FATHOMS - SimplyScripts SimplyScripts | Free ... · Web viewDAVID CONNORS sits at an onboard...

FATHOMS(alt. title: ‘TOMORROW’)

BRENT SALTZMAN5-6-2004

1 EXT. DEEP UNDERWATER—DAY

All we can see is DARK BLUE, with large, black forms, ROCKS. A DIVER (JAMES) swims along what seems like a small underwater canyon. James in dressed in a red scuba suit, with a large plastic mask and a microphone hooked up.

We hear a VOICE (DR. DAVID CONNORS) over James’ radio in his mask.

DAVIDHow’re we doing down there, James?

James ADJUST his mask and grabs hold of a rock formation.

JAMESUm, were fine, were fine. Hey is it just me or is it getting hot down here?

2 EXT. DAVID’S BOAT—WATER’S SURFACE—SAME TIME

The SUN is shining as DR. DAVID CONNORS sits at an onboard DESK. The BOAT is large, like a charter boat, with a top level and large platform-like deck. On the platform is a desk with several video monitors and different wires protruding out the back.

David is not too old, but not too young, more middle-aged, with brown parted hair and a slightly rugged face. He is dressed in a blue-collared shirt and beige khakis.

He STANDS up from the desk and types on a white KEYBOARD.

FOCUS ON:

ONE MONITOR shows a BAR GRAPH.

FOCUS ON:

One graph is about three inches high and a greenish-orange color. A small number next to the bar reads 68º.

David presses a button on a SMALL microphone laying on the desk. He speaks into it.

DAVIDNo, just a few degrees above normal. It’s a hot day, the sun’ll warm up the water a bit.

3 EXT. DEEP UNDERWATER

James responds.

JAMESJust checking.

4 EXT. DAVID’S BOAT

Connors walks off screen.

FOCUS ON:

The BAR on the graph showing 68º rises by a PIXEL. The number changes to 72º. SUDDENLY, the bar rises again and the number changes to 74º. The temperature begins to rise even faster.

Connors walks back over to the monitor.

He looks at the rising thermometer and hits the screen, thinking it has to be a mistake.

DAVIDWhat the…?

The bar is turning a bright red and the number reads 118º and continues to rise.

David SLAMS down on the microphone button and yells into the receiver.

DAVIDJames, surface, now!

He releases the button and listens to nothing but STATIC whisper over the speaker.

He presses the button again and yells back into the microphone.

DAVIDJames! James can you hear me? James!

We hear a SPLASH off screen.

David RUNS over to the edge of the deck and looks down into the water,

FOCUS ON:

The temperature on the monitor reads 223º.

DAVID’S P.O.V.

The water is BUBBLING UP in a small space about ten feet from the boat.

We hear ANOTHER SPLASH.

David looks over to see another circle of bubbling water.

Then another, and ANOTHER.

PAN—WIDE SHOT

5 EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN

We see David’s boat sitting in the ocean. Surrounding it are hundreds of small bubbling circles, like boiling water.

Stretching for farther than we can see, THOUSANDS of circles of boiling water can be seen.

We hear DAVID.

DAVID(to himself)My god.

CUT TO:

6 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—DAY

The L.A. streets are bustling with people. Tourists wearing Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts walk around snapping pictures. The HOLLYWOOD SIGN casts a shadow upon the green hill. Venders stand in front of concession stands and souvenir carts wildly shouting at tourists trying to sell their goods.

Los Angeles is truly the city of angels.

7 EXT./INT. MARIO’S PIZZA—DAY

On one side of the many streets is a small PIZZA SHOP on the bottom of a TALL BUILDING, with a cartoon chef painted on the large glass window.

The inside is small, a few tables to sit down, and a large counter top for ordering.

There is hardly any business today.

An OLDER MAN (MARIO) stands behind the counter. He is wearing a plain white shirt and apron. He watches a SMALL TELEVISION hanging from the ceiling in one corner.

FOCUS ON:

The TELEVISION shows a basketball game involving the LOS ANGELES LAKERS.

A YOUNG MAN (JOHN) comes running out from the kitchen, which can be seen behind the counter, as a cluttered array of ovens and racks.

John is wearing the same getup as Mario, only he is younger, with brown thick hair.

He too looks up at the screen.

JOHN(referring to Lakers)How they doin’?

MARIOHow’re they always doin’? The next time the Lakers lose, give me a call.

John laughs, then takes off his apron and throws it on a rack. He puts a red polo shirt over his flour-stained white t-shirt.

JOHNHey, Mario, you owe me a paycheck.

Mario grunts, then walks behind the cash register and opens it.

MARIO(as he counts money)You’ve worked here for five years, since you were eleven. You never worried about getting paid before, why the change all the sudden?

JOHNWell, me and my older brother, as soon as I graduate were catchin’ a train to Manhattan, you know, start our own business or somethin’.

MARIOKid, you live in Los Angeles, what would make you wanna leave?

JOHNWell, Heather came back.

Mario hands him a handful of folded bills. John pockets them.

MARIOYour sister, I thought she walked out on you guys?

JOHNShe did, and now, after eleven months of not callin’ or writin’ and never comin’ to visit, she comes back ‘cause she got in a fight with her mom. Now her and her friends come over and act like they own the place. My room gets raided, my money goes missing, and my dad loves it. You see, he wanted a daughter when Chris was born, and was disappointed again when I was came along. So ten years ago when he got Heather, she’s royalty and me and Chris are two homeless guys moochin’ off him.

MARIO(sighs)I’ve known your father for a long time, kid. I know he aint the easiest man to talk to.

He sighs and reaches back into the cash register, he pulls out a slip of bills and hands them to John.

MARIOPut that in your stash.

John smiles.

He pockets the money and heads towards the door.

JOHNThank-you, sir. Hey, I’ll see you in the mornin’.

Mario POINTS at him.

MARIOFirst thing.

JOHNGotcha!

John exits the small pizza shop, we hear a LITTLE BELL which hangs above the door.

FOCUS ON:

Mario LAUGHS.

8 INT. COURTHOUSE CORRIDOR—DAY

TITLE: WASHINGTON D.C.

The CORRIDOR of the courthouse bustles with scurrying men in business suits and carrying briefcases. The

corridor itself is labeled with marbled floors, intricate wooden walls, and beautifully crafted doors leading to the different rooms. SECURITY GUARDS walk around with black pants and blue shirts, there badges glimmering.

DAVID CONNORS walks down on one side of the corridor, a WOMAN (ROSE) walks next to him. He is dressed in a blue suit with deep red tie. ROSE wears a woman’s business suit.

They both STOP in front of a door. They face each other.

DAVIDI wish there were no such thing as second thoughts.

ROSEYeah, well, within these walls the only thing you don’t have seconds in is chances.

DAVIDRose, what if I’m wrong?

ROSEDavid, what if you’re right?

David NODS in silent agreement.

9 INT. BOARDROOM—COURT HOUSE

The boardroom is about mid-sized, with a large circular table. MEN sit around the table, of different ethnicities and all wearing beautifully crafted business suits. There is a small FLAG in front of each man, the flag depicts which country they represent.

A PODIUM stands along the circle.

A small MAN dressed in a business suit walks up to the podium and addresses the EMBASSADORS.

MANOkay, ladies and gentlemen, next on the agenda is the president’s science advisor Mr. David Connors, who also serves as an ocean geologist and just got back from a trip to the coast of Yokohama.

The man looks over at David, who SITS patiently in a corner of the room in a chair.

MANDr. Connors?

The man steps down from the podium.

David gets up from his seat and walks over to it.

The ambassadors APPLAUD.

David sighs and SPEAKS.

DAVIDThank you, for lending me your time, it truly is, an honor, to speak before the representatives of various ambassadors.(a beat)Um, as was mentioned earlier, I just recently returned from the Yokohama coastline. I was approximately-

He abruptly STOPS mid-sentence.

The lights in the boardroom GO OUT and a PROJECTION of a map of the globe appears on the back wall of the boardroom. Heads turn in the room to look at the map.

David produces a LASER POINTER.

FOCUS ON:

A small RED DOT of the laser pointer appears to be encircling an area of the Pacific near Japan.

DAVIDI was just about here. 200 miles from the coast of Yokohama. It was there, that me and my assistant, Mr. James Parker, God rest his soul, discovered a large string of underwater volcanoes.

Chatter starts to fill the room as ambassadors start to talk about. One GERMAN AMBASSADOR raises his hand as the room goes silent.

GERMAN AMBASSADOR(with accent)Dr. Connors, we are not all scientific scholars here, but isn’t this a common occurrence?

DAVIDNot like this-

David is interrupted mid-speech by the AMERICAN AMBASSADOR.

AMERICAN AMBASSADORWhat makes these occurrences so important, Dr. Connors?

David stops for a second, staring at the map. He points the laser pointer at the Philippines, and then drags it slowly up to the northern tip of Japan.

DAVIDWe are looking at an 800 mile of volcanoes ready to erupt and possibly the shape of our planet. The magma flow and the hardening by the water will form a continent running from the Philippines to Japan, that is, if they’re still around.

The room ERUPTS in chatter, like reporters at a press conference. One AMBASSADOR stands up, his face evident of confusion.

AMBASSADORDr. Connors, I don’t understand. How do you know that these volcanoes are active?

DAVIDNot only are they active, but they are ready to erupt.

Now the room really EXPLODES. The faces of some ambassadors look angry, others frustrated, some looking confused. The American Ambassador doesn’t seem too effected.

He speaks as the crowd goes SILENT.

AMERICAN AMBASSADORWhat evidence do you have to suggest that these volcanoes are ready to erupt?

All heads turn towards Connors.

He speaks softly.

DAVIDDuring my excursion to the Yokohama coastline, my assistant James decided to take a seismic reading underwater. (a beat)He never came back up.(another beat)While he was down there, the water temperature rose from 68º to nearly 500º, and who knows what it’s risen to now.Those volcanoes are ready to go off, and when they do, that’ll be the least of our problems.

RANDOM AMBASSADORI am confused.

DAVID

When these volcanoes erupt, we will undoubtedly have a new continent on our hands. And when that happens…

David WALKS OFF the podium. He travel over to the projection of the global map and sways his hand over the area between the Philippines and Japan.

DAVIDWe are looking at water displacement on a global scale.

RANDOM AMBASSADORWhat does that mean, Dr. Connors?

David closes his eyes, when he reopens them, he slightly slams his fist on the waters between the Philippines and Japan, then swipes his hand across the map until it reaches the west coast of the United States.

DAVIDAll that water that is now over there, will come over here.(silence)We are looking at a new world here. When this thing’s through, the west coast of the United States will cease to exist.

