the wind & the rain

8/13/2019 The Wind & the Rain

1/48

The Wind & The Rain

By

David Cumming

2013 [email protected]


2/48

EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - NIGHT

The great void of the ocean. It is a quiet stirring of waterthat mirrors the milky way galaxy and surrounding stars.Nothing in sight for miles but a small fishing boatteetering back and forth in the water.

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

On the outside deck, an OLD MAN -- eighty-five years old,weak, but wise and humbled with time on the sea, is obscuredin the evening darkness. He finishes scrapping magnesiumonto a cotton ball and some oil.

OLD MAN (V.O)My light is leaving, my dear.

After some struggle, he finally sparks the flint and the

tiny fuel for fire lights a lantern. His wrinkled hand hangsthe lantern over a large aluminum bathtub connected to arope spanning vertically up the boats mast.

OLD MAN (V.O.)Ive been searching ...

The Old Man pulls a thick rope up by the mast of the boat. Apulley turns clockwise. The rope loses its slack and hepulls the rope taught. He pulls and pulls, arm musclestightening.

OLD MAN (V.O.)

... for that place ... beyond thedarkness.

A counterweight lifts on the other end of the rope whichhelps the OLD MAN hoist himself up the mast to the top ofthe an enormous sail in an aluminum bathtub.

Slowly he makes it to the top. The Old Man cinches the ropeto the top of the mast.

OLD MAN (V.O.)To the edge of what I know. Of whatI believe.

He turns the lantern down to a low light. Attached to thetop of the mast is a telescope lens on a swivel.

Its pitch black out on the quiet ocean and the waterssettle down to a small, steady cradle.

(CONTINUED)


3/48

CONTINUED: 2.

OLD MAN (V.O.)I will find you.

EXT. FARMLAND - DAY

Dry, cracked ground. A thick haze over a long stretch offlat farmland in the middle of nowhere of Kansas. A cowchews on a bunch of dried grass. An ominous python sits inthe low grass and stalks the cow, drawing silently closer.

A motorcycle speeds by and dust from the road scares thehorse away.

A zebra across the street chews on a bit of grass. Thepython suddenly fixes its gaze on the zebra and makes itsway across the street.

EXT. LOVE SHACK GAS STATION - DAY

A rickety signs swing back and forth. Its spray paintedwith the words "this is not my beautiful house" over gasprices that are less than $1 a gallon.

Heat obscures a long stretch of road. Inside a 17-year-oldboy with a sweaty brow and greasy, long black hair takes asip of whiskey from a silver flask behind the counter. He isFrank. An engine growls and comes closer as Frank looks outat the dry plains across the street. The growling slowlyputters out as a burgundy BMW motorcycle with a side-carrolls up to one of the gas pumps slowly. The motorcycle is

steaming.

Frank takes a quick sip from his flask and cracks a windowopen.

A 12-year-old girl yawns and stretches from inside thesidecar. This is SIGNE. She coughs on the smog from themotorcycle.

SIGNEWell played.

Signe stretches her arms as a young boy hops off thedrivers seat of the motorcycle and wipes his goggles ofdust. This is Niels, a 12-year-old boy and Signes twinbrother. Hes small, scrawny, and unkempt boy with anattitude. He dresses like a daredevil, and always wears ahelmet.

(CONTINUED)


4/48

CONTINUED: 3.

NIELSDont give me that guff, Signe.

Niels grabs the pump, sticks it in the gas tank and walkstoward the building.

INT. LOVE SHACK MAINTENANCE SHOP - DAY

Niels looks around the station workshop. Its mostly emptywith a few things on the shelf. He pulls a carton of oil offthe shelf.

Frank pokes his head in the shop.

FRANKYou gonna pay for that?

NIELS

Put it on my tab, Frank. Im goodfor it.

Frank shakes his head and walks back to the counter. Frankwrites down $2,531 on a notepad next to Nielss name.


Niels changes the oil on the motorcycle. Signe is asleep inthe sidecar, again.

Frank walks outside and looks at the sky. A dark, hazy red.

Clouds that might be as well be car exhaust.

FRANKThink its gonna rain?

NIELS(not looking at Frank,focusing on the oil change)

Now thats a good one.

FRANKSky just looks a bit differenttoday, sall.

Niels seals the filter, tightening it aggressively.

FRANKI know who your daddy is.

(CONTINUED)


5/48

CONTINUED: 4.

Niels revs the motorcycle engine. No dice. Carefully Nielssticks his fingers inside the engine, and a small sparkcomes out of his index finger. It clicks a few times, butthen turns over.

FRANK

(confused, to Niels)What are you, some kind of X-Man?

SIGNE(half asleep, literally tellsthis story in her sleep)

He got zapped by a 200 volt fencewhen he was younger. Tried to jumpit with his bike. Now hes got thecurrent running through him, allthe time.

FRANK

(to Niels)Are you old enough to be drivingthat thing?

NIELS(looking and nodding atFranks flask)

Are you old enough to be drivingthat thing?

Frank winks at Niels and lifts the flask up to salute him.He takes another swig. Niels shakes his head and puts hisgoggles back on.

NIELSWell whatrya standing there for?You wanna go to church with ustoday?

Frank shakes his head.

FRANKUsing all the petroleum in thestate wont change things.

NIELSI know.

FRANKPeople are dying out here. They cutoff everything from basic fundingto basic entertainment. Now the zooanimals dont even know what to do.


6/48

5.

