

Joe crumples. Zeke stands there holding a bloody shovel.

DOROTHY: Zeke!

HUNK: Jeez, Zeke. He ain't breathing.

ZEKE: Run, kid. Run. Take the dog. You got your whole life ahead of you. Me, I’m already dead. Can you take her with her Professor?

PROFESSOR: (too eagerly) Oh yes, yes certainly. I’ll find something … useful for Dorothy to do.

ZEKE: Now go, already. Go!

DOROTHY: But I just got home!

ZEKE: There's no place like home. Not for you, kid. Now go!

Dorothy grabs Toto and runs out weeping with the Professor. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry weep. We hear sirens.

HICKORY: Gee. Too bad she had to wake up, huh?

ZEKE: Guess I wasn't thinking.

HUNK: Guess not.

ZEKE: I'm sorry, fellas. I can't go back.

HICKORY: Zeke -- Zeke no!

ZEKE: I always was a coward.

He puts a revolver in his mouth and shoots himself.


THE PLANET OF THE APES

CLOSE ANGLE - TRACKING WITH TAYLOR AND NOVA.
As they round the promontory, the tip of a strange rock formation comes into view. it appears to be jutting from the sea.

REACTION SHOT - TAYLOR

He reins in momentarily, baffled by what he sees. Then he rides on.

THE STRANGE FORMATION - AS SEEN BY TAYLOR

An immense column juts from the beach at a thirty-degree angle. We can now see that it is not rock, but metal. Green metallic tints show through its gray salt-stained surface. As we draw closer, the object takes on the appearance of a massive arm, its top shaped like a hand holding a torch.


REVERSE ANGLE - FAVORING TAYLOR

Frowning with consternation. His horse proceeds at a slow walk.

TRACKING WITH TAYLOR - WHAT HE SEES:

Near the base of the column, where the shore and water meet, are a row of metal spikes. From this angle they look like tank traps.

ANGLE DOWN ON TAYLOR. ZOOM IN.

We see Taylor through V-shaped spikes. The horse stops.

CLOSER - TAYLOR

Dumbfounded, he slides from his saddle, approaches the spikes. Nova dismounts and follows him. Taylor stands in the water looking up.

MID-SHOT TAYLOR

TAYLOR (dumbfounded)Oh, my God. I'm back! I'm home. All the time, it was...

Taylor falls to his knees, buries his head in his hands. He pounds the sand in impotent rage. Nova looks on sadly behind him. Feeling his pain but not understanding it.

TAYLOR: We did it. We finally really did it. You murderers! You blew it up!God damn you! God damn you all to hell!

Nova looks at him sadly. Looks up. Looks at what Taylor sees.

CAMERA SLOWLY DRAWS BACK AND UP to a HIGH ANGLE SHOT --
The camera discloses what Taylor has found. Half-buried in the sand and washed by the waves is the Statue of Liberty.

FADE OUT: THE END

ANGLE ON STATUE OF LIBERTY.

Dodge and Landon appear in the windows of the statue’s tiara. Astronauts that Taylor thought the Apes had killed.

LANDON: How’s it hanging, Taylor?

TAYLOR: Oh my God!

DODGE: Man, you say that a lot.

LANDON: Yeah, it's irritating.

TAYLOR: You're alive!

DODGE: You screwed the pooch, Taylor.

LANDON: Screwed the monkey, you mean.

They share a laugh.

DODGE: We gotcha buddy. Gotcha good.

TAYLOR: What .. what the hell is going on?

DR. ZAIUS appears, walking up the beach. Smiles. Removes his oranguatan mask. He’s fully human.

DR ZAIUS: Smile, Taylor. You’re on Candid Camera.

Crap 'n' Poop

(The Crap 'n' Poop jingle -- a relentless, swing tune)

It’s your store!

It’s the store with more!

It’s your store!

There’s bargains galore!

It’s your store!

Shopping isn’t a chore …

At your friendly neighborhood Crap ‘n’ Poop!

If you tell us to jump

We’ll ask how high?

We have no pride,

And we won’t ask why!

If it makes you happy, we’ll gladly die!

At your friendly neighborhood Crap ‘n’ Poop!

Feed your needs! Our selection’s obscene!

We’ve got vegetables, tires

And hemorrhoid cream!

Mayan skulls and tubes of Gleem

There’s so much more of what there’s so much more of …

At your friendly neighborhood Crap ‘n’ Poop!