The crowd erupts in chatter and arguing. Some are questioning. An ISRAELI AMBASSADOR stands up and speaks in an angry Israeli accent as he slams his balled fist on his desk.

ISRAELI AMBASSADORDr. Connors, it is an embarrassment to us that you bring this science fiction into this room.

The American ambassador remains sitting; he speaks calmly, but seems slightly annoyed.

AMERICAN AMBASSADORDid you go to the press with this, Dr. Connors?

DAVIDNo, I-

AMERICAN AMBASSADOR(interrupts)Good. You are to remain that way or will be punished under full extent of the law.

FOCUS ON:

David looks down in disappointment as the boardroom attendees begin to chat nearly endlessly.

FADE TO:

BLACK

10 EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN—NIGHT--RAINING

Out in the Pacific, near Japan, a large CARGO SHIP cuts gently through the calm waters. The RAIN beats down heavily upon the deck, which is loaded with large metal crates. A CRANE sits upon the end of the deck.

11 INT. ENGINE ROOM—CARGO SHIP

The engine room is bustling with JAPANESE WORKERS walking around with undershirts on and jeans, all sweating profusely. The engine room is large, with several catwalks and consoles surrounding titanic-sized humming engines. The engines are encased in large metal fames, we cannot see the actually mechanics of the pendulums and such.

FOCUS ON: a THERMOMETER along one wall rises slowly, but can be seen.

FOCUS ON: A WORKER on a platform takes his shirt off, the heat in the room is evident.

The workers YELL at each other in Japanese.

WORKERS(in Japanese)damn, it’s hot.

One worker wipes the sweat off his forehead and walks over to a railing. He leans on it and we immediately hear a SIZZLE. The worker JUMPS and looks at the metal railing.

ABRUPTLY, all over the room, we hear SIZZLING as steam begins to vent from several workers’ shoes. It is a hellish scene, as workers SCREAM with the coming heat, as there shoes begin to MELT, and several consoles EXPLODE.

FOCUS ON: The THERMOMETER breaks as the mercury splashes out.

12 PACIFIC OCEAN—NIGHT—RAINING

The water around the cargo ship BUBBLES and boils all around.

FOCUS ON: The WORKER sitting in the crane’s cabin looks down at the scene.

He speaks to himself.

CRANE WORKER(to self)(in Japanese)What the hell?

Suddenly, we hear a loud WHOOPING ALARM SOUND, like an emergency alarm.

In drones, workers come running out of the ship and onto the deck.

FOCUS ON: One worker GRABS the railing of the deck.

We hear a loud SIZZLE as the worker SCREAMS and looks down at his hands as he draws them back quickly.

FOCUS ON: His hands look like they had just been struck with a hot iron, they are black as some cracks glow with a bright orange.

We hear a loud SCREECH as the bough of the ship obviously begins to dip down into the water.

The crane worker jumps out, but the ship JOLTS and he falls into the boiling water below. Steam BELLOWS quickly as his screams from striking the water diminish after a few instances.

13 INT. BRIDGE—CARGO SHIP INT. BRIDGE—CARGO SHIP

The BRIDGE is large, with a wall of glass allowing all inside to see the entire span of the deck. Consoles and sonar can be seen surrounding the room, men in uniform scurry about in a panicky fashion.

The CAPTAIN can be seen wearing a heavy jacket with a captain’s hat and badge on his breast. His eyes WIDEN as he looks out the windows.

POV—CAPTAIN

We can see the water, churning with white, climbing up the bough as the ship continues to slowly dip down into the water. The neck of the crane can barely be seen over the surface.

The captain picks up a small microphone and yells into it.

CAPTAIN(in Japanese)Abandon ship! Abandon-

He is cut off by a large JOLT in the ship as sparks fly and glass breaks as we hear loud screams.

PAN SHOT

We see water SURGE through the glass and into the bridge.

FADE TO: BLACK

14 EXT. LOS ANGELES APARTMENT COMPLEX—NIGHT

We see a large apartment building, ten feet from a street. Stairs lead up to the glass entrance of the building, which seems run down and broken. Graffiti illustrates the walls and broken beer bottles carpet the sidewalks.

A YELLOW CAB sits outside parked along the curb; a FOREIGN DRIVER sits in the driver’s seat waiting.

JOHN rides up on a BICYCLE. He gets off in front of the apartment, he places his bike along the stairs.

John’s older brother, WILL, walks out of the apartment carrying two suitcases in either hand. He is dressed in a gray suit with red shirt, he is about four years older than John, skinnier, taller, with medium-length shaggy black hair.

He jogs down the steps and looks at John.

John questions him with a concerned look.

JOHNWill? Hey, Will, where you goin’?

Will walks over to the trunk of the cab and LIFTS it open. He stops and speaks without looking at John.

WILLI can’t take it anymore. That asshole in there cares more about proving he’s right and everyone else in the world’s a fucking idiot than he does his own two sons. I speak for you, too, John.

Will slams down the trunk and walks over to the passenger side door. He opens the door and climbs in. He closes the door and rolls down the window. John speaks hesitantly.

JOHNSo, so where’re you going?

Will hesitates, he speaks almost fearfully.

WILLI’m headin’ to Manhattan.

John GRABS the window sill of the car door, his tone turns to extreme worry.

JOHNWait a minute, Will, we were both supposed to go as soon as I graduated! That was the plan!

WILL Yeah well, plans change!

All goes SILENT for a beat.

John backs away from the car and steps back a few feet.

Will sighs, closes his eyes and slams his head back against the seat. He then opens the car door and stands up in front of John.

Will HUGS John apologetically then lets go and faces him.

WILLLook, I have to do this. I can’t live with that man we call our father anymore. Now I’m going to New York, I’ll get a job and a place, you know, get settled. And when I do, John, I swear to the lord that I will come back and rescue you from this hell hole.

John stares.

WILLI promise.

John remains silent.

Will gets into the car and sticks his hand out the window.

John shakes it.

WILLI’ll see you later.

The window rolls up and the car SPEEDS away.

15 INT. JOHN’S APARTMENT—NIGHT

The APARTMENT is small, with a couch and recliner surrounding a coffee table. In front of the coffee

table is a wrecked entertainment center, a small television set flickers the news atop it.

On the couch lies JOHN’S FATHER, a fat man, who’s white, frizzy hair matches his five-o-clock shadow. He wears shorts and an undershirt, with a look of mild drunkenness on his face.

On the recliner, HEATHER (JOHN’S SISTER) sits TALKING on the phone. She is a chunky girl, who seems to have adapted the “punk” lifestyle.

John walks in with a BACKPACK over his shoulder. He drops it on the floor and walks in front of the television, staring down his father.

He speaks with the most innocent tone in the world.

JOHNWhy did Will leave?

His father STARES for a moment, then GRUNTS and manages to sit up.

He speaks villainously.

FATHERLook, kid, I’m giving you the same option I gave your brother. Either you accept the fact that your sister has graciously decided to move back in, or you can get your little ass out on the streets, too.

John straightens his eyebrows in frustration. He points at Heather, who flashes him an evil grin.

JOHNDad, she walked out on us and didn’t write, call, or wanna see us for eleven months. Eleven months, dad. And now she just barges right in here and expects us to treat her like royalty, after she left without even saying goodbye?

FATHERShe had her reasons.

JOHNName a good one.

John’s father stares for a beat, SPEECHLESS, then slams his fist down on the coffee table.

JOHNI will not be spoken to in that kind of tone, do you understand me?

JOHNNo, I don’t. I don’t understand how you can let this kid walk out of your life then come back in and start running ours!

John’s father stands up in disgust and points at his son, who continues to stare his father down.

FATHERYour life. Look, John, think about what your saying. Nobody wants your life, you work in a god damn pizza shop with that idiot Mario, you can’t average above a D in any subject, you don’t play any sports and I don’t remember you ever bringin’ a girl home. So why don’t you shut your yap once awhile!

John’s father sits down and sighs. He picks up a TV GUIDE and begins flipping through it, muttering indistinctly.

John continues to stare.

JOHNNo, why don’t you.

John’s father slowly glances up at his son’s face, which looks like the face of a lost angel. He speaks calmly and points towards the door.

FATHERYou get the hell out of my house.

John gives his father a final glance.

He moves off screen, we hear a door open and slam shut.

Heather breaks out in LAUGHTER as John’s father looks over and CHUCKLES himself.

FATHERTold you I’d get rid of him for ya.

CUT TO:

16 EXT. HIGHWAY—WASHINGTON D.C.—DAY

A highway near the nation’s capital seems relatively unbolting as w see a BLACK SUV ride smoothly along the tarmac.

We hear DAVID’S VOICE off screen.

DAVIDNope, didn’t believe a word.

CUT TO:

17 INT. SUV

The SUV’s interior is exquisite and comfortable. Varnish lines the glove compartment and a digital clock flashes 12:46 PM.

David sits in the driver’s seat, driving and TALKING on a small black CELL PHONE.

DAVIDI don’t think going to the papers would be a good idea.

(a beat)

Because I was informed it wasn’t.

CUT TO:

18 INT. SMALL APARTMENT—SAN FRANCISCO—MORNING

ROSE sits at a table dressed in a white night gown. The table is set in a beautiful apartment, with a large window in the living room overlooking the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. Rays of morning sunshine still echo onto the floors and ceiling.

She sits with a CORDLESS PHONE held to her ear. She is obviously talking to David.

ROSEWell, if they didn’t take you seriously then why did they tell you not to inform the media?

CUT TO:

19 INT. SUV

David RESPO0NDS as it begins to rain lightly, water droplets sprinkling on the windshield.

DAVIDI don’t know. I guess they just don’t want to cause a panic, that’s all.

CUT TO:

20 INT. ROSE’S APARTMENT

Rose SIGHS, then speaks into the phone.

ROSE

Well, I’m going to stay here for awhile. When do you think you’ll be back?

CUT TO:

21 INT. SUV

David ANSWERS.

DAVIDI don’t know but as soon as I do we’re moving.

CUT TO:


Rose clasps her palms over her face then sighs.

ROSEDavid, don’t you think you should look more into this first?

CUT TO:

23 INT. SUV

DAVIDLook I know what’s best for me and my family. I have to get you somewhere safe!


Rose’s tone changes from soothing to slightly agitated.

ROSELook, David, I know you love your work, but you can’t let your-theories-get in the way of our life. I love you, but sometimes you have to start thinking about tomorrow.

25 INT. SUV

David’s tone suddenly changes from innocent to ANGERED.

DAVIDIf I let you stay there you may not see tomorrow! You and millions of other people!