EXT. FARMLAND - DAY

The python starts to consume the zebra in full. A macabresight.


FRANK(looking at the gruesomefeast)

I had a baby giraffe peeringthrough my kitchen window yesterdaymorning, looking to steal mywaffles!

SIGNEAww!

FRANKThat python over there then wentand ate it.

Signes face turns grim.

NIELS(wide-eyed)

Thats unfortunate.

FRANKYalls little protests wont ...

NIELSI know that, Frank. But Im twelve.Whatdya want me to do?

FRANKI dunno, I just figured, becauseyoure his kids and all. You couldhelp stop this whole thing.

NIELS(cuts him off)

Were late for the, um, openingprayer. (Niels turns to Signe andmouths "Thats what its called,right?") Sure you dont want tocome, Frank? Itll be a realspectacle.

Frank takes another swig from his flask.

(CONTINUED)


7/48

CONTINUED: 6.

FRANKIm not the bible-thumpin type.

SIGNE(yawning from the sidecar)

Neither are we.

Niels nods at Frank and revs the engine. A plume of exhaustand theyre back on the road again, disappearing into theheated asphalt.

Frank puts up an OUT OF BUSINESS sign and looks at the skyagain.

EXT. CHURCH ROOF - DAY

Perpetual whiteness gives as Niels squints at the swelteringsun.

OLD MAN (V.O.)When we looked at the sky, what didwe hope to see?

Niels then peers over the steeple to the ground below. THEBELL TOLLS.

NIELSDo you think its gonna rain?

SIGNEIm guessing no.

NIELSWell, I guess this is a start.

They unveil water balloons in their hands and nod. In unisonthey let a balloon fall from their hands.

INT. CHURCH AISLES - DAY

Churchgoers are all standing and singing hymns.

OLD MAN (V.O.)After the world had dried up, well,what do you think would happen?

The prayers hold their hands toward the sky.


8/48

7.

INT. CHURCH PULPIT - DAY

A preacher leans over the pulpit, taking a quick glance athis watch. Singing all around him. This is Father Tomas, andhe is not happy. Hes smiling through his teeth as thechurchgoers pray more and more. Burnt out from all of the

masses during the week, he is starting to doubt his faith,and if the rains will ever come.


A 12-year-old boy is the only one sitting. This is Ori.Baby-faced, pale and skinny, the boy doesnt sing at all,just sits there and observes. He also doesnt look toopleased.

OLD MAN (V.O.)We pray to answer those bigger

questions ...


Father Tomas wipes the sweat off his forehead as the choirsingers hit their final note.

FATHER TOMASAh, yes, yes. Thank you, thank youfor coming everyone. Remember, wemust continue to bring the lightinto our lives ...

Father Tomas looks at his watch again.

FATHER TOMAS... and bring it to church, as well... weekdays 8 a.m., and weekends,well, all day! May the Lord keepyou, and ... uh ... bring us rain!And ... well, let us strike downwith a mighty blow ... the Patriotstonight!


The churchgoers look at one another confused.


9/48

8.


Father Tomas makes a b-line for the exit.


Ori watches Father Tomas leave quickly. He smiles andstruggles to stand.

OLD MAN (CONT.)What are we bound to, when facedwith struggle?

ORI picks up a cane from the ground and limps slowly downthe row. He places a few pennies in the hat thats beingpassed around. He limps down the aisle toward the exit doorof the church.

EXT. CHURCH EXIT - DAY

Ori pauses outside the door and notices something is notright in the skies.

INT. CHURCH BACK HALLWAY - DAY

Father Tomas walks with great hast. He bolts out the backchurch doors and into the blaring heat. He squints at thesun while fumbling down the street in his rope, still.

OLD MAN (V.O.)Intuition?

EXT. IDLE BAR - DAY

Father Tomas takes off his robe and reveals a Kansas CityChiefs jersey he wears underneath.

Father Tomas nods to the BARTENDER. This is Hally, and sheis cleaning glasses. Hally is young, right out of collegeand works here because there are no other jobs, even with acollege degree. Hally is a tough girl to have to handle the

bar alone every day.Father Tomas looks around, realizes hes the only one in thebar, and sits down on a stool in front of her anyway.

FATHER TOMASWhiskey, straight up.

She looks at Father Tomas suspiciously.

(CONTINUED)


10/48


11/48

10.


Niels looks in horror from above, seeing Ori with his caneabout to be covered in the contents of the balloon. Nielsdoesnt intend to hit Ori, just the other churchgoers thatare slowly funneling out of the church. He holds the

balloons tight so that the rest dont fall on Ori.

EXT. CHURCH WINDOWS

Down and down the balloons fall.

OLD MAN (V.O.)Bound just by gravity, perhaps.


Signe looks worried as well. Niels closes his eyes. ButSigne looks down at the ground where Ori is and smiles.

OLD MAN (V.O.)Well, gravity is a funny thing, nowisnt it?

EXT. CHURCH STEPS - DAY

Looking cool as ever, Ori taps a button on his watch and anumbrella flips up out of Oris backpack. The balloons hitthe umbrella just in time, and multi-colored paint splashes

everywhere around him.


Niels looks at Signe and shrugs. They let the rest of thepaint-filled balloons fall over the edge of the roof.

EXT. CHURCH STEPS - DAY

The sky gets darker over the spot where Ori stands, fullycontent under his umbrella.

The church-goers all begin to exit the service, a barrage ofthe paint-filled balloons spatter all over the ground and onthe tops of church-goers heads.