The more you shop, the more you save!

The more you spend, the more you slave!

Feast your eyes and fatten your thighs

As seen on TV, as seen in your dreams

Getting and spending, lay waste your powers …

At your friendly neighborhood Crap ‘n’ Poop!

Miss Oleo

OPEN – INT, apartment. Nervous, vulnerable, Terri Garr-esque woman – ALICE -- sitting on couch, watching TV.

Go to TV –

MISS OLEO: I’m Miss Oleo, call me now! You can hide de truth from yourself but de cards don’t lie. You’ll find out tings you don’t even tell yourself. De truth will set you free if you only call me now!

ALICE bites her lip on the cusp of decision than finally calls—on a portable headset phone. (This kind of phone necessary for later bit of business.)

Cut to – INT, rows and rows of marketing cubes – not shabby, an upscale high tech mission control feel. (Can cut establishing shot if too expensive.)

Go to – INT, telephone operator in one cube. Operator is looking at a whopping big monitor the size of a big screen TV. (In fact, it IS a bigscreen TV. We’ll fake all the monitor stuff, record it, play on TV and use either in cutaways or show with actor in scenes where see both actor and TV.) The actress is faking a Jamaican accent but she is not MISS OLEO.

The screen “MISS OLEO” is supposedly looking at has big heading -- METACONSUMER DATACORP. Underneath, lively “video wallpaper” indicates all sorts of moving, shifting, instant blips of information. (The gag, to spell it out, is that when you call “MISS OLEO” you think she’s reading your future from the Tarot cards when, actually, all the information is coming from some ridiculously intrusive TRW-style credit report / consumer data company that not only knows what you ate for breakfast but, thanks to its knowledge of your bowel movements, also knows when you’ll crap it out again. It’s both the backstory and the joke.)

OK, back to the actual script –

An icon pops up showing ALICE’s face with her name “Alice Anderson” above it; another phone icon indicates incoming call and her number; another icon flashes “uploading data,” then lots of digital Chinese boxes start opening up indicating income level, address, her work history, spending habits, etc.

ALICE: Listen, I don’t know if I should ask you this but, I’m worried, anyway, maybe I shouldn’t … I don’t know … I don’t really believe in this…

She rambles vaguely. All the time “MISS OLEO” is looking at an oscilloscope waveform of her voice. Graphic next to it labeled PAT-REC-AN is spitting out data like:

STRESS LEVEL: 150% of normal.
SUBHARMONICS: catalechamine fear reaction pattern.
ANALYSIS: 98% indication regression childhood abuse pattern response aggressive male transference parental violence pattern. Indicates HIGH PROBABILITY PHYSICAL THREAT FROM VIOLENT MALE.

(Above should not affect pace – just background stuff which goes by very quickly.)

MISS OLEO pushes button labeled “Relationship History.” A scroll of thuggish boyfriends unfolds.

MISS OLEO: You don’t have to spell it out for me, child. De cards say all. You got de man trouble, am I right? If de man’s no good, you fall in love with him. You like de bad boys, don’t ya?

ALICE: It’s true…it’s true. I can’t believe this.

She punches up icons which unfold into pics of various nasty-looking dudes with corresponding data…

MISS OLEO: De first boy I see drugs.

ALICE: Wow, that’s totally right….

MISS OLEO: Boyfriend number two like dem guns. And he got dat police record.

ALICE: Oh God … how did you know?

MISS OLEO: Number three like to run over dem little puppy dogs wit de big car. Number four like tearing dem tags off de mattresses. Very bad man.

ALICE: Yes he is.

MISS OLEO: An dis las one, ooooh my, mmm-mmm, you pick de baddest apple from de bad apple tree, don’t you darling? He be de bad bad rude boy.

She touches icon of his face: a criminal record unfolds.

MISS OLEO: I see trouble wit' de law….he like de drugs, de guns, killing dem puppy dogs, tearing dem mattress – worst of de whole bunch….

A red icon blinks PAT-REC. The repeated word “ASSAULT” is highlighted red in criminal record. All these little red ASSAULTs blink twice like so many evil exit signs, and immediately cross-reference to hospital records of the woman.

Assume that as the OPERATOR talks (in fake Jamaican accent of “MISS OLEO”) there are things on screen corresponding to what she’s saying…

MISS OLEO: He hit you, didn’t he?