ABRUPTLY, we hear loud pulses; the phone is OFF the hook, she HUNG up.

David SIGHS and leans his head back against the seat.

His phone RINGS.

He hesitates, but picks it up and lifts it to his ear.

DAVID(depressed)Hello?

(a beat)Yes, this is him.

CUT TO:

26 EXT. HIGHWAY

We see David’s SUV come to a skidding stop, it then turns around and begins heading back down the opposite direction.

27 INT. WHITE HOUSE CORRIDOR—DAY

MEN in gray suits walk down one of the many corridors gracing the White House. PRESIDENT KEITH, an older man with slicked gray hair and concerned grin, walks in front of the men, the obvious dominant figure. SCOGGS, the president’s advisor/assistant, walks next to him. He is a SHORT and SCRAWNY man with red hair and obviously young. He seems intimidated, but manages to speak to the president as they walk down the corridor.

SCOGGSUm, sir, about this meeting, we sort of, we sort of have a lid on it.

The president speaks in a CONVINCING and INTIMIDATING matter, almost sounding annoyed.

PRESIDENT KEITHWhy would the press care?

SCOGGSWell, sir, you see, according to this guy, Dr. Connors-

President Keith interrupts him.

PRESIDENT KEITHIs he on my staff?

Scoggs holds his head trying to remember before finally giving an ANSWER.

SCOGGSUm, yes, yes he is. He is actually your ocean geologist.

PRESIDENT KEITH

Why haven’t I heard from him before?

SCOGGSWell, sir, he thinks that this is the only issue worth discussing.

PRESIDENT KEITH(after a grunt)If you ask me, this is nonsense. I’m tired of all these quacks on my scientific staff.

The group of men rounds a corner and enters a large room. They stand in front of a LARGE SET OF DOORS laced in varnish and brown polish. It is the ENTRANCE to the auditorium.

Scoggs and President Keith face each other. Keith straightens up and adjusts his tie.

Scoggs speaks with a suck-up tone.

SCOGGSYou look great, sir.

PRESIDENT KEITHShut up, Keith.

SCOGGSYes, sir.

28 INT. WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM

The AUDITORIUM is enormous. Hundreds of PEOPLE dressed in business suits sit in the seats repeating MINDLESS chatter. On the stage, a large presidential seal looms painted on a blue curtain backstage. A 15-foot white SCREEN hangs down from the ceiling in front of it.

A PODIUM also sits atop the stage.

The atmosphere seems like a media circus, despite the banning of all presses.

Through the large wooden doors, President Keith WALKS through surrounded by men in black suits wearing earpieces.

He YELLS as he walks down the aisle.

PRESIDENT KEITHLet’s get this over with quick because there are issues going on in this country that actually matter.

Keith sits down in one of the auditorium seats and crosses his arms in annoyance. He obviously does not want to be there.

DAVID comes POWER WALKING out onto the stage dressed in a gray suit. He nods his head nervously. He walks behind the podium, with looks of nervousness flashing across his face.

The audience stops its chatter.

David CLEARS his throat.

DAVIDUm, hello, everybody, Mr. President-

The president ROLLS his eyes and turns to one of the men sitting next to him.

He WHISPERS.

PRESIDENT KEITH(whispers)Seems like a whacko already.

David opens up his speech.

DAVIDUm, yesterday, a Japanese tanker sank off the coast of Yokohama, I’m sure everybody heard of it.

He PAUSES for a brief moment.

DAVID(con’t)Anyway, according to data sent right before, it slipped, it was in mechanical condition and there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for it to sink. But, what many people didn’t notice, is that before it lost contact, the temperature of its hull rose nearly fifty degrees.

Chatter BREAKS out among the audience. One MAN in a suit stands up and addresses Connors.

MANWhat does that have to do with its sinking, Dr. Connors?

The room goes SILENT once more.

DAVIDI was, just getting to that. I’m sure you are all familiar with my, rejected theory about the volcanic string.

President Keith interrupts him, expressing just how RUDE he is.

PRESIDENT KEITHYour theory’s a joke, Dr. Connors.

A few members of the audience begin to chuckle under their breath.

David regains his stature and SIGHS.

DAVIDYes, well, the ship sank because of a severe loss of buoyancy, caused by bubbles released from steam vents of the volcanoes.

The room begins silent chatter.

David CONTINUES.

DAVIDWhen the ship passed over the volcanic string, gases being released from the vents caused it to loose its balance with the water and sink. That also explains why the water temperature rose, and, if you don’t mind my saying so, heavily supports my theory.

The room ERUPTS in chatter as people express their concern.

David continues.

DAVIDIf, these volcanoes were to erupt, it would be, devastating, we would most likely lose all of Japan besides maybe some locations above sea level. The Philippines will be wiped off the map, as will the northern piece of Australia. Hawaii will cease to exist, and California will just be part of the Pacific Ocean.

Once again the room ERUPTS, people express their concern for the theory. One man stands up and asks a question.

MAN(foreign accent)When can we expect this to occur?

DAVIDWell, I honestly don’t know, but I’m going to guess it will be soon. And in my

opinion, the world should be warned; this is nothing we can stop, nothing we can prevent, only avoid it. This explosion is going to create a wave that will change the face of our world!

The president stands up, his tone is completely CHANGED.

PRSIDENT KEITHDr. Connors do you have any further proof of this?

DAVIDWell, I have evidence.

PRESIDENT KEITHI don’t want evidence, I want proof! How can we obtain that?

David flashes a quick smile.

CUT TO:

29 EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN—DAY

A HELICOPTER flies over the surface of the calm ocean. Tiny waves make small caps thirty feet below the roaring engines and swinging blades of the chopper.

The cargo-hold DOOR opens.

30 INT./EXT. HELICOPTER

With the door open, we can see David, a DIVER in a black wetsuit, and a random TECHNICIAN working a large crank connected to a giant spool. Wrapped around the SPOOL is a snaking black rope.

FOCUS ON:

The Technician snaps the end of the long rope to a HOOK on the diver’s back. David reads a CHARTED MAP.

David looks up and gives a thumbs up. He YELLS over the sound of the blades.

DAVIDThis looks good!


The chopper hovers about twenty feet above the surface of the water.

32 INT./EXT. HELICOPTER

David hands the diver a large rod with a small black spherical object attached to the end.

He yells instructions to the diver.

DAVIDJust stick this as far into the rocks as you can! This will give us some data we can use to see volcanic movements!

The diver takes his oxygen masks out of his mouth and yells.

DIVERI have no idea what that means!

David smiles, he is obviously excited about his position. He SLAPS the diver on the back.


We see the diver fall from the chopper and into the water. He lands with slender, using the same technique military divers often use, by straightening up and closing your legs.

34 EXT. UNDERWATER—PACIFIC OCEAN

The diver SPLASHES into the deep blue water. He begins his DESCENT.

35 EXT./INT. CHOPPER

David reads a digital temperature gauge. It reads 68º.

36 EXT. UNDERWATER

The diver SWIMS along a large rock formation. The rock formation is enormous, it forms what looks like a valley that runs for miles, into distances one cannot fathom.

FOCUS ON:

The diver’s face seems shocked by the giant rock formation.

We can see tiny bubbles rising from certain crevices. No fish are visible, only the diver swimming along with the rod-like geometer.


David looks at the temperature gauge, which fluxuates between 68º and 69º.

38 EXT. UNDERWATER

The diver stops at a large mound of black rock. He violently LUNGES the rod into the rock, skimming along, scraping the surface before finding a crevice large enough to accommodate the geometer.

It slips in.

The diver tugs on the rod for a bit to ensure it is securely placed.


David hums as he watches the temperature gauge.

ABRUPTLY, the 69º turns into a 76º, and that into an 81º.

David reacts quickly, he looks over at the technician who sits near the large crank containing the diver’s rope.

David YELLS.

DAVIDPull him up, now!

The technician immediately starts the electric crank, which starts contracting rope.

40 EXT. UNDERWATER

We can see the huge amount of slack of the rope floating in the water begin to shrink.

The diver still swims among the rocks, when SUDDENLY, the bubbles begin to arise more violently from the cracks.

FOCUS ON:

We can hear a low RUMBLING, the cracks in the mountainous rocks begin to glow a bright orange.

The diver begins to panic as he is enveloped with bubbles.

We can hear faint screams.


David looks down over the side of the cargo hold as the rope still quickly rises from the depths of the Pacific.

FOCUS ON:

The end of the rope rises from the water, the end has been burned off, the end is smoking with steam, the diver absent, as the water around the chopper boils and bubbles.

FOCUS ON:

David closes his eyes in emotional pain.

FADE TO: BLACK

42 EXT. LOS ANGELES HIGH RISE—MORNING

Buildings RISE hundreds of feet in the air. Towers of glass and cement pierce the sky as golden rays of light from the sun filter like water through the windows, echoing out the other sides of the massive building walls and into the streets.

PEOPLE emerge from buildings and houses.

Women walk the beaches sporting bikinis.

Joggers run the sidewalks sporting portable music players.

Venders prepare their carts on street corners, pulling down the windows and opening shop.

We can hear a RADIO D.J. as we skim along Los Angeles.

RADIO DJ (V.O.)It’s a beautiful 83 degree day here in Los Angeles. Everyone of course awaiting an emergency speech to be given by the president tonight, broadcasts on CNN.

43 EXT. MARIO’S PIZZA PLACE—FRONT

MARIO walks to the front of the store. He approaches the front glass door and fumbles in his pocket for keys.

He produces a small keychain, on it are at least twenty keys, some of them different, some of them almost identical.

He flips through his keys one by one until—

SUDENNLY

JOHN’S FATHER walks up behind him.

He is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, his hair still nappy and unkempt, he speaks in an intimidating tone.

FATHERMario.

Mario STOPS shifting through his keys.

He turns around to face John’s father, whose name we find out is GEORGE.

MARIOGeorge. Haven’t seen you in awhile. How is everything?

George speaks in a still venomous tone, but somewhat caring as well.

GEORGEWhere’s John?

Mario plays dumb, he makes it obvious.

MARIOWell, I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in a few days, which is strange because he always shows up for work.

George scowls.

He throws an intimidating point towards Mario.

GEORGEIf you see him, you tell him his father wants him home right away!

George stops.

He turns and begins to walk down the sidewalk.

Mario scowls himself a bit, then yells at George.

MARIOWhy don’t you act like it?

George stops in his tracks and turns around. He walks back up and faces Mario.

GEORGEWhat did you say?

Mario seems to have grown more courageous with his words, no longer hesitating, speaking in an angrier tone.