A SCHOOL BELL RINGS in the distance.

(CONTINUED)


12/48

CONTINUED: 11.

Niels and Signe grab their backpacks and run to the back ofthe church roof where painter scaffolding is set up. Theyclimb down in hast, giggling.

SIGNEWho was he?

Ori walks away from the real-life Jackson Pollack paintingon the steps of the church. He limps down the steps andhikes down a sidewalk as his umbrella flaps a bit, gettingthe excess paint off and retires back into his backpack.

EXT. BACK OF CHURCH - DAY

Niels and Signe jump down from the scaffolding.

EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY

They run past Ori on the sidewalk, who limps along lookingdown and smirks a bit. Signe looks behind them running andblushes at Ori.

NIELSCmon Signe! Im like one tardyaway from a detention, I think ...whose to say.

Signe turns around and quickens the pace with Niels whoslaps his helmet on. They jump onto their motorcycle andspeed off to school.

EXT. AZTLN MIDDLE SCHOOL - DAY

Ori walks up to the school building holding with one arm aspiral notebook with the word TOP SECRET INVENTIONS writtenon the cover.

Ori stuffs the notebook in his backpack and then joins asingle file line of students getting off a bus. He walkswith them inside the school but breaks off to his locker. Hefiddles with the lock, looks around, smiles, and a smallpicking device comes out the side of his backpack. Itunlocks the locker and Ori puts a few books on the shelf.

THE BELL RINGS for first period. Ori looks around and whennobody is in the hallway anymore, he steps inside the lockerand closes the door.


13/48

12.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

He squeezes his way through the wallway, where there is adesk set up inside of the wall, as well as other referencebooks and materials for class. By the looks of the wallwayset up, Ori has been doing this for years. He grabs a pen

and notepad. He sits down at a

INT. LITERATURE CLASSROOM - DAY

The literature classroom is quiet as the students file in.MRS. KEPLER, a petite, middle-aged woman, sits on the edgeof her desk. She is holding up a copy of Twelfth Night byWilliam Shakespeare in front of her face and her eyes followthe last student to his seat.

MRS. KEPLER(in a bold voice and waving her

arms theatrically around)

Be not afraid of greatness: someare born great, some achievegreatness ..."

Niels climbs through an open window in the back. He slidesthrough the window successfully, but bumps into a stack ofbooks on a desk. The books all come toppling down on him.

MRS. KEPLER(noticing Niels)

... and some have greatness thrustupon them.

Niels is on the floor covered in a pile of books. Onefinally clunks over his helmet that hes still wearing.

Laughter permeates the room.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori looks bemused by Niels theatrics.


MRS. KEPLER(casually walking to the backof the room)

Oh, well, Im getting ahead ofmyself. That isnt said until ActIII.


14/48

13.

Mrs. Kepler uncovers Niels from the pile of books and wackshim over the head with one.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori is panicked. He rushes down the wallway through the

cafeteria, grabs a piece of toast and a hard-boiled eggthrough holes in the kitchen wall, and makes his way to awall behind the library.

INT. LIBRARY - DAY

A librarian sits at her desk and stamps books. Suddenlybehind her, Oris hand is seen through a hole behind somebooks and he takes a copy of Twelfth Night through the wallfrom the shelf.


MRS. KEPLERSo can anyone tell me theirfavorite part from Act I?

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori sneaks back through the Wallway, gleaning through pagesand pages of the book, and finally comes to the end.


MRS. KEPLERAnyone ... Niels?

Niels gives a great huff and takes off his helmet revealinghis helmet hair. He takes his goggles off too, revealing adust tan around his eyes. He folds his hands nicely on hisdesk, noticing a couple painted, and folds them in his lap.

MRS. KEPLERLets hear it from our favorite

little daredevil. Niels, pleasetell us your favorite scene.

SNICKERING from his classmates.

NIELS(trying to sound studious)

Well ... I thought the sword fightswere quite engrossing.

(CONTINUED)


15/48

CONTINUED: 14.

More SNICKERING and LAUGHS from the class.

MRS. KEPLER(sighs)

Well, at least thats in the book.Good guess, Niels. Anyone else?

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori raises his hand, but nobody notices him because hes inthe wallway.


Mrs. Kepler motions to Niels to stand up with her hands.

MRS. KEPLER

Come, come. Be not afraid ofgreatness, my dear Niels.

She and Niels walk back to her desk and she digs around inone of the drawers. She takes out a plastic sword.

MRS. KEPLER(handing the sword to Niels)

Well, since no one seems to havedone the reading, it looks likewell have to act out as much as wecan before class is over.

Niels takes the sword and starts to fence with it andsmiles.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori smiles, too. He misses being in school and all the joylearning brings him.


MRS. KEPLERNow I need a Sebastian, a Viola,and one very disdainful Malvolio.

No student raises his/her hand. Niels continues to play withthe sword.

(CONTINUED)


16/48

CONTINUED: 15.

MRS. KEPLERNobody sign up too fast.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori watches the scene with great excitement. Niels and theother students start putting on costumes of the charactersand put on a grand show.


They recreate the crashing of Violas ship. A sword fightensues, getting a little too violent, as the principal walksby the window and shakes his head at Mrs. Kepler. They onlyget to the Act II before THE BELL RINGS.

MRS. KEPLER

Well it looks as though youll justhave to read Act II tonight. Greatjob, my little actors!

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Its time for second period, and Ori squeezes down anotherwallway to a hole looking into the Physical ScienceClassroom.