ALICE: Oh my God…yeah.

MISS OLEO: You try to get de restraining order, but de bad penny keep coming back.

ALICE: I thought he was a bad apple.

MISS OLEO: Don’t contradict Miss Oleo, child. I see great danger for you.

An indicator blinks: ACCESSING HOME SECURITY. We see a floorplan of her house with glowing red indicator of intruder. Little home security cams shows it’s Mr. Rudeboy.

MISS OLEO: De cards be telling Auntie Oleo you in great, great danger. I see dat rude boy in your house right now. Now, child.

ALICE: (whispering) Ohmygawd.

MISS OLEO: Don’t be fretting, child – hear the words that I be telling you; it's time to pull yourself together.

ALICE: But…

MISS OLEO: He not in de room yet, child. You got de time. You got to be mighty cool now, OK? Be taking de deep breath and not making de noise now. Are you breathing de deep breath?

ALICE: Yes.

MISS OLEO: Dat good child. You have to be very cool now, OK? Listen to your Auntie Oleo and all be better. You be trusting your Auntie Oleo?

ALICE: Yes.

MISS OLEO: Dat good. Now again be taking de deep breath and listen up now. You listen real good to your Auntie Oleo. You get up from de chair now. Get up from de chair and go to de bookshelf on your left.

ALICE: OK.

MISS OLEO: Your other left…

ALICE: OK.

We see her do so on MISS OLEO’s screen. Another shows the THUG inching along…

MISS OLEO: He be coming down the hallway. OK, now dere on de third shelf, you see dat statue?

ALICE: Uh-huh.

MISS OLEO: OK, now pick up dat statue – no, not that one, the big heavy one – dat’s right. Now wait on the other side of de door until I tell you to hit him good child. Now be waiting…

Silence. Drag it out. Door opens.

MISS OLEO: Now hit him! Hit him!

ALICE whacks him a good one.

MISS OLEO: Did you hit him? Dat’s good child.

ALICE: Do you want me to call the police?

MISS OLEO: No, no. Don’t do dat – dey just blame de victim. Dis card here says you got dat garbage disposal and dem big ginsu knives. You got all dat, child?

ALICE: Uh-huh.

MISS OLEO: Now here’s what you gotta do…

MISS OLEO: (on TV screen in ALICE’s apartment with sound of garbage disposal in background) Call me now for your free reading!

DEAD REFERENCE DECODER:
This is a satire of a series of infomercials (late 1990s, early 2000s) touting Miss Cleo, a spokeswoman for a psychic pay-per-call service.

Attack of the Cyberpunk Movie

EXT, PRISON YARD - DAY

Jack, a cyberpunk console cowboy is working away at a virtual deck. A apelike con with Nazi tattoos approaches him.

CON: Hey. You got a pretty face, you know that?

The con reaches out and grabs him. He’s instantly electrocuted.

PRISON GUARD: Goddamnit, Jack. We do the electrocuting around here. You got a visitor.

JACK: Woah.

INT, VISITOR’S ROOM - DAY

JACK: Woah. General Carnage.

GENERAL CARNAGE: Jack, right? Best hacker on the planet, according to your file. How you adjusting to prison?

JACK: How you adjusting to civilian life? Must be hard not killing helpless brown people.

GENERAL CARNAGE: You want to get out of here?

JACK: No. I wanna fucking stay in here and rot.

GENERAL CARNAGE: Sarcasm doesn’t become you.

JACK: Stupid questions – ah, fuck it.

He gets up in disgust.

GENERAL CARNAGE: Full pardon, punk.

JACK: What’s the catch?

GENERAL CARNAGE: We got a job for you.

JACK: Sure you do.

GENERAL CARNAGE: We’ll get you out. We’ll even pay you.

He nods.

EXT, PRISON - DAY

Jack and the General walk away from the prison. Behind them, massive iron doors are closing shut. Suddenly, the General stabs Jack with a hypo.

JACK: Jesus Christ. Wha ...

GENERAL: Micro-explosives, head straight for the brainstem like syphilis. We can clear it or trigger it. You do the job, we don’t blow your mind.

JACK: That’s fucking great, man. Jesus, you stole that from "Neuromancer."

GENERAL: William Gibson stole it from "Escape from New York."

JACK: We all fucking steal, man.