MARIOI’ve seen the bruises on that kid, George. Don’t think I don’t hear what goes on. I’ve known you a long time, and I know you’re the kind of person who cares more

about what’s on TV than what his son thinks.

George doesn’t speak a word.

He throws Mario the nastiest look imaginable, and eventually turns and walks down the sidewalk.

Mario SIGHS and turns back towards the front door.

He fixes his fingers on a GOLD KEY and places it in the keyhole of the metal doorknob.

Before he has the opportunity to turn the key, the door nudges open a little, revealing the darkened interior.

Mario looks down at the adjacent door with confusion.

MARIOWhat the…?

44 INT. MARIO’S PIZZA PLACE—DARK

The interior is dark, the chairs are placed upon the tables to allow easy vacuuming. Mario FLIPS a light switch near the front door.

The shop brightens under the illumination of the white fluorescent lights embedded into the ceiling.

Mario cautiously walks around the counter.

We see JOHN sleeping on the tiled floor right behind the counter. He is laying atop several blankets and pillows. He is completely dressed, with a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

Mario looks down.

MARIOJohn?

John grunts for a few seconds, and then manages to look up at Mario. His hair is messed up and his eyes are heavy with sleep.

JOHNGood morning.

MARIOWhat are you doin’ here, kid?

John grunts again and gets up, using the counter’s wall as an aide for standing up straight.

JOHN

(sleepily)Where else am I gonna go?

MARIOWell you could’ve picked a hotel.

JOHNIn L.A.?

John gets up and stretches out his back.

He walks up to a small FRIDGE and opens the door, he then pulls out a red can of Coca Cola.

He goes around the counter and pulls one of the chairs off one of the tables. He sets it down and sits himself down, leaning his head back.

We hear a POPPING sound as John opens the can of soda.

Mario grabs an apron and wraps it around his waist.

He walks around in the small kitchen and turns on ovens and prepares racks.

He yells in at John.

MARIOSo what about your brother, where’d he take refuge?

John slurps down a few sips of soda, then yells back.

JOHNManhattan!

Mario stops working.

He walks over and leans across the counter.

MARIODid you say Manhattan, as in New York?

John NODS.

Mario drops his eyes, knowing that Will bailed on his brother.

MARIOI’m sorry, John.

FOCUS ON:

John SIGHS.

JOHNYeah.

CUT TO:

45 INT. WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM—NIGHT

The large room bustles with people. It is TWICE AS PACKED as before. Reporters and cameramen walk the aisles in search of a story.

We see a FEMALE REPORTER with a cameraman focused on her. She is dressed in a dark red suit with tightly coiled blonde hair. She holds a MICROPHONE.

Like a true news reporter, she speaks into the microphone.

FEMALE REPORTERWe are here tonight, live from the White House auditorium, where the president and one of his advisors are said to be reporting an urgent message…

The camera PANS to the right and we see a MALE REPORTER, sporting a blue suit speaking into his own microphone with his own camera man.

MALE REPORTERWe here in the media have honestly no clue as to what the president has to say, but we think it has something to do with a Japanese cargo ship that sank off the coast…

The camera PANS once more, this time focusing on an OLDER REPORTER.

OLDER REPORTERWe are standing by at the white house and we have reports the president will e entering at any moment…

JUST THEN, the large wooden doors, the entrance to the auditorium, swing open and president Keith with his body guards walk down the aisle.

President Keith’s FACE looks less non-believing less annoyed than before.

He shakes a few hands and sits down in his seat near the front row of the room.

All goes QUIET.

An ADVISOR dressed in a green suit with military badges attached to his breast pocket stands in front of the podium.

In a chair sitting motionless on stage, behind the podium, is David, dressed in much better attire than before; a black suit with red tie.

The advisor TAPS the microphone attached to the podium.

We hear a small amount of FEEDBACK echo throughout the room.

The advisor clears his throat away from the microphone and begins to speak.

ADVISORLadies and gentlemen—

We see various camera crews focused on the advisor as he continues to speak.

ADVISOR(con’t)-welcome to this congregation organized by the president himself. I realize that this has been hyped all day, and I ask you not to be alarmed by what you are about to hear.

A shadow of confusion and distraught overlooks everybody in the room.

46 INT. BAR—MANHATTAN

A Manhattan bar bustles as people enjoy the early stages of the nightlife. Smoke fills the walls as girls walk about wearing as little clothes as possible and pathetic guys try to pick them up, to no avail.

We see WILL standing behind the bar wearing a green shirt and blue apron. He is wiping out a glass using a white rag; he is a BARTENDER.

He is clearly watching something in the distance.

FOCUS ON:

We see a large TELEVISION hanging down from the ceiling.

On the screen is the scene from the WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM, the advisor still speaks into the microphone.

We cannot hear the TV.

Will points at the set and YELLS.

WILL

Hey, could someone turn that up? The TV, turn it up!

A MAN reaches up and adjusts the volume on the television set.

The room goes silent as we hear the advisor over the set.

ADVISOR (ON TV)I now would like to introduce, Dr. David Connors, the president’s oceanographic geologist.

47 INT. WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM—SAME TIME

The room erupts in a small moment of applause as David gets up out of his chair and stands behind the podium.

He sucks in his breath and raises his chest.

FOCUS ON:

The president stares at him with gleaming eyes.

48 INT. LOS ANGELES APARTMENT—SAME TIME

This apartment is a wreck. The walls are yellow, and cracking in several places. In the living room, a BLACK WOMAN (NORA) sits with her two CHILDREN. One of kids is a LITTLE GIRL, the other is a LITTLE BOY, both seem to be about eight or nine.

Nora is a beautiful woman, she SHUSHES her children as we hear a DOOR OPEN off screen.

We see a man, JIMMY, walk into the frame.

He is a black man, short, not in the best shape, wearing a MACDONALD’S UNIFORM.

He sits down on the couch next to his children and sighs. He gives a confused look to the small TELEVISION SET sitting on a wooden stand in front of the couch.

JIMMYWhat’re we watchin’, hon?

The LITTLE GIRL answers in a sweet, childish tone.

LITTLE GIRLWe’re getting a message from Mr. Idiot.

JIMMYWho?

LITTLE GIRLMommy says that Mr. Idiot’s gonna have some guy give us a message.

Jimmy casts a strange look at his wife, Nora.

JIMMYYou mean President Keith?


David begins his speech.

DAVID(hesitantly)Um, I’m sure you’ve all heard of my theory of a volcanic eruption triggering a wave that would engulf anything below sea level, like Hawaii or some parts of California. Well, after collecting numerous amounts of data, we have determined that, the situation may be worse than that.

The room ERUPTS in indistinct chatter, people lean across seats and whisper to one another in a shocked fashion.

All goes SILENT once more as the lights in the room dim, and the LARGE SCREEN behind David illuminates with a 3-D map of the globe.

The map is animated, and shows the Pacific Ocean stretching from northern Japan down to the tip of the Philippines.

A red obelisk portion of ocean illuminates on the screen; it is massive, stretching about 200 miles from the coast of Japan to down by the Philippines.

The room begins to chatter again.

A beat.

People QUIET down.

DAVIDThis is the string of underwater volcanoes waiting to erupt. There are over ten thousand, all of them capable of producing Hiroshima-like blasts. According to calculations, the water displacement caused by the formation of a new continent would be like so.

The map SHIFTS to a flattened out view of the world.

Most of California is shadowed in red, as is Japan, most of Australia and the Philippines.

Series of GASPS echo throughout the room.

David explains in a deep, spine-tingling tone.

DAVIDEverything in red will be underwater. We have approximately 15 hours to evacuate thousands of cities, or we will lose over a billion lives.

The room ERUPTS in panic.

People scurry about.

The president stands up with gleaming eyes.

He RUNS up to the podium with gleaming eyes and a concerned face.

David moves to allow him to speak.

PRESIDENT KEITHNow, people, let’s try to be more organized. Of course this data can be misleading and we have no reason to believe that the water will even reach ankle depth and will evaporate in a few hours, so please, board up your windows or doors and just wait it out, this is no different from Y2K. So please, remain calm.

50 INT. JIMMY’S APARTMENT

Jimmy looks over at his wife.

JIMMYWhat do you think we should do?

Nora gets up and walks into the kitchen, as she walks we can hear her.

NORA (O.S.)You’re the man.

JIMMYHey, we’re up high, right? We’ll be fine.

He nudges his daughter jokingly and casts a wide smile.

JIMMYRight, sweety?

Both of his children look at him, with a look of fear embedded in their faces that would send any man into tears.

51 INT. MANHATTAN BAR

Among the panic and fleeing, Will sets a glass down on the table and runs around a corner behind the bar, into the kitchen.

He peeks around the corner and yells at a FAT MAN cooking.

WILLHey, Chris, I’m taking a call.

The man casts a look of annoyance.

FAT MANWhat for?

WILLI gotta-(he hesitates)-I gotta call my brother!


ON STAGE, the president stands behind the podium gasping, gleaming around at the panicky people.

David looks shocked and leans over to talk to the president.

DAVIDSir, this thing is going to swallow the west coast. These people need to know that!

PRESIDENT KEITHYes, but you just ruined any chance we had of organizing any evacuation. You better pray to God that you’re wrong!

The president gets up and walks off stage.

CUT TO:

53 EXT. LOS ANGELES--MORNING

A VENDER sells newspapers and tabloids on a street corner. People scurry about, dishing money out of their pockets to pay for them.

A BROWN SUITED MAN walks up to the vender and buys a TABLOID PAPER off his cart.

He holds the paper in front of him.

FOCUS ON:

The PAPER’S HEADLINE reads “PROFESSOR WARNS OF THE END!”

The headline is accompanied by a picture of the GLOBE, of course, with Japan and much of California missing.

54 INT. ROSE’S APARTMENT—SAN FRANCISCO—SAME TIME

Rose sits on the couch, a look of DISMAY on her face. She is dressed in a gown with a cup of coffee smoking on the coffee table.

She watches the TELEVISION SET.

FOCUS ON:

On TV there is what seems to be a news reporter reporting from San Francisco.

We can see people boarding up shops as he speaks.

REPORTERMost if not all people have taken simple refuge in hotels and some have even boarded up there houses. There have been base camps for any refugees set up around Nevada and parts of New Mexico, but apparently they are seemingly going to waste because people have made the decision to just stay in their homes a ride it out. Dan Stryker, San Francisco’s Leading News Channel, back to you in the studio.

FOCUS ON:

Rose SIGHS.

ROSE(to self)David, what have you done?

55 EXT. FRONT OF MARIO’S PIZZA SHOP—SAME TIME

Mario and John have already BOARDED UP most of the glass windows of the shop, the pizza logo barely peeks out from behind chipped plywood.