INT. PHYSICAL SCIENCE CLASSROOM - DAY

The room has planets and stars, miniature cellularstructures hanging from the ceiling and otherstrange-looking microorganisms floating in aquariums. Theprofessor, MR. ACKERMAN, is fiddling with a telescope thatspointed out the window. He is a well-kept, young professorthat has his tendencies to geek out at cosmic entities.

He looks through the telescope at an approaching rain cloud,and pulls away, rubbing his eyes. He looks at a smallweather meter in his hand. He looks again through thetelescope and doesnt even notice that his class is allthere waiting for him.

MR. ACKERMAN(to himself)

Strange ...

He turns back around and is startled at the sight of hisclass all looking at him intently.

(CONTINUED)


17/48

CONTINUED: 16.

MR. ACKERMAN(still distracted by theweather outside)

... um, strange interactions inweather systems well be learningabout today. Hurricanes, tornadoes,

the whole bit ...

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori looks puzzled at Mr. Ackermans mannerisms. He knowsthat its unbecoming of him.


MR. ACKERMANWell lets take role then. Uh, is

Aidan here.

AIDAN, a quiet girl with frazzled hair and glasses in theback raises her hand.

MR. ACKERMANWhat about Stevie?

STEVIE, a big and brutish boy raises his hand while talkingto a girl seated next to him.

MR. ACKERMANHey, heard it was a blowout last

night in the fourth ...

Mr. Ackerman, trying to act cool with Stevie, notices thathe isnt paying any attention.

MR. ACKERMANGo ... Gophers ... wait, is thatwhat we are?

Aidan shakes her head.

MR. ACKERMANGo ... team ... go. Okay, so howabout Ori. Is Ori here today?


18/48

17.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori raises his hand forcefully, like maybe Mr. Ackermancould see him through the wall.


MR. ACKERMAN(disappointed expression)

Thought itd be worth a try.

AIDAN(sympathetic to Mr. Ackerman)

Thats almost three months now.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori frowns, having no real connection to the school, thething that loves the most.


MR. ACKERMANI know.

An open seat is left in the room, just in case Ori comesback.

MR. ACKERMAN

Well lets get on with it then.

VARIOUS CLASSES GO ON WITH ORI TRYING TO PARTICIPATE THROUGHTHE HOLES IN THE WALLS.

INT. CAFETERIA - DAY

THE BELL RINGS for lunch, and through holes in the walls,Ori takes a few items out each students tray as they waitin line to pay at lunch.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori takes out a pair of goggles and a white lab coat. Heturns to access a small Bunsen burner and a number ofbeakers hes set up in the wallway.


19/48

18.

INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - DAY

The students light their burners and listen to the teacher.A question from a girl in the back of the room. Orirecognizes her. Its Signe, the girl who helped drop thepaint-filled balloons off the church that morning.

Ori is so distracted that he doesnt notice his lab coatsleeve is being set on fire by the Bunsen burner. Smokebegins to billow throughout the wallway. Ori scrambles. Hestarts to mix up a concoction, coughing at the smoke thatsbeginning to rise and seep through the hole in the ChemistryLab.

With hast, he finishes the mixture and pours it over thefire.

The fire is out. Relieved, Ori straightens his lab jacketand burnt sleeve, but ... the FIRE ALARM BLARES.

INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - DAY

The teacher shuffles the students out of the classroom andout to the courtyard.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Lines of students holding up a peace sign and the otherindex over their mouths, signaling that they are being quietand respectful to the teachers during this fire.

INT. WALLWAY - DAY

Ori shuffles through the wallway. Every classroom has a holeand a desk set up in the wallway so that Ori can attendclasses.

INT. CAFETERIA - DAY

He jumps through secret doors and passages and then throughthe cafeteria. He takes a juice box, slurps it down andcrushes it, throwing it on the floor, and continues onthrough another hole.


20/48


21/48

20.

EXT. COURTYARD - DAY

Ori gets lost in the groups of students. He looks aroundsuspiciously for cover, knowing that he shouldnt be there.

EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY

Ori limps over to the swing set where Signe is sitting, andsits on the swing next to Signe. She smiles at him, but helooks to the ground. Then Niels walk up to ORI, looking alltough in his daredevil outfit. Ori looks up, smiles, andsays nothing.

SIGNEI know you.

NIELSMe too.

ORIThe chances of that balloon hittingme was less than getting struck bylightening in the daytime.

Niels climbs up on top of the swing set and hangs upsidedown. Signe stands nervously at a comfortable distance fromORI.

NIELSYou would think its so darn hotoutside theydve wanted to cool

off. Ori, right?

ORI(staring at the ground)

I knew it was too early in the yearfor a lunar eclipse ... um yes, myname is Ori.

NIELSIm Niels. This is my lil sis,Signe. We go to the same school.Or, we used to, at least. I was inyour PE class. Somethings wrongwith your leg.

Signe jabs Niels in his side. Niels makes a silent "ow" withhis mouth.

Ori looks down to the ground and doesnt respond. He is socomfortable in his own worlds hes created, that hes forgotwhat its like to have real human interactions anymore.

(CONTINUED)


22/48

CONTINUED: 21.

Signe lifts his chin up so that he doesnt look at theground.

SIGNE(trying to change the subject)

You go to the library a lot now?

ORISomething like that.

NIELSWhy arent you in school.

SIGNE(embarrassed that Niels asked)

Niels!

NIELSWhat?

ORIIts okay, really.