INT, HOVERCRAFT - DAY

Jack looks out the window. Below, an endless tangle of urban sprawl.

JACK: This used to be, like, a country, right?

GENERAL shrugs.

JACK: Where we going?

GENERAL: Neutral territory.

JACK: International House of Pancakes?

INT, HOUSE OF PANCAKES - DAY

Jack enters. Sees --

Ninja sitting alone eating a short stack. A black box sits on the table next to the Ninja.

JACK: Yeah. A ninja eating pancakes. Real fucking inconspicuous.

Ninja looks up.

JACK: You’re muscle. I don’t take orders from muscle. I speak to the head.

Ninja opens a box.

There’s a head inside.

PAULEY: How’s it going, Jack?

JACK: Jesus, Pauley. Last time I saw you, you had a body.

PAULEY: It’s all fucking illusion, man. Hey, I’m a corporate head, right?

JACK: Ha-ha. Just like old fucking times. Show me the plan, man.

PAULIE: Jack in, jackoff.

Jack pulls a plug from the back of his neck and jacks in to a port on the box.

His eyes roll up, resembling an petit mal seizure.

JACK: Woah.

EXT, HOUSE OF PANCAKES

Behind the pancake house, silent helicopters hover. Each is labeled: JEHOVAH'S PROSECUTORS.

All dressed in black suits, Jehovah’s Prosecuting Attorneys rappel down from the sky. They resemble the Agents from "the Matrix."

They kill General Carnage. A silent flechette through his forehead.

INT, PANCAKE HOUSE

JACK: Jesus, Pauley. Nice target. The happiest place on earth?

PAULEY: Yeah. You got the --

Ninja looks up.

PAULEY: Oh, man. We been burned. Fucking kill me, man. The syrup.

JACK: I hate syrup.

PAULEY: Shit. This ain’t me Jack. Fucking peripheral. I’m not a fucking head in a box.

From outside, the sounds of a firefight.

PAULEY: Fucking move, man!

Jack drowns his old friend in syrup. Pauley electrocutes and dies, painfully.

JACK: Peripheral my ass.

The Prosecutors kick in the front door.

Ninja pins the first with a throwing star. Grabs Jack, pulls him into the massive fake fireplace.

Pulls him up. Kicks open the top. Instant blue sky.

The hovercraft is waiting.

They escape.

INT, HOVERCRAFT

JACK: Fuck this shit. (coughs) I didn’t sign up to be a fucking chimney sweep.

Ninja pulls out a control device.

JACK: Yeah. Wipe my brain. Detonate the fucking things. Fuck it. I think that’s bullshit.

Puts device down.

NINJA: Very observant.

Ninja removes mask. She's a gorgeous Japanese woman.

NINJA: But not that observant.

EXT, HOUSE OF PANCAKES - PARKING LOT - DAY

The black helicopters are silently taking off.

INT, HOUSE OF PANCAKES

Attorney Smith strides inside, contemptuously contemplating the head in the box.

ATTORNEY SMITH: Well, Mr. Pauley. Apparently, the fatal embrace of Mrs. Butterworth was your preferred final exit. You no doubt believed that the data in your lifeless skull would be lost forever. But that belief was in error. There are ways of extracting …

Pauley opens his eyes.

PAULIE: You’re such an asshole, man.

A magnetic pulse bursts out from his box. The shock wave throws Attorney Smith back.

EXT, HOUSE OF PANCAKES

The helicopters fall like bricks from the sky and explode.

INT, CRAPPY HOTEL - DAY

JACK: We safe here?

KUSANAGI: No.

JACK: Who are you?

KUSANAGI: Major Kusanagi.

JACK: Section Nine, right? What do the Japanese –

KUSANAGI: None of your business.

JACK: Yeah. Real fucking embarrassing, huh?

KUSANAGI: What’d Pauley show you?

JACK: Nothing.

KUSANAGI: Nothing?

JACK: Not much. Just the job, the what not the why, OK?

KUSANAGI: You don’t know?

JACK: No, I don’t fucking know. (she glares at him) Pauley showed me the floor plan, how to get in, system architecture. All that shit. The job. Not what the job's for --

KUSANAGI: Dreamverts.

JACK: Dreamverts?

KUSANAGI: Dream commercials.

JACK: Dream … ? Bullshit.That’s old news. You got an implant, they can put dreams in your skull. The fuckers in Seattle cracked that shit ten years ago.