Mario hammers nail into one end of a large board.

John picks up his own large piece and leans it against the wall. He fumbles in his pocket and produces a nail.

He talks to Mario as he works.

JOHNYou think this is serious?

Mario STOPS HAMMERING and places the hammer down on the ground. He holds the edge of the plywood and shakes it. When it doesn’t budge, we know it is secure.

He bends down to pick up a nail.

He stands back up and talks.

MARIOIt’s serious enough for the president to lose his marbles last night.

JOHNYou think he’s telling the truth? Think we’ll only get a little bit of water?

John still hasn’t touched the hammer that lay by him.

Mario hammers a nail into the other side of the plywood sheet and sighs. He looks over at John, who stands idly by still awaiting an answer.

Mario gives him one.

MARIOI think something’s gonna happen. I don’t know how big it’s gonna be or how it’ll effect us, but when the president goes up on stage and panics, I think that we’ve all got somethin’ to be a little worried about.

Mario goes back to work.

FOCUS ON:

John casts a confused look.

He finally breaks his own silence and speaks out.

JOHNYeah, well, I mean, we’re pretty far from the beach, and, hell, I bet Japan isn’t even worried, right?

Mario CHUCKLES a bit.

56 EXT. TOKYO STREET—HUGE TRAFFIC JAM—EVENING

The sky turns a deep purple as the sun begins to SET, slipping underneath the waves of the horizon.

Within the confines of the magnificent city of Tokyo, people SCURRY about in waves of panic.

We see people frantically boarding up windows and doors, others try and pack their entire lives into caravans.

We see strings of Japanese U-HAUL trucks parked at nearly every corner.

Near the EDGE of the city, where the road lay adjacent to the BEACH, a wide snake of sand infinitely long, with white waves crashing over the surface, the street is cluttered with cars and trucks, all stationary, motionless.

Horns HONK as people run about the cars, all looking for an escape from Japan.

FOCUS ON:

A MAN in his car pounds on the horn in frustration with the motionless traffic.

FOCUS ON:

High above the traffic jam, a LARGE HOTEL looms. We see a JAPANESE MAN holding back the curtains of a LARGE WINDOW and looking down at the tiny, motionless automobiles.

He is older, with slicked black hair.

57 INT. HOTEL ROOM—SAME TIME

The JAPANESE MAN continues to look down at the titanic tangle of automobiles and panicking citizens.

He CHUCKLES a little, then closes the curtains and turns around.

We see the HOTEL ROOM; it is mid-sized, with a well made queen-sized bed, some drawers with a television set on top, a door which most likely leads to a bathroom, and a closet.

The man goes and sits on the bed, where his WIFE lay leaning against the wall reading.

The Japanese man speaks.

JAPANESE MAN(in Japanese)I swear some people are idiots.

His wife never takes her eyes off the book she is reading when she talks in an almost annoyed tone.

WIFE(in Japanese)They’re just scared.

The man begins to take off his shoes.

JAPANESE MAN(in Japanese)No, they’re gullible.

CUT TO:

58 EXT. PHILIPPINE SEA—NIGHT

TWILIGHT, billions of stars sparkle down from the black heavens, reflecting on the glassy water.

The surface of the Pacific is eerily calm, the only white caps made are from the wakes left by a GIANT CARGO SHIP that cruises like a slow moving shadow across the horizon.

The ship is similar in structure to the Japanese ship that sank earlier, with a massive black hull and a BUILDING-SIZE upper deck.

FOCUS ON:

A large AMERICAN FLAG waves on a pole stretching far into the sky from the bough.

59 INT. BRIDGE—CARGO SHIP—SAME TIME

The bridge is almost IDENTICAL to the bridge of the Japanese ship, with large glass windows encircling the perimeter and computer consoles aligning the interior.

Men sit around working on the consoles.

FOCUS ON:

A TELEVISION SET sitting atop one of the consoles flickers.

Behind the WALL OF STATIC we can barely make out the forms of cars racing around a track.

TWO MEN sit close to the TV, propping their feet up on the console with their arms crossed, discussing the race.

MAN #1I still think Rudd’ll take it.

MAN #2Nah, I’ve got all my money on Gordon, there’s no better night racer.

SUDDENLY, the CAPTAIN, wearing a black poncho and captain’s hat, walks up to the two men and speaks in a soft yet harsh tone.

CAPTAINI think I know of two men who may not have jobs in a few minutes unless they straighten up.

He leans over and switches off the television set.

The two men continue to sit with slightly annoyed looks as the captain WALKS AWAY.

The captain walks over to a MAN sitting at a console, operating it.

He speaks to him from behind.

CAPTAINHow much longer?

The man operating the console continues to flip switches and press keys. He never looks back at the captain when he speaks.

MANShould be around 32 hours, sir.

CAPTAINGood. Steady progress is good progress.

The captain walks away from the console and goes over to the nearest LARGE WINDOW.

P.O.V.—CAPTAIN

As he looks out the large window, we can see the bough of the ship filled with crates and steel boxes. Men walk around on deck chatting and smoking cigarettes.

FOCUS ON:

An ADVISOR walks up to the captain from behind. He is scrawny and young, but speaks with discipline.

ADVISORExcuse me, sir.

The captain doesn’t turn around to look at the advisor when he answers.

CAPTAINYes, what is it?

The advisor answers with slight hesitation.

ADVISORWell, sir, we’ve received reports of underwater volcanoes in the area.

CAPTAINOur area?

ADVISOREverywhere, sir. All throughout the Philippine sea and up to Japan. They’re all supposed to be active, sir. Anyways I’ve been advised that it may be safe to turn back towards Sydney.

The captain turns to the young man with an annoyed look on his face.

CAPTAINWe’re loaded with ten million dollars worth of cargo and we’re more than halfway to Tokyo. Calm yourself, man, underwater volcanoes are the least of my worries, especially when we’re above water.

He turns back and continues to stare out the large window.

He SIGHS.

ADVISORYes, sir. I’ll inform the others that we will continue course.

CAPTAINSee that you do.

The advisor scurries away.

FOCUS ON:

The captain’s FACE. His expression is annoyed, yet almost worried.

FADE TO: BLACK

60 EXT. UNDERWATER—SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC—PITCH BLACK

We see nothing but ENTERNAL BLACKNESS, it is like wearing a blindfold.

We can hear the SOUNDS of the deep, the currents and waves from above.

SUDDENLY, an ORANGE WEB begins to grow, all spreading out from a central large orange dot. The web is like a hundred lightning bolts of bright fluorescent orange combined into a massive network.

The web continues to grow, it looks like a large network of blood vessels inside a human body/

ABRUPTLY, BUBBLES begin to jet out from the orange lightning bolts, all rising to the surface with incredible speed and force.

The underwater volcanoes are WAKING UP.

CUT TO:

61 EXT. TOKYO SKYLINE—NIGHT

The city sleeps.

The panic that had engulfed the collection of steel towers and concrete jungles had died and all that remains is a sparkling illuminated city.

62 INT. HOTEL ROOM—NIGHT

Inside the hotel room of the man and his wife, the atmosphere is quiet, not even crickets can be heard.

The JAPANESE MAN and his WIFE sleep soundly in the bed under the covers.

FOCUS ON:

The wife’s EYES open abruptly as we hear a LOW RUMBLING SOUND off screen.

She sits up and SHAKES her husband.

He GRUNTS, but finally manages to hum a ‘what?’

WIFE(whisper)(in Japanese)I heard something.

JAPANESE MAN(sleepily)(in Japanese)It’s nothing, go back to sleep.

The wife SIGHS, then gets out from under the covers and reveals herself in a red nightgown.

She WALKS over to the window and pulls back the curtains.

P.O.V.—WIFE

We can see the road that was jammed packed with traffic earlier in the day, except that it is wet, and covered with inch high water.

The beach has disappeared under a tiny sea.

In relevance to what was expected, the water seems to have risen just past what normal high tide would be.

INT. HOTEL ROOM

The wife turns back to the bed and crawls in.

JAPANESE MAN(Japanese)What is it?

WIFE(in Japanese)Nothing, the tide’s just in a little further than usual, that’s all.

JAPANESE MAN(in Japanese)See, you worry too much.

CUT TO:

63 INT. OVAL OFFICE—WHITE HOUSE—MORNING

Rays of orange light shine in through the large window behind the president’s DESK in the oval office. Several SECURITY MEN stand around the room, most dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. David sits in a chair before the president’s desk, President Keith stands behind it.

FOCUS ON:

President Keith SLAMS a newspaper down onto the desk in front of David, an angry look on his face.

FOCUS ON:

The headline on the newspaper reads: “DISASTER DUD?”

David SIGHS.

The president glares at David.

PRESIDENT KEITHYou caused a global panic over some stupid higher than usual tide! We spent millions

of dollars preparing for something that didn’t even happen!

David GULPS, then tries to speak with hesitation.

DAVIDLook, this was too quick.

PRESIDENT KEITHWhat was too quick?

David casts a confused look as his eyes roll back while he thinks hard. He closes his eyes and stands up with his hand on his forehead sighing.

DAVIDNo, no, this doesn’t make sense. The blast wasn’t supposed to be until tomorrow, this just isn’t clicking.

David stops for a second, then continues.

DAVIDI just have to get back to my lab and run some more tests and maybe-

The president interrupts David mid-sentence.

PRESIDENT KEITHYou no longer have one.

David’s eyes turn helpless as he looks at the president with an innocent look and tone.

DAVIDWhat do you mean?

The president ‘s tone changes from angry to compassionate. As he speaks, he SIGHS, he obviously doesn’t want to say what he is about to.

PRESIDENT KEITHYou caused an unnecessary, panicky, and not to mention costly, global panic. You’re finished, David. You will be cut off from all data processed on this, canceled, project, and you will be persecuted if you make any attempt to get involved, do I make myself clear, Dr. Connors?

David casts of look of innocent failure. He LOOKS down at the floor, waiting to see if the president will continue.

PRESIDENT KEITH

You have an hour to clean out. Now, get out of my office, David.

David begins his journey to the door slowly.

As he walks to the door, we see the president holding his hand to his forehead, obviously regretting what he had just done, but he knows that it must be done.

A SECURITY GUARD follows David to the door.

David STOPS right before entering the door and turns back to the president.

HE speaks with the innocence of a child.

DAVIDI only wanted to help.

The president holds back his emotions and speaks in a silent tone.

PRESIDENT KEITHI know, David. I’m sorry.

David SIGHS and exits the room through the door.