Signe looks at Ori sympathetically, while Niels hops downfrom the wingset after examining him and crosses his arms atOri, seeing that theres a weird connection brewing withSigne and Ori.

ORIMy father lost his farm to the oilcompany.

Signe and Niels look at each other with big eyes.

ORIMother left us both, back to thecoast. Stormed out of here quitetheatrically.

NIELSWhy are you here then?

ORII have my own little worlds I livein. I couldnt give this one up,even if my father couldnt affordto send me here.


23/48

22.


Ori sees Mr. Ackerman in the distance looking around thelines of students. He gets distracted by Mrs. Kepler, who hehas a crush on. He awkwardly struggled between finding Oriand talking with Mrs. Kepler.

EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY

NIELSLets get down to brass tax. Myquestion is, why didnt you moveout of the way of my ...

Signe jabs Niels in his side.

NIELS... sorry, our balloons?

ORIWell ... I realized that it meantby some divine intervention, wewere supposed to meet each other.

Signe smiles.

NIELSAre you mocking me? I cant tell ifhes mocking me.

Signe starts inspecting ORIs cane.

SIGNE(defensive of Ori)

Hes not mocking you.

NIELSSo whats wrong with your leg?

ORI(bluntly)

Paralytic polio, since birth.

NIELSCan they fix it?

ORISome things we dont have themedicine for. But Id like tochange that, one day.

(CONTINUED)


24/48


25/48

CONTINUED: 24.

SIGNE(blushing)

Me too.

Ori waves his cane around and taps his feet on the ground abit.

ORI(smiling)

Mine happens to be of the GeneKelly variety.

NIELS(to Ori)

Gene ... who?

ORI looks up to a patch of rain clouds coming toward theschool.

ORIAn American in Paris?

Niels shakes his head no.

NIELSWait, youre going to Paris?

ORICmon ... Singing in the Rain?

Niels kicks some dust with his boot and lets out anelongated whistle.


Mr. Ackerman finally pulls away from Mrs. Kepler, and Orisees Mr. Ackerman looking through a group of 12-year-oldstudents huddled together. Frustrated, he doesnt find Ori,but keeps looking.

Ori turns around and squints at a group of trees behind theplayground.

ORIIm not supposed to be here.

SIGNE(with fascination)

But youre here.

(CONTINUED)


26/48

CONTINUED: 25.

ORIAh, technicalities, my dear.

Mr. Ackerman begins to speed walks toward them.

ORIWelp, its been nice chatting with

you both.

Ori stands and forgets to take his backpack still on theground. He limps away to the dense forest behind theplayground.

NIELS(curious as to where Orisgoing)

Hey! You forgot your ...

Ori doesnt hear Niels and continues on to the forest.

NIELS... backpack.

SIGNEI love dramatic exits ...

Ori looks up over the forest to see the looming rain cloudsand a BRIGHT LIGHT emitting a pale green over the forest.With nowhere else to go, Ori starts to limp quickly towardthe BRIGHT LIGHT. He looks back at the two.

Niels and Signe look at one another. They then look at theBRIGHT LIGHT that Ori is following into the woods.

NIELSWell he cant go without hisbackpack. Its like his sidekick,or something.

SIGNE(winks at Niels)

Gotta have a sidekick.

Niels immediately feels a couple rain drops on his hands.

SIGNE (V.O.)(running after Ori)This could be something great.

NIELS(looking up at the raincloudsoverhead and yelling to Signe)

Why does everyone keep sayingthings are great?

(CONTINUED)


27/48


28/48

27.

EXT. WOODS - DAY

The skies darken as Ori ventures through the thick trees. Helooks back a few times to make sure that he lost them. Therains intensify as he goes further and further into theforest. He presses the button on his watch to flip open theumbrella in his backpack. But alas, he forgot it at the

playground. He reaches behind him.

Ori has a sudden look of feeling lost in the world.

But then a light slowly glows through the forest in front ofhim. Curious, he limps slowly toward it. But a few steps in,a CRASH OF THUNDER from above, a BIG FLASH and a tree snapsin half. He gets out of the way of the falling tree just intime, but a subsequent flash flood starts sweeping theground beneath him and carries Ori deep into the forest.

Tides of water rush toward them at extreme rates. Hestossed around, struggling to get to some higher ground. The

rush of water takes him off a small cliff. Ori swings hiscane around and clasps a breaking branch just before heflies off the edge.

ORI(to himself)

Well played.

EXT. WOODS - DUSK

Signe and Niels have been searching through the forest withOris backpack for about half an hour before Signe seesOris cane hanging from the tree branch.

SIGNE(to Niels)

I found Oris cane!

Signe hears a moaning. Then she spots Ori clasping the endof the cane.

SIGNE(to Niels)

And I think I found Ori!

Ori is caked in mud and barely recognizable.

SIGNEThough I cant be certain.

Niels arrives at the scene. Ori is struggling to hold on tohis cane, which is barely attached to a loose branch thatsweakening every second that goes by.

(CONTINUED)


29/48

CONTINUED: 28.

SIGNEHey!

ORIHey yourself ...

SIGNEWhatcha doin down there?

ORI(sardonically)

Having a pool party ... whatdyathink?

Niels waves Oris backpack around.

NIELSWeve got your bag!

ORIHows the back support?

NIELS(to Signe)

I can never tell if hes mocking me.. Is he mocking me?

SIGNE(to Ori)

Howd you get down there?

ORI

Well this wasnt something Iplanned!