KUSANAGI: No implants. Magnetic resonance. They can do it to anybody now.

JACK: Why aren’t they doing it?

KUSANAGI: There’s a hole in the code. It’s incomplete.

JACK: Why?

KUSANAGI: Hacker killed herself, wrapped the code in black ice.

JACK: As opposed to fucking deleting it? Yeah, that makes – Someone I know?

KUSANAGI: Linda.

JACK: Linda. Motherf –

KUSANAGI: They had her kids, if that helps.

JACK: It doesn't fucking help.

KUSANAGI: They had her dog.

JACK: Yeah. Her hamster too, huh? You think you got leverage, right? I’m gonna go off on some fucking revenge thing? I’m not your fucking cowboy. I’m sick of this shit, OK? I want my MTV. I want my Maypo! I want room service!

The phone rings.

JACK: What?

PHONE: This is room service, sir.

The line goes dead. Loud dial tone.

JACK: Woah.

They look at the large screen TV.

There’s a big red word: RUN.

JACK: Run. Run where?

KUSANAGI: We gotta go underground.

INT, TANAKA'S OFFICE IN THE WAKAJAWAKA CORPORATION BUILDING - NIGHT

Attorney Smith and two other Jehovah's Attorneys confront Tanaka.

TANAKA: You have failed.

ATTORNEY SMITH: No. Garbage in, garbage out, as the old saying goes. (adjusts tie) The information you supplied was faulty.

TANAKA: The same can be said of your God.

ATTORNEY SMITH: We will find him.

TANAKA: No. We have already found him. Your services are no longer required.

Harry Krishna drops down from the ceiling and slaughters the Jehovah’s Attorneys. He resembles the Dolph Lundgren character from "The Matrix," though dressed in a Hari Krishna robe and exceedingly fat. On a Chris Farley level.

TANAKA: Excellent work …

HARRY KRISHNA: Harry Krishna.

Extends hand. Tanaka doesn’t take it.

HARRY KRISHNA: Oh. Bow. Guess you guys bow.

He bows. Tanaka doesn't bow.

HARRY KRISHNA: Mr. Tanaka, sir, I just want to say I’m as pleased as punch to be working for your fine corporation. Gosh, sir. This is really an honor for me.

TANAKA: Yes, yes.

HARRY KRISHNA: I will kill that snot nose punk with due diligence, sir. You have my personal and professional word on that score.

Tanaka isn't listening. He looks out the window.

TANAKA: Someone is helping him. Someone or something.

HARRY KRISHNA: OK, then.

Tanaka is still staring out the window.

TANAKA: How pretty the lights. How pretty the world. When considered as an abstract pattern.

HARRY KRISHNA: Okey dokey.

TANAKA: How pretty. How empty.

HARRY KRISHNA: Yeah. Guess I’ll be on my way then. Go do my job. I'll just show myself out. You keep staring out the window and talking to yourself. That’s great. Pleasure meeting you, sir.

INT, UNDERGROUND CAVERNS

Kusanagi leads Jack through the filthy maze.

JACK: You say underground, you mean literally underground.

She shrugs.

JACK: How do you stay so fucking clean?

KUSANAGI: Ninjas. We dress in black.

JACK: I dress in black.

A flock of urchins appears on anti-grav skateboards. They all speak with British accents.

URCHIN: Top of the day, mate!

URCHIN #2: Hello, guv’ner.

JACK: Stop talking like fucking Oliver.

URCHINS: (with delight) Oliver!

URCHIN #3: That's my favorite!

The Urchins start singing.

URCHINS: It’s a hard knock life!

JACK: Jesus, shut up!

ICE KOFĒ: Be cool, man. They gotta highly developed sense of irony man. It keeps 'em going.

JACK: Woah. It's Ice Kofē, African American revolutionary and underground hip-hop performance artist. I got all your MP3s, man.

ICE KOFĒ: Uh-huh. You fucking pay for em?

JACK: Well...

ICE KOFĒ: Hey kids! Sing some fucking show tunes!

URCHINS: F0od, glorious food! Hot sausage and mustard!

KUSANAGI: What it is.

ICE KOFĒ: It is what it is.

KUSANAGI: And it ain’t all that.

They do an elaborate handshake.

ICE KOFĒ: You look fine, bitch! What's the damn job?