CUT TO:

64 INT. MARIO’S PIZZA SHOP—NIGHT

Mario and John sit at one of the tables in the lobby of Mario’s Pizza shop. An OPEN PIZZA BOX lays stationary upon the table, grease stains lining the cardboard.

They watch the TELEVISION hanging near the ceiling.

FOCUS ON:

On the TV we can see a NEWS REPORTER walking along a beach in Los Angeles. On the beach, the water touches the boardwalk, almost completely covering the sand.

NEWS REPORTERAs you can see, the tide has come in much higher than usual, it hasn’t caused much damage, but experts believe that these unusually high tides may be the only effects of the volcanoes in the pacific…

The reporter continues indistinctly as we see John and Mario sitting at the table.

Mario looks over at John and chuckles.

MARIO

All that shit over the past few days for nothing. My damn luck, there’s about a hundred bucks worth of wasted wood sitting outside on the windows if you want it.

John chuckles himself as we hear a PHONE RING coming from the kitchen behind the counter.

Mario sighs and gets up and walks off screen into the kitchen.

We can hear him PICK UP the phone and start talking into it.

MARIO (O.S.)Mario’s…oh, hey kid…oh yeah, he’s here, just a second.

Mario yells in from the kitchen.

MARIOHey, John, you’ve got a phone call!

John gets up and walks behind the counter, where the PHONE sits atop. Mario hands him the phone and walks back into the lobby.

John speaks into the phone.

JOHNHello?

CUT TO:

65 INT. MANHATTAN BAR—SAME TIME

Will stands behind the counter of the bar he tends. People dance around and listen to music. HE puts one of the fingers of his free hand into his free ear, for he speaks into the receiver of a telephone he holds, talking to John on the other end.

He manages a smile as he speaks.

WILLJohn, John! Oh, thank God you’re okay!

66 INT. MARIO’S PIZZA SHOP

John chuckles.

JOHNI’m fine, actually. As a matter of fact the water barely reached the boardwalk.


Will’s smile turns to a look of concern as we see HIS BOSS flash him a nasty look from the other end of the bar.

WILLLook, John, I don’t have a lot of time so I’m going to say this quick, alright. I am, a centimeter away from getting my own place right now, okay, no more sleeping in a bar. And when I do, I will be there in L.A. to pick you up the same day.


John tries to manage a smile, but we can tell he somehow doesn’t believe him.

JOHNYeah.


Will glances over at his boss.

He speaks into the phone.

WILLLook, John, I love you, okay, and I will come get you.


We can hear Will speak over the phone.

WILL (V.O.I gotta go, okay, I’ll see ya soon.

We hear the phone CLICK on the other end.

John puts the phone back on the hook and leans his head against the wall.

He SIGHS.

CUT TO:

71 INT. OFFICE—WASHINGTON D.C.—NIGHT

The OFFICE is small. The only light in the room is produced by the computer screen on David’s DESK, which is cluttered with books and papers.

David sits behind the desk in a chair, his head leaning back as he stares at the ceiling, a look of dismay and failure casts upon his face.

FOCUS ON:

The COMPUTER SCREEN shows an electronic green line, like a HEART BEAT MONITOR, with the line constantly extending and traveling to the left in a slightly ‘squiggly’ motion.

We hear a series of electronic BEEPS every few seconds.

SUDDENLY, the rapidity of the beats grows. They soon become extremely rapid, and the green line being formed on the screen grows to mountainous heights.

David looks at the screen and develops a look of deep worry.

He uses the MOUSE and clicks a few things on the screen.

FOCUS ON:

On the screen, we see an overhead map of the Philippine Sea, except it is a THERMAL MAP, areas where it is cool are in BLUE, warm is ORANGE, very hot is RED.

Most of the sea is blue, but there is a large stretch that is PULSATING with a bright red.

FOCUS ON:

David’s eyes WIDEN.

CUT TO:

72 INT. OVAL OFFICE—NIGHT

The president sits at his desk filling out various papers.

Off screen, we hear a door SLAM OPEN.

A BLACK MAN dressed in a black suit and wearing sunglasses STORMS in holding a piece of paper.

He slams the sheet of paper onto the president’s desk.

He speaks with a very deep and concerned tone, the president just seems confused.

PRESIDENT KEITHWhat the hell is this?

BLACK MAN(points to paper)We just got this message from Dr. Connors.

The president, his eyes still wide and confused, flips over the white sheet of paper.

FOCUS ON:

On the PAPER is a series of unreadable numbers and graphs. Written in giant letters with black marker across the paper are the words: “WE HAVE ELEVEN HOURS.”

The signature DAVID CONNORS is written on the bottom.

The black man speaks to the president.

BLACK MANWhat do you propose we do, sir?

The president continues to stare off into space before he puts down the paper. He looks up with a look of terror at the black man.

PRESIDENT KEITHWhat can we do?

The black man speaks with leadership, almost like trying to take control.

BLACK MANMay I suggest evacuation, sir?

SCOGGS, who sits in a chair in the corner of the room, stands up and answers for the president.

SCOGGSYou’re talking about moving a billion people in a few hours. Even with the entire might of the military we wouldn’t even come close!

The black man yells at Scoggs.

BLACK MANAlright, then what the hell do you suggest we do?

Scoggs tries to spit out words but can’t come to it.

All eyes turn to the president as he sighs and speaks with fear and hesitation in his voice.

PRESIDENT KEITHAlright, we keep a lid on this. David was wrong last time, there’s more evidence than not that he’ll be wrong this time.

BLACK MANThat’s a hell of a gamble, sir.

FOCUS ON:

The president’s FACE is obviously in terror. His eyes are wide as they stare into space and we can see small rolls of sweat running down his face.

He speaks with obvious fear.

PRESIDENT KEITHThen we better start praying, then.

CUT TO:

73 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE—WASHINGTON D.C.—NIGHT

David sits at his desk with the phone to his ear. We can hear it ringing on the other end.

David speaks to himself harshly.

DAVIDCome on, pick up, pick up, pick up God Dammit!

74 INT. ROSE’S APARTMENT—NIGHT

In Rose’s apartment, her CORDLESS PHONE RINGS on the couch in her living room.

We can see through the large window the Golden Gate Bridge illuminated in all its glory.

Rose walks into the room and picks up the phone.

ROSEHello?

75 INT. DAVID’S OFFICE

David speaks into the phone, talking to Rose on the other end.

DAVIDRose?


Rose answers.

ROSEDavid, hey.


David talks fast, we can see beads of sweat on his face as he talks, his world seems to be collapsing from inside his head.

DAVIDListen, Rose. You have two electronic boarding passes to D.C. The flight leaves at seven in the morning, I want you on that plane!


Rose’s face turns to concern as she closes her eyes and speaks like a girl about to break up with her boyfriend.

ROSELook, David-


David interrupts her.

DAVIDRose, this thing is going to be much, much bigger than I originally thought-


Rose interrupts him this time.

ROSEThat’s right, David. What you, originally thought. Look, David. I can’t live around your crazy theories and apocalyptic predictions anymore. I have supported you and helped you all the way through, but this is where I have to draw the line. David, stop this!

There is a long SILENCE.


David sheds a TEAR.

He speaks quietly.

DAVIDRose, please be on that plane.


Rose fires at him.

RoseDavid, no!

She hands up the phone and throws it on the couch.


We hear an OFF-HOOK signal on the other end of the line.

David puts his head on the desk, he is obviously crying.

FADE TO: BLACK

84 EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN—NIGHT

The ocean is calm, the white caps that usually graze the surface are absent. There is all but dead silence as the LARGE AMERICAN CARGO SHIP slips through the blue.

85 INT. OFFICE—CARGO SHIP—SAME TIME

The office is small, with off-white walls and a sloppy desk. On the desk is a large, outdated computer and an old printer that prints with paper punched on both sides.

The CAPTAIN’S ADVISOR sits in a chair behind the desk, his head leaning back towards the ceiling. He is SLEEPING.

SUDDENLY, the printer begins to make LOUD, MECHANICAL NOISES as a large ribbon of computer paper begins to spit out of the machine.

FOCUS ON:

The captain’s advisor’s eyes slowly open as he rubs them with his fists as he wakes up.

He looks over at the printer quickly spitting out sheets upon sheets of small, unreadable black numbers of data.

CAPTAIN’S ADVISOR(sleepily)Huh?

CUT TO:

86 INT. BRIDGE—CARGO SHIP—MOMENTS LATER

The bridge is quiet. CREWMEN sit at consoles, watch screens, and examine the deck.

The CAPTAIN stands with his arms crossed behind his back overlooking the bough of the ship as it glides among the waves.

The captain’s advisor comes running into the screen with a thick wad of paper.

He speaks with a sort of quiet dismay in his voice, like a hidden worry.

CAPTAIN’S ADVISORSir, I think you should have a look at this.

CUT TO:

87 INT.OFFICE—SAN DIEGO—NIGHT

TWO MEN wearing white collars and ties sit at two desks in a small office. The office has a large window, which provides a beautiful view of the highly illuminated Qualcomm Stadium.

There are empty pizza boxes and empty Chinese food tubs laying around the office as both men sit back in their chairs with their hands on their bellies, both drift into sleep.

ABRUPTLY, the computer screen on one of the MEN’S desk begins to erupt with large flashing words: “URGENT DATA RECEIVED.”

The MAN wakes abruptly and smacks his lips.

He squints and clicks the screen as numerous data begins to amount onto the screen. It flashes by with quickness and speed that it is unreadable.

It finally STOPS.

The man at the other desk fights a yawn, then asks:

MAN #1What is it?

MAN #2The Abasher is recording temperature rises off the charts.

MAN #1 doesn’t seem too worried.

MAN #1Maybe it’s a mistake.

MAN #1 continues to stare at the screen in confusion and disbelief.

MAN #2Yeah, yeah that’s it. Just a mistake.

88 EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN—NIGHT

The large CARGO SHIP continues to scrape the seas.

89 INT. BRIDGE—CARGO SHIP

The captain stands behind a MAN working at a control console.

CAPTAINWhat’s our position.

MANApproximately 98 miles from Tokyo, sir.

CAPTAINGood.

We see the captain walk away.

FOCUS ON:

On one of the STRAY MONITORS, we see a series of digital thermometers.

FOCUS ON:

The temperature next to the words “EXTERNAL HULL” reads 78º. We see the temperature suddenly jump to 89º, then to 100º, then finally to 114º.

90 EXT. OCEAN AROUND SHIP

We see large WHITE CAPS begin to form around the hull.

91 INT. HOTEL ROOM—TOKYO—NIGHT

The same hotel room as before, with JAPANESE MAN and his WIFE sleeping in the bed side by side.