NIELSBecause if it was, youd mostlikely have something in yourbackpack to help you out, right?

Ori thinks for a moment, and then has an ah-ha moment.Another CRASH of lightening.

ORI(flinching from thelightening)

... right.

SIGNEA bit late for the umbrella, huh?

(CONTINUED)


30/48


31/48

CONTINUED: 30.

NIELSBut I mean, why an inflatable whalein the first place?

Signe nudges Niels in the side.

ORINever know when youll have a poolparty.

Ori winks at Signe, who blushes. Signe sits down with Orifor a moment. Ori regains his composure.

ORIBefore my father left, he told methat theres something out theretugging on the whole earth.Invisible strings that pull ussideways, all the time, then back

another way, toward the things wehave to do. We can never see whosepulling us, but we know that oneday theyll let go of our strings,and let us dance on our own.

NIELS(to Signe)

Hes so weird.

Niels hand twitches again. He tries to hold them together tokeep still but the jolt goes to the other hand and shockshim, traveling all the way to his helmet, making his hair

stand slightly and then flatten out.

SIGNE(to Niels)

Hes weird ... alright spark plug.

Signe puts an arm around Ori and rubs his shoulder.

Niels tries to put a hand on Oris other shoulder, but hishand jolts again with another spark, and Signe shoes himaway.

The BRIGHT LIGHT glows again in the distance. A brilliantcerulean and indigo. The three of them look forward to thelight. The rains come down again, and they see the onlyclearing is in the area where the BRIGHT LIGHT is comingfrom. Signe helps to stand Ori up with his cane. He standsup straighter than hes ever stood.

(CONTINUED)


32/48


33/48

CONTINUED: 32.

THE WOMANSome of these smell likebutterscotch.

Oris pain levels out and he sniffs the tree.

ORI(surprised)Huh ...

THE WOMAN(her eyes wide)

Wouldnt it be a good idea if theyhad put candy inside of thesethings? I mean, if its going tosmell like butterscotch anyway.

The woman continues to hum THE FAMILIAR SONG and walksaround the tree, inspecting Ori now.

THE WOMANFeels pretty good to stand withoutthat thing, huh?

The woman looks at the cane on the ground and then back atOri.

Ori wiggles his left toes. The woman walks around Ori somemore, humming that FAMIAR SONG. Ori taps to the beat of thehum.

Signe and Niels are still on the sidelines.

SIGNE (V.O.)Outstanding ...

NIELSI would have to agree.

SIGNE(to Niels, puzzled)

Agree to what?

Niels closes the glass screen on his helmet and makes afrustrated face.

Ori starts to stand with the help of the leaning against thetree. He stands unsure if his foot is going to collapse orwhat.

A euphoric feeling overcomes Ori as he straightens his legagain.

(CONTINUED)


34/48

CONTINUED: 33.

Niels and Signe are standing off the the side, letting Orido the talking.

SIGNEWho is she?

NIELS(not impressed)I think one might call her aruffian ...

SIGNE (V.O.)If shes a ruffian, then youreClark Kent.

NIELS(to Signe)

Whose Clark Kent?

SIGNEHowd you know I called you ClarkKent?

Niels shakes his head and hits it a few times. Then he putshis helmet back on. His index fingers twitch and sparkbriefly as he looks at the woman.

NIELS(to himself)

Weve got a glowing Willie Wonkaand I am hearing Signes voice inmy head ... great.

SIGNE(to Niels)

You think he knows her?

NIELSI wouldnt be surprised if thegypsys got an inflatable whale inher backpack, too.

Ori starts to walk away.

SIGNEOri?

ORI(talking behind him)

Just give me a second ... or two.

(CONTINUED)


35/48

CONTINUED: 34.

Ori walks to an area where no one can see him. He does alittle tap dance but still feels a little shaky with thenewly acquired feeling in his leg. He tries to walk furtherfrom the group, but a large pain strikes down his leg. Hegrimaces and backtracks, and the pain goes away.

ORIAh ...

But the pain goes away when he walks closer to THE WOMAN.

He speaks quietly to himself on the walk back.

ORI(to himself)

Perhaps there are scientificexplanations for Moses parting RedSea for the Israelites. And for theplague of locusts from the skies.

And the frogs. All a part of thedesign ... all part of the test.

ORI doesnt say anything to THE WOMAN when he returns. Hejust pulls out a small red light meter from his backpack andstraps it to his wrist. He then walks around her andobserves her antics.

ORIIt rained frogs ...

He starts waving the light meter around her, looking forsome sort of reading.

ORII mean ... how can you explainthat?

He looks at his watch and the UV radiation is astronomical.

Signe walks up to the woman and taps her on the shoulder.

SIGNE(to THE WOMAN)

Youre not from here, are you?

WOMAN(whose following ORI with hereyes)

If you mean the forest, then no.But dont get me wrong, I quitelike the forest. There are songsout here.

(CONTINUED)


36/48

CONTINUED: 35.

NIELSOh boy ... let me give it a whirl.Mame ...(he taps her on theshoulder, but gets a spark from herthat shocks him) Ow! ...(composure) okay ... where ... do... you ... come ... from?

THE WOMAN smiles and keeps staring at ORI.

WOMAN(mouths back silentlyincomprehensible words and veryslowly what Niels said and laughsat him)

NIELSOkay, time to go ...

ORI

(after taking a final readingwith his watch)

Wait ...