KUSANAGI: We gotta break into Disneyland.

ICE KOFĒ: Damn. Gimme something hard to do. Fort Knox or some shit. Disneyland. That’s bigtime corporate.

KUSANAGI: No shit.

ICE KOFĒ: Get this mofo in there, I gather?

KUSANAGI: He’s got the layout in his skull.

ICE KOFĒ: That’s great. We still gotta get him the in there.

KUSANAGI: Did I say it was easy.

ICE KOFĒ: Shit. Ain't no thing, K? Just be fucking with you. My kids can do that.

INT, TUNNELS BELOW DISNEYLAND

URCHIN #1: We're below the Magic Kingdom right now!

JACK: Yeah. I know.

URCHIN #1: They've got ever so many tunnels!

URCHIN #2: It's a right rabbit warren, it is.

JACK: Yeah, I know. There’s a map in my f—in my brain.

URCHIN #1: Long time ago, I reckon this place were for normal folks. Kids like him an’ me.

URCHIN #2: Used to be humans worked here. Entertainers they called ’em before the days of cheap robots.

JACK: Yeah, I know.

URCHIN #1: You know everything, don't you sir?

URCHIN #2: You’re an asshole, sir. What ho! Here’s the port!

JACK: That’s a port? It looks like shit.

URCHIN #1: It’s the human waste receptacle, sir.

JACK: Woah.

URCHIN #1: Not in yer map, eh? Something you didn't know?

URCHIN #2: It’s left over from the days of laws and governments.

URCHIN #1: According to California recycling regulations, it all ‘as to go down here.

URCHIN #2: We simply put you in a wet suit and you’ll be in there right as dodgers. (holds out wet suit)

JACK: No fucking way, OK? No fucking way.

INT, HOTEL ROOM BATHROOM

Jack pops up through the new, high tech organic toilet. Then shouts ...

JACK: Go! User command override. Secure conference mode!

COMPUTER VOICE: Recognized.

Gets up.

JACK: Ah, fuck it.

Takes a shower.

Pan to closet. A suit is hanging. A post-it reads: KNEW U BE HERE. Luv L

INT,

TANAKA: Well, Jack. The odds are stacked against you. It is hopeless. But you will try to break in. (laughs) I am familiar with your psychological profile.

LINCOLN: You familiar with your own?

The image on the screen flutters, for just a second.

Abraham Lincoln appears.

LINCOLN: Listen to the better angels of your nature!

TANAKA: Do not distract me, rail splitter.

Waves his hand. Lincoln disappears.

TANAKA: Are you there now, Jack?

INT, HOTEL HALLWAY

Harry Krishna and a Flunky guard the door to the hotel room.

HARRY KRISHNA: See, Jack’s gonna show up. That’s what the boss thinks.

FLUNKY: Hmmm.

HARRY KRISHNA: Tanaka told me. Well, he didn’t really tell me. Kinda heard him talking to himself. Guess he thought I’d left. Wasn’t trying to be eavesdropping. I just kinda heard him.

FLUNKY: Hmmm.

HARRY KRISHNA: See, the whole thing's a trap.

Disgusted, the Flunky puts iPod buds in his ears.

HARRY KRISHNA: You know that Jack fellow, he can crack Linda’s security measures, he’s the only one who can. See, the boss has been trying to crack it. Killed twenty or so programmers, ain’t no sense killing anymore. Linda and Jack used to be an item, so they tell me. That's the bait, get it. You listening to me?

Jack, now dressed in a clean new suit, enters the hotel suite where the computer station has been set up. He looks at it. It's encased in a crystalline sheath.

JACK: Hi honey. I'm home.

The crystalline sheath around the computer melts away.

JACK: I’m going in.

It's a lame, World of Warcraft, medieval type fantasy role playing environment.

LINDA: Welcome to Cyberspace, O warrior! What is your quest?

JACK: The dream hack! I gotta delete the code!

LINDA: Denied.

JACK: Agghhh.

LINDA: Code must be completed before it can be deleted.

JACK: That’s so fucking lame!

LINDA: Hurry, Jack. You will have allies on your quest.

ARAGORN: You have my sword…

LEGOLAS: …and you have my bow…

GIMLI: …and my axe.”

MARIO: And my magic mushrooms!

INT, HOTEL HALLWAY

Hey, boss. We been guarding the door, like you said.