We hear a LOW RUMBLING, similar to before.

FOCUS ON:

The wife’s eyes open slightly as she grunts.

She leans over and nudges her husband, the Japanese man. He GURNTS a little, then finally lifts himself up.

He speaks sleepily.

JAPANESE MAN(in Japanese)

What? What is it?

His wife closes her eyes and lies back down as she speaks.

WIFE(in Japanese)See what that noise is, would you?

The man SIGHS and GRUNTS.

He manages to lift himself off the bed and stand up. He feels the ground below him shake, and we see the room shaking, like a small earthquake.

A PICTURE on the wall FALLS off its hook and lands on the ground in a million shattered pieces.

The quake STOPS.

The Japanese man walks over to the window, the curtains cover the glass.

FOCUS ON:

He pulls back the curtains and ABRUPTLY, tons of water come CRASHING through the window, causing the screen to FADE TO BLACK.

CUT TO:

92 EXT. JAPAN HIGH RISE—MORNING

PANNED SHOT:

Japan is GONE, only the tips of the tallest towers in Japan stick out from the surface of the water. Debris is everywhere, it carpets the surface of the water.

Thousands of PEOPLE swim among the wooden debris, some people camp out atop the few buildings that rise higher than the water.

HELICOPTERS soar overhead, POLICE BOATS make rounds, collecting victims of the flooding.

93 EXT. UNDERWATER—TOKYO

The camera moves down into the depths.

We see the city, like a ghost town underwater. Debris floats everywhere, the light slowly diminishes as we reach the bottom, where cars are scattered everywhere on the newly underwater roads, glass floats, wood floats, and the bodies of those lost in the flood float as well.

FOCUS ON:

We see the LARGE CARGO ship sticking out of a building it had crashed into.

The large black hull leans down towards the bottom as the bough has crashed into the building, creating a hole in the building with shattered glass and metal surrounding the perimeter.

FOCUS ON:

We can read the words Abasher in large white letters screened onto the stern.

94 INT. OVAL OFFICE—MORNING

The president’s head is on his desk.

MEN stand around all with their arms crossed, they obviously know of the news.

DAVID walks into the room slowly, his eyes deeper than usual, like bottomless pools of blue.

He stands before the president, who raises his head with struggle like recovering from a hangover.

PRESIDENT KEITHDr. Connors…how bad is it?

David doesn’t answer immediately.

He looks down at the president with eyes like glowing sapphires, like a hypnotist.

HE speaks with fear and slight anger.

DAVID59 million and growing. Casualties, of course, that we know about.

President Keith closes his eyes in emotional pain.

PRESIDENT KEITHJesus…what can we do, Dr. Connors?

David looks around the room, then back at the president.

DAVIDThere’s nothing we can do. If you would’ve listened to me we could have the West Coast empty, and saved a billion lives.

The president remains SPEECHLESS as David flashes him the look of SATAN and walks off screen.

President gives a helpless stare around the room, he looks at Scoggs, the black man, and a few of his other assistants lining the room.

He finally GULPS, then speaks with a tone of helplessness.

PRESIDENT KEITHScoggs…

Scoggs clears his throat from the corner of the room.

He speaks with hesitation.

SCOGGSYes…um…sir?

PRESIDENT KEITHSend an order to the military, tell them to get people the hell out of California.

CUT TO:

95 EXT. CALIFORNIA COAST—MORNING—RAINING

TITLE: LOS ANGELES COAST

A FISHING BOAT rocks violently in the waves and whitecaps. The skies are gray, and rain drizzles down from the heavens.

The fishing boat is large and made of pieces of old wood; nets hang off the side are filled with fish and rays. A cabin with broken windows sits at the bough.

FOUR MEN (MINOR CHARACTERS), including JIMMY, scurry around the deck dressed in rubber fishing suits and gloves, panicking and lifting nets out of the water.

Huge WAVES crash over the deck, knocking off barrels and breaking ropes. One PULLY is hit by one of the bigger waves, causing the rope in it to snap and race across the deck, SLAPPING one MAN (INJURED MAN) in the face and knocking him back atop the floor.

He holds his head with his hand, and pulls it back to reveal gobs of blood.

Jimmy runs over and kneels before the man.

He is forced to YELL over the sound of the waves.

JIMMYHey, Scottie, you okay?

The INJURED MAN shakes his head “NO.”

Jimmy helps the man up.

96 INT. CABIN/BRIDGE—MOMENTS LATER

The cabin is a collection of empty beer bottles and computer equipment.

An OLD MAN stands behind the boat’s steering wheel and watches as Jimmy and the injured man walk into a room off screen.

We hear a COMPUTER PRINTING.

The old man looks down beside him.

FOCUS ON:

On the floor next to the steering wheel is an outdated PRINTER spitting out a sheet of paper with a graph on it.

The old man leans over and picks it up; he lifts it to his face.

97 EXT. BOAT DECK

One man still STUMBLES around the deck, struggling to maintain his balance as the waves continue to pound and spill water onto the deck.

The old man (CAPTAIN) runs out and waves the paper.

He YELLS.

CAPTAINI don’t get it? The weather report says light drizzle! This is insane!

The OTHER MAN yells as he works to secure the nets on the end of the deck.

OTHER MANMaybe it’ll blow over!

Another GIANT WAVE crashes through the ship, knocking both the captain and the remaining crewman on the deck to their feet.

98 INT. ROOM ON DECK

The ROOM is dark and small, a cot lays on the side; there is a sink and various chest; also, a small circular window where we can see the waves crash against the glass.

The injured man lies on the cot, a gauze pad around his forehead, it is stained in blood.

He looks UNCONCIOUS.

Jimmy is standing before a medical cabinet looking through it.

He finally produces a SMALL VILE OF LIQUID and a syringe.

He whispers to himself.

JIMMYHere, we go.

He takes the syringe and PUNCHES the tip through the top of the vile.

FOCUS ON:

The syringe FILLS with the liquid in the vile.

Jimmy puts the vial down and takes the syringe over to the injured man.

He speaks to the man calmly.

JIMMYOkay, buddy, this might hurt a little bit.

FOCUS ON:

He gets the syringe within a centimeter of the man’s flesh on his arm before…

SUDDENLY the ship JOLTS and Jimmy is knocked back against the sink.

The injured man ROLLS off his cot and onto the floor.

Jimmy puts the syringe down and struggles to lift the man back onto the cot, grunting all the while, using all his strength.

FOCUS ON:

As he lifts the man into a lying position, he looks out the window.

He suddenly STOPS MOVING.

P.O.V.—JIMMY

Out of the window, we see an ENORMOUS WAVE, a hundred feet tall, move towards the boat from about a half-mile away.

99 EXT. CALIFORNIA COASTLINE—SAME TIME

The wave moves like a MONSTER as it builds height and speed and moves towards the boat with Godzilla-like force.

100 EXT. BOAT DECK

The captain and the other man look in awe at the beauty of the impending doom.

101 INT. ROOM ON BOAT

Jimmy’s heart is beating rapidly as he talks on a BLACK CELL PHONE.

102 INT. JIMMY’S APARTMENT—SAME TIME

In Jimmy’s apartment, Nora sits on the couch while her children are in the KITCHEN eating at a dinner table.

103 KITCHEN—JIMMY’S APARTMENT

The kitchen is small and basic, only the necessities.

The two children are sitting at the table enjoying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

A PHONE hung on the wall begins to RING.

The LITTLE GIRL gets up off the table and goes over to the phone; she picks it up and answers sweetly.

LITTLE GIRLHello, Heedick residence may I ask who’s calling?

104 INT. ROOM ON BOAT—SAME TIME

Jimmy’s face turns slightly brighter as he forces a smile.

He talks to his daughter, he knows possibly for the last time.

JIMMYHoney!

105 INT. KITCHEN—JIMMY’S APARTMENT

The little girl answers.

LITTLE GIRLOh, hi daddy!

106 INT. ROOM ON BOAT—SAME TIME

Jimmy bares his soul the best he can.

JIMMY(panicky)Honey, tell your brother, and your mother that I love you, and, that I’m-

We see the ship JOLT and a LOUD SCREECHING as Jimmy stumbles and DROPS the phone.

FOCUS ON:

The phone SHATTERS into many pieces on the floor.


The phone goes DEAD on the other end. The little girl looks confused.

Nora walks into the room and looks at her daughter with a confused smile.

NORAWho was that, baby?

She answers.

LITTLE GIRLDaddy.

Nora gives us a big smile, now, and crosses her arms.

NORAOh, what he say?

LITTLE GIRLHe said he loves us and then he got cut off.

Nora’s smile turns to a look of terror as she suddenly RUNS into the living room.

108 INT. LIVING ROOM-JIMMY’S APARTMENT

Nora RUNS over to a window in the corner of the room.

P.O.V.—NORA

Through the window we can see parts of Los Angeles. The building is very close to the beach, so we can see the water in the background. Giant white caps break the beaches and cover the boardwalks, the atmosphere is like that of a massive hurricane on approach.

NORA(to herself)

My God.

109 EXT. BOAT DECK

The captain, Jimmy, and the remaining crew member slip and slide on the deck trying to secure ropes and lower poles.

We can see the giant wave rising like a mountain in the background.

The men suddenly stop and take REFUGE in the cabin/bridge.

110 INT. CABIN/BRIDGE

The MEN fumble with papers and equipment.

FOCUS ON:

The captain stops his panicky searching and produces a small red BIBLE.

Jimmy and the other crewman look over at it.

CAPTAINThere’s nothin’ left.

We hear a LOUD RUMBLE as the men run outside onto the DECK.

111 EXT. BOAT DECK

The THREE MEN all face the same thing that we cannot see in the background.

P.O.V.—THREE MEN

We see the enormous WAVE.

It is a MONSTER, towering a hundred feet and curls with white near the apex.

112 EXT. COASTLINE

The boat FLIPS over as the towering monster engulfs the boat, SHATTERING it into hundreds of pieces that disappear into the depths.

CUT TO:

113 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—SAME TIME

The city is CALM, people go about their normal daily business as usual.

114 INT. SEWERS—LOS ANGELES—SAME TIME

The SEWERS are LARGE, about fifteen feet high with the same diameter length. Water runs through, but is only about ankle-depth.

WALKING along the sewer passage are FIVE MEN. Four of them wear white jumpsuits, while the FOREMAN wears a white collar and tie. ALL are wearing HARD HATS and FLASHLIGHTS.

The men speak to each other INDISTINCTLEY as they walk along the passage.

The foreman stops and aims his flashlight at the wall, wear water SPOUTS from a small crack and runs down the side of the walls.