ORI(whispering to Niels andSigne)

Shes choke full of radiation, andher core temperature is way belowanything could live with. At least,that we discovered so far. And Imnot reading any UV frequency thatwe have here ... on earth, at

least.

NIELSNot to mention shes coo-coo ka-ka.

SIGNE(intrigued)

She did fix your leg, Ori. How didshe ...

ORIYeah, well ... I dont have ananswer for that quite yet.

NIELSUm, AND she did shock me, rememberthat one? And ever since that stormshowed up (he tries to take off hishelmet, but its stuck on) ... Icant seem to get my head straight.

(CONTINUED)


37/48


38/48

CONTINUED: 37.

They start to walk speedily back the way they came throughthe forest. The rains get heavier and they realize they mustspeed up.

They book it out of the dense forest and into a largeclearing.

WOMANIts good to see you, Ori.

Ori looks perplexed at her. She looks down at his feet, andOri just realizes that hes been running with the group thewhole time. Ori smiles and runs ahead of the three toward alarge farm plot in the distance.

EXT. SUGAR CANE FIELDS - DUSK

Ori and the group runs through the rain. These are Orisfathers old sugar cane fields. They pass under a fence with

a sign that reads: NO TRESPASSING

Signe looks to Ori.

SIGNE(yelling through the winds)

Where are we going?

ORIThrough my fathers cane fields. Wecan take shelter in the old cellar.

Signe reads the sign further: LAND OWNED BY FOX OIL COMPANY.

She doesnt question any more and follows the rest of thegroup through the fields.

EXT. FARM - DUSK

After running across the field in the soaking rain, theycome across a cellar near an old run down barn. Oriunlatches the cellar door and they all walk down into adark, humid passageway.

INT. CELLAR TUNNEL - DUSK

Ori slams the door to the cellar and walks past the group.

He uses his red light meter to find his way to another doordown the hallway. The group follows as he opens the door andthey travel far down into the depths of the cellar.

(CONTINUED)


39/48

CONTINUED: 38.

NIELSIs this, like, your laboratory orsomething.

ORIOr something ...

SIGNE(amazed by ORI)You have a laboratory?

ORI(trying to sound charming anddashing)

Its much more than a laboratory,my dear. Much more.

NIELS(rolls his eyes)

Well work on that.

Ori finds a candle. He notices Signe picks up a box ofmatches and struggles with lighting one.

ORIHere, let me help you.

Ori strikes the match once and lights the candle. A briefromantic moment between Signe and Ori, but Niels breaks itup by blowing out the candle.

NIELS(irked by the chemistrybetween his sister and Ori)

Shall we venture to the laboratory...

THE GROUP FOLLOWS ORI INTO THE DEPTHS AS ORI LIGHTS CANDLESON THE WALL ALONG THE WAY.

NIELS(to ORI)

You go through this ant farm everyday?

ORII have an affinity for narrowspaces.

NIELS(getting impatient)

Does this go to a potato cellar atthe center of the Earth?

(CONTINUED)


40/48

CONTINUED: 39.

ORINuclear fallout shelter back whenparanoia hit the country. Now I canuse it for my studies.

The woman walks behind all of them. Every time she passes acandle that Ori lights, the flame turns blue.

SIGNE(to Ori)

So where is your father?

ORIAfter he got kicked off the farm afew months back, he headed east forsome work.

NIELSSo youre squatting here now?

ORISquatting is a relative term.

Ori ducks under a low beam, and the tunnel gets smaller andsmaller. Niels hits his head on the beam, recovers, and putshis helmet back on.

ORIId call it a scientific residency.

NIELS(skeptical)

Right.

Signe nudges him in the side.

NIELSI mean, is that right?

They enter into a room with higher ceilings and ORI lights afew more candles as they enter. The room is filled withORIs experiments on tables, hanging from ceilings. Variousrobots rolls around the floor, some complete, others havetheir gears and innerworkings exposed. Signe tinkers aroundwith a train system that is routed all around the room.

ORIAlright, you all stay here and,well, dont touch too much. I mean,a lot of these things dont havethe right amount of power tofunction yet. I have to grab a fewitems from the back.

(CONTINUED)


41/48

CONTINUED: 40.

Niels doesnt mind what Ori said. He starts messing with allkinds of gadgets. None of them work at first, but when Nielswalks away, the robots and gadgets all turn on eventuallybecause of his glitchy spark. Niels looks behind him and isweirded out. He walks away and spots something else moreintriguing.

In Niels line of sight he sees a closed off area in thecorner. A large dusty sheet is covering a huge apparatus.Niels looks to see when Ori goes into an adjacent room andwanders over to the secret INVENTION.

The woman follows behind Ori.

WOMANOri, theres something you dont...

But she gets distracted by an aquarium full of green glowing

algae. ORI goes into a cabinet and finds a pair of thick,robotic glasses and puts them on.

WOMAN... know.

INT. BACK ROOM - NIGHT

Ori walks into a room. He fumbles through a number of toolsand tinctures on the walls. There is an old black and whiteprojector sitting on a table facing a screen.

The woman walks in and the projector kicks on and the reelsstart moving.

Ori is startled, but settles in to the scene on theprojector. The screen is grainy and it turns on with thevolume low. Its the classic scene from Singing in the Rainis playing on loop where he swings around the lamp post inthe streets. He is singing THE FAMILIAR SONG.

ORINever been able to get that thingto work since the power shut off.

Both Ori and the woman are infatuated by the scene. The twostand there and watch the scene for a while.

Ori taps his left foot along with the FAMILIAR SONG.