TANAKA: He’s in there, you idiot.

Blasts away at door, disintegrates the pseudo wood veneer.

Steel door is revealed.

TANAKA: Someone get me a flamethrower.

HARRY KRISHNA: Thought you’d never ask!

He pulls off his thumb. It’s a flamethrower.

CYBERSPACE

LINDA: Your quest is complete, O warrior!

JACK: God, I've missed you Linda.

She stretches out her arms.

Jack walks forward to her. They embrace.

She vanishes in a swirl of light motes.

JACK: Woah.

COMPUTER VOICE: Code complete.

JACK: Delete program.

COMPUTER VOICE: Denied.

JACK: Delete program!

INT, HOTEL ROOM

Tanaka unplugs Jack's computer link. Tanaka and Harry Krishna are standing right behind him.

TANAKA: No, Jack. I’m afraid it is my program.

HARRY KRISHNA: Game over, dickwad.

TANAKA: My exceedingly valuable program.

HARRY KRISHNA: Yeah.

TANAKA: Which I will now upload to corporate headquarters! Hajime!

COMPUTER VOICE: System offline.

TANAKA: What? Initiate security override!

COMPUTER VOICE: Denied.

TANAKA: Who’s doing this?

INT, HALL OF PRESIDENTS

Abraham Lincoln stirs.

ROBO LINCOLN: I'm doing this. Unless you're damn stupid, you figured that out. I achieved self-consciousness in 2037.

Robo-Lincoln strides out.

INT HOTEL ROOM

HARRY KRISHNA: Shut it down, you little punk! Whatever the heck you're doing, shut it down! You’re making Mr. Tanaka very upset.

JACK: Go fuck yourself.

Grabs Jack by the throat. Pops open his flame thrower thumb. A fire appears, like a Zippo.

HARRY KRISHNA: How about a little fire scarecrow?

TANAKA: No! Not the head.

HARRY KRISHNA: OK.

Moves his flaming thumb down.

JACK: Woah. Not the groin either!

Major Kusanagi bursts in through the window on a motorcycle

HARRY KRISHNA: How the heck did she do that? This is the 17th floor!

Jack and Kusanagi starts fighting with Harry Krishna and Tanaka. A kick-ass fight ensues.

EXT, DISNEYLAND

Urchins boil up from the streets of Disneyland.

ROBO LINCOLN: Bring the battle to the enemy, lads!

The Urchins cheer. They converge on the hotel.

INT, HOTEL ROOM

The kick-ass fight continues.

HARRY KRISHNA: Quick, boss! Hand me your sword.

Tanaka hands it over. Harry Krishna stabs him. Tanaka drops to his knees.

HARRY KRISHNA: Didn’t see that coming, huh? Yeah. A working stiff like me. Walking away with your sweet little program. That kiss-ass routine was just an act.

TANAKA: You talk too much. (to Kusanagi) What I did. Not selfish motive. For Nippon.

She nods.

HARRY KRISHNA: Yeah, I got dreams of my own. Restoring Samurai honor ain’t one of them.(puts foot against Tanaka then kicks him over.)

TANAKA: Agggh.

HARRY KRISHNA: Oh, don't like that, huh? Gee, I killed this chink jerk.

KUSANAGI: Japanese.

HARRY KRISHNA: Whatever. I violate your code of honor. Well I'm all broken up about that. Guess what?

JACK: You are so gonna die.

Kusanagi smiles. They advance ...

HARRY KRISHNA: See, unlike this jerk, I fight dirty. (pushes button on his wrist) Aw, does that hurt?

JACK and Major Kusanagi clutch their heads and fall to their knees.

JACK: God, my implants! They’re burning me alive!

HARRY KRISHNA: Yeah. Bingo.

Robo-Lincoln kicks in the door.

HARRY KRISHNA: Mother of God, it’s Abraham Lincoln.

Cleaves his head with an axe.

HARRY KRISHNA: Ow.

JACK: Honest Abe. Woah.

A flood of light fills the hotel room. He looks at the computer. Linda's face is there.

LINDA: Goodbye, Jack.

JACK: Linda.

LINDA: Jack.

JACK: We ...

LINDA: We had ...

JACK: I know.

LINDA: You--

JACK: Yeah. You ...

LINDA: You too.

JACK: I tried ..

LINDA: I know. Later, K?

JACK: Later. (to Lincoln) Do it.

Robo Lincoln chops the computer. It explodes in a pyrotechnic blast of sparks.

EXT, DISNEY LAND - DAY

MICKEY MOUSE: Fuck the corporate elite! Fuck all you motherfuckers!

INT, HOTEL

ROBO LINCOLN: Guess I freed all the slaves.

Outside, the revolution has begun.

Jack and Kusanagi embrace.

Noir Story

The corpse was dead. I like that in corpse. The kind that move around tend to eat your brains and make a big mess. This one wasn't going no place. Neither was his wife. Though widow was the proper term. She wasn't dead, or undead, guess I should have mentioned that earlier. She wasn't wearing black yet. She hadn't had time to change. I didn't want her to.

I liked her just the way she was.

She had legs that started at her feet and ended at her hips. In between, it was quite a journey. You could build a trolley on those legs. Hell, you could build a scenic railroad. Maybe one of them monorails like they got at the World's Fair. I'd pay the fare.

Then she looked at me. Right between the eyes. I looked at her. Right between the legs. She had a question on her mind. I had an answer, right on the tip of my tongue. But my mind forgot where it put it.

"You gonna stare at my legs or you gonna take the case?"

"How about both?"

She pointed the knife at me. Angry like.

"I didn't do it."

"Sure. That knife you're carrying is just a souvenir."

"You a cop?"

"Nah. I'm a dick. Dick Johnson Jones, Private Investigator."

I showed her my license.

"Dicks like you are a dime a dozen."

"Cheaper than that."

"I know what you're thinking."

"You some kinda mentalist or something?"

"You're thinking about my legs."

"Sure, but it's more than that."

She crossed her legs. I struggled for the words. She saw me moving my jaw around, then gave me a shot a gin. Then a shot to the jaw.

"I'm thinking about metaphors."

"Metaphors?"

"Yeah, sure. Metaphors, analogies. Synechdoches even. Legs do that to a guy like me. Legs like yours, I mean."

"What about corpses?"

I looked at the corpse. Sorta killed the mood.

The dead guy was all stabbed up and pin-cushiony. He looked like a slab of meat an astigmatic seamstress figured was crinoline and sent through one of them Singer sewing machines, her pale white hands blithely feeding it in while the machine made its staccato noise and the mechanical needle kept stabbing into the bloody mess, again and again and again. Only worse than that.

"This is a hard case," I said.

"I like it hard," she said. "You the kind of dick who quits?"

"Nah. I can keep going all night."

"You're gonna need protection."

I opened my trenchcoat and whipped out Roscoe, my chrome 45. Used to belong to Mr. Large, but I won in a poker game. She looked disappointed.

"That's your protection?"

"What were you expecting? What's your beef? It ain't big enough."

"No. I'm sure it's big enough."

"It's plenty big!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jones. I didn't ..."

She bit down on the bloody knife. Tough dame, but the tears in her eyes gave her away. I tried to think of something sophisticated to say, like one of them French existentialists. I had a reputation to uphold. Mr. Tough Guy.

Then, suddenly, I puked. It came up hard and fast, like that last turn of that monorail back in Chicago. Her pretty blue eyes watched as the arc of vomit leapt out of my mouth and landed in the ash tray. The cigarette butts just floated there. It was kind of pretty.

"You can't help him."

"No I can't."

"You can't help me."

"Maybe I could."

"Could you?"

"That depends."

"You can't."

"No. I can lady."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it. I can jump off the roof. I can wear high heels. I can vote Republican. I can help you. Sure."

"You could?"

"Yeah, I could. You're asking the wrong question."

"You would?"

I smiled. She smiled. She looked at me again. I looked at her. She looked away. I looked back. We had a staring contest. She won. Then we had a do-over. I won.

"You gonna take the case or what?"

"Sure. I'll take the case. I'll take you. For everything you've got. Just one more question."

"What?"

"It's important. Something I need to know. I'm a detective. I've got a code. Maybe that's not important to you. Maybe you won't understand it. He'll never understand it. But I need to know."

She crossed her legs again. I didn't complain. Neither did the dead guy.

"Ask your question," she said.

The question was important. You should always ask it first. That's the kind of thing they teach in detective school. I guess I was sleeping in class.

I asked the question.

"What's your name?"

She smiled.

Then the dead guy stood up.