ORI(laughing to himself)

Such a simple thing.

(CONTINUED)


42/48

CONTINUED: 41.

He breaks his gaze at the screen.

WOMAN(looking at his leg)

Its not so simple for some.

Ori gathers a few more items from the shelves and looks atthe woman in a curious manner.

ORI(seeing that shes worried)

Come with me ... please ...

The woman doesnt go anywhere and stares at the projection.

ORI... or do what you will.

The woman comes to attention.

WOMAN(saying warmly to Ori)

Lina.

She reaches out her hand to him.

ORIThats your name, huh?

LINALina.

ORIWell Lina, do you mind if we helpour helmeted friend in the otherroom?

LINANiels.

ORIYes ... Niels.

Lina takes another look at the projection on her way out ofthe room, and finally follows Ori out.

INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT

Ori sets up a few intricate pieces of equipment. He fiddleswith a pair of techy-looking goggles.

(CONTINUED)


43/48

CONTINUED: 42.

ORII measured that big light thatsurrounded the storm. Nothing onthe wavelength that we can measurewith my tools, at least.

Niels knocks his helmet.

NIELSEnglish, please.

ORISo ... with our visualspectrum, humans can typicallyonly see 390 to 700 nanometers.

Ori straps on the pair of high-tech goggles over his eyes.He looks all around the room at the difference wavelengthsof light being emitted from each living organism: Oris

hand, the algae in the aquarium, Signe and Niels, and thenhe turns to look at Lina.

ORIBees can see the ultraviolet lightof certain flowers, allowing themto get the nectar they need tosurvive.

Lina, still radiating in light, is entranced by the aquariumfull of various algae again. ORI looks at the woman throughthe glasses, and shes glowing in colors that are differentthan what saw with the other living organisms in the room --

colors hes never seen before.

ORIIt makes me wonder what light weneed to see to survive, and whatlight were never going to be ableto see?

Lina looks at a small amoeba thats growing in all kinds ofdirections as she tries to touch it.

ORI walks up to her and sees what shes doing.

Lina doesnt answer. He inspects her curiousity. Lina turnsto him and gives a little smirk. But theyre bothinterrupted by Niels, who uncovered Oris mysteriousINVENTION in the corner as his glitchy spark suddenly turnsit on.

(CONTINUED)


44/48

CONTINUED: 43.

ORIHow did you ...

NIELSMagic touch?

ORIThere are faulty mechanisms inhere. Ive been trying to get it towork for the past two years.

THE MACHINE coughs and weezes with the dust from thecovering.

ORIThis wasnt supposed to be reveileduntil the Doctor Edwin BravasShowcase of Magnificent Splendors.

NIELSWhat about my head?

ORIYour head is what made this thingwork. I think ...

Ori flips a long lever, and the gears shake and the pipesrattle inside.

SIGNEWhat does it do, Ori?

ORIMuch like us here in the flatlands,the Ancient Romans had waterissues. They subsequently developedan aqueduct system that centralizedtheir clean drinking water.

SIGNEBut the water wells are all driedup from the drilling.

Liquids start to filter in and out of THE INVENTION throughvarious pipeways. Ori hits a few more buttons and THEINVENTION shakes again.

ORIEasy there ... now, just as ourbees, this machine is able todetect these UV rays of light andmaipulate them in such a way thatwhatever source you are using can

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


45/48

CONTINUED: 44.

ORI (contd)be purified. But this goes muchmuch further than that.

Niels hair starts to stand on his head and pops the helmetright off. He passes out on the floor.

SIGNENiels!

ORIHes fine, I think. Give him someroom.

Niels wakes up briefly and is incredibly dehydrated.

NIELSWater ...

SIGNEDo you have any water Ori? Hes sopale!

THE INVENTION begins to filter the crude contents of thewater out and pours a somewhat fresh-looking cup of waterinto a glass.

ORIMoment, my dear. In a moment.

Once full, Ori grabs it and gives it to Signe for Niels. Hedrinks up and becomes relatively lucid again.

SIGNE(relieved)

So where do you get your water tofilter in the first place?

ORINow for purposes of Doctor EdwinBravas Showcase of MagnificentSplendors, I believe that I canmanipulate the technology in such away to be able to purify the foodswe eat, the air we breathe. Thismachine will essentially filter outany toxins, bacteria and inorganicmaterial that we put in our waterand food sources.

SIGNEDoctor who?

(CONTINUED)


46/48

CONTINUED: 45.

ORIOnly the worlds greatest inventor!

Signe shakes her head no. Niels continues to inspect theglass as his tummy rumbles a bit.

ORIDoctor Brava travels the worldlooking for the leading inventorsof our time. With the winnings fromthe competition, this inventioncould not only help my father getthe money to buy back his farm fromthe oil company, but it would be acure for a lot of our hunger andclean water issues that we havearound the world!

Signe frowns at the thought of the oil company.

SIGNEOri, theres something I need totell you about your farm ...

Niels stands up and runs to the back room. Niels THROWs UP.

LINA(half asleep)

Pure resources for the planet.

ORIExactly -- the world will be like

it was during

LINA(to herself, in sync with Ori)

... creation.

ORI... creation.

LINA(Lina sits down next to THEMACHINE)

Its great, Ori.

Niels comes back and inspects the glass he drank from. Nielslooks alarmed.

ORIThe problem is that Ive never beenable to figure out a way to makethe purity last. Theres the

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


47/48


48/48

the wind & the rain

Documents