The foreman gives the crack a patronizing stare.

FOREMAN(Brooklyn accent)They called us down here for this?

One of the WORKERS speaks with a Spanish accent.

WORKER (O.S.)Maybe it is somewhere else.

The foreman produces a MAP of he sewers.

He looks down at it, then back at the small crack.

FOREMANNah, this is the place. Must be a hell of a backup.

115 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREET

On a busy street, we focus on a BLUE SPORTS CAR parked in front of a deli.

A POLICE OFFICER walks up to the car and tries to place a TICKET on the windshield.

The ticket SLIPS out.

Frustrated, the officer lifts the windshield wiper and places the ticket underneath it.

SUDDENLY, the CAR’S OWNER, dressed in a white-collar shirt and khakis, walks out of the deli.

He gives the police officer a GLARE and runs over to the windshield. He speaks with panic in his voice.

CAR’S OWNERHey, what the hell are you doing?

POLICE OFFICERYou’ve been parked here fifteen minutes overtime.

The car’s owner angrily takes the ticket out from underneath the windshield and puts the wiper back into place.

CAR’S OWNERYou could’ve broken my damn car!

116 INT. SEWERS

The foreman produces what looks like an ICE PICK. He carefully places the tip over the crack and slams down; we hear a metal CLANK.

We suddenly hear a low rumbling as the ground begins to shake.

It then STOPS in a abrupt fashion.

The foreman looks around at his crew.

FOREMANWhat was that?

As if to answer him, the walls suddenly EXPLODE as water erupts into the passageway, instantly (and obviously) destroying it.

117 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREET

The car’s owner continues yelling at the police officer, who remains calm and silent.

In an act of rage, the car’s owner thrashes the ticket in the air while YELLING.

CAR’S OWNERYou could’ve scratched my windshield!

INSTANTLEY, a nearby MANHOLE COVER soars into the air, being followed by a TOWER of erupting water.

People suddenly begin to yell and panic as towers begin to appear every few feet and water begins to fill the roads.

A MANHOLE COVER falls atop the BLUE SPORTS CAR’S windshield with explosive force, causing the glass to shatter and fly into the air.

The car’s owner looks in SHOCK.

FOCUS ON:

A MAN runs through the street when ABRUPTLY water SHOOTS out from a storm drain and knocks him off his feet.

118 EXT. FRONT OF MARIO’S PIZZA SHOP

John and Mario run out of the pizza shop and stand on the sidewalk looking at the crowds of people running about.

P.O.V.—JOHN AND MARIO

We can see people running about screaming, cars crashing into each other and towers of water erupting from the manholes.

They both look down.

FOCUS ON:

The water splashes slightly over the curb.

Mario yells over at John.

MARIOMaybe we should head upstairs!

JOHNThat sounds good.

Mario turns and RUNS back into the building.

John hesitates for a second, then begins to turn himself.

We suddenly hear the sound of a LITTLE GIRL CRYING.

John stops and turns around. He looks to the side.

FOCUS ON:

An 8-YEAR OLD GIRL (CANDICE) leans against the wall CRYING her eyes out. She kicks the wall.

John runs over and KNEELS next to her.

He speaks in a soothing tone as he tries to calm the girl.

JOHNHey, hey, where are your parents?

The girl continues crying and POINTS out into the flooded road. John turns his head to see.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see a CAR flipped over in the road, completely CRUSHED by a tractor trailer; people simply run around it as the panic continues.

John GULPS, then looks around.

JOHNOkay, come on.

John puts his arms around Candice and lifts her up. She continues to cry on his shoulder.

He rushes back into the pizza place.

119 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—SAME TIME

The horror continues as people scramble over upturned cars and run into buildings.

FOCUS ON:

Various PEOPLE stare down at the horror from behind the glass windows of office buildings.

FOCUS ON:

A FIRE HYDRANT explodes and a tower of water erupts from it.

120 EXT. ROAD ALONG BEACH

A ROAD, like a highway, runs along a boardwalk that is along a beach.

FOCUS ON:

A stream of MASSIVE TIDAL WAVES comes crashing over the boardwalk walls.

The water immediately crushes cars and pushes traffic aside at will as it moves through the city like a monster, running over helpless citizens and engulfing small shops and cars with water.

CUT TO:

121 INT. ROSE’S APARTMENT—SAME TIME

Rose stands in front of the large window in her living room, her face matches a look of sheer terror.

P.O.V.—ROSE

The traffic-filled Golden Gate Bridge is being swamped by massive waves.

122 EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

People get out of there cars and run across the bridge, fleeing with fear.

Some are swept off the bridge and into the violently turbulent waters below by swells sweeping over the bridge.

One GIANT WAVE crashes over the bridge and pushes a tractor-trailer onto its side. It crushes several cars, some people run out of the way, others are not so lucky.

The large truck slides off the edge of the bridge and into the water below, landing with a splash, but the waves it creates cannot be seen very well blended in with the already existent ripples.

123 INT. WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE—NOT LONG LATER

The office is large, with many desks and television sets and phones, designed much like a police station.

Phones RING off the hook and people try their best to answer frantically.

In a corner, many PEOPLE, including David, gather around a television set displaying the NEWS.

FOCUS ON:

On the television set we can see various cities via a HELICOPTER CAMERA flooded with twenty feet of water.

FOCUS ON:

David clutches his hands.

ONE MAN puts his hand on David’s shoulder and chuckles as he attempts to make the best of the situation.

MANThey should’ve listen to you, Davy.

David’s eyes don’t move as they stay fixated on the screen. He answers QUIETLY.

DAVIDMy wife’s in San Francisco.

The man’s face turns to embarrassed and his tone turns apologetic.

MAN

Jeez, man. I’m sorry. Hey she’ll be alright though, look (points to screen), I think it’s over.

The man walks off screen.

FOCUS ON:

David continues to STARE deeply at the TV…it is obvious he knows something no one else does.

124 EXT. BUILDING CONTAINING MARIO’S PIZZA—ROOFTOP

The building that sits atop Mario’s pizza shop is about twelve stories.

A CROWD of people, most dressed in business suits and carrying cell phones, stand around stranded at the top.

There is what looks like an OUTHOUSE atop the roof, which actually contains stairs leading down into the building.

FOCUS ON:

Mario sits next to the little girl in one corner, she seems to have calmed down.

Mario tries consoling her.

MARIOSo what’s your name, sweety?

CANDICECandice.

MARIOOh, that’s a nice name-

She interrupts him.

CANDICEAre my mommy and daddy okay?

Mario stops in hesitation, he doesn’t know what to say.

He starts to say something but John walks over and starts.

JOHNI think it stopped. The water’s about twenty feet deep. Might be a little rough.

Mario gets up and looks over the edge of the building.

P.O.V.—MARIO

We see the water below. It rises a few feet about his pizza place. The water is unusually clear, we can see CARS and other debris floating on the bottom.

Mario looks over at John.

FOCUS ON:

John has a BACKPACK unzipped on the ground. He puts a few large ZIPLOCK BAGS inside.

Mario questions him.

MARIOWhat are you doing?

John stands up and flips the backpack on. He secures it with a clip on his waist.

JOHNWe need a radio.

MARIOWe got radios, they’re all over this building.

JOHNYeah but we don’t have any power. We need a battery op.

MARIOI’m sure we can find one, it’s a big building!

John stops and SIGHS. His mood changes.

JOHNI’ve gotta find my dad, too.

Mario doesn’t say anything.

John brushes by him and opens the door to the stairs.

Mario yells after him.

MARIOWait a minute, where are you going?

John turns around.

JOHNSwimming.

125 INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL—SAME TIME

The terminal is filled with PEOPLE lugging around suitcases and monitoring flight schedules.

We see WILL running down the terminal with no luggage and still dressed in his bar uniform.

He pushes through people and pants, we see his face is sweaty and panicky.

Eventually he reaches a LINE OF PEOPLE standing behind a counter operated by a WOMAN.

He PUSHES through the line, much to the dismay of various people. He puts his hands upon the counter. Before he can talk the woman gives him a nasty look.

WOMANHey, you cannot cut, sir!

Will doesn’t listen.

His voice is PANICKY.

WILLI need a flight to Los Angeles! Now!

The woman gives him a confused stare.

WOMANSir, all flights to the West Coast are delayed because of the floods. I’m sorry.

WILL(desperately)Please. My brother’s in Los Angeles. Please. Please help me.

The woman gives a sympathetic SIGH.

She types on the computer briefly.

WOMANWe have no current flights to Los Angeles. But I can get you on our last flight to Phoenix of the day.

WILLThere’s nowhere closer?

WOMANI’m sorry, sir.

After a brief hesitation, Will answers.

WILLOkay, I’ll take it.

126 INT. STAIRWELL—MARIO’S PIZZA BUILDING—DARK

The stairwell is like any emergency stairwell in any building, with flights of stairs leading down/up to different landings with doors leading to different levels of the building.

We see John’s FLASHLIGHT shining around the dark corners.

He reaches a landing with a door marked “LEVEL ONE.”

We see that there is one more set of stairs leading down to Mario’s Pizza shop, we also see that the stairs and the level below the stairs is underwater.

John stands atop the stairs and looks down into the water.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see the stairs leading down to an underwater landing.

FOCUS ON:

A door on the underwater landing reads “MARIO’S PIZZA.”

John SIGHS and steps down onto the first step, and into the water.

He walks down until he his about a third of the way down the stairs and the water reaches his neck.

He HOLDS HIS BREATH and dives under the surface.

127 INT. GROUND FLOOR—MARIO’S PIZZA BUILDING—UNDERWATER

John SWIMS down the stairs using frog-style, kicking and moving his arms in deep thrusts to propel himself through the water.

He reaches the DOOR to Mario’s pizza and turns the handle. The door CRACKS OPEN.

128 INT. KITCHEN—MARIO’S PIZZA—UNDERWATER

John finds himself in a kitchen with debris floating everywhere. SMALL CANS, DOUGH, and CARDBOARD BOXES drift around like in zero-gravity.

HE pushes through the mess and into the lobby.

129 INT. LOBBY—MARIO’S PIZZA—UNDERWATER

John swims through the lobby and out the door glass door, which is shattered.

130 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—FLOODED

The water has risen about twenty-feet or so. Debris floats down the streets quickly, indicating a current.

We see John SURFACE in front of the Pizza Shop.

He grabs on to the wall and STRUGGLES for breath. His head hits the concrete as he closes his eyes with tiredness.

131 EXT. UNDERWATER—LOS ANGELES STREETS

We see John frantically kicking as he clings to the wall from below the surface.

In the streets, we see upturned cars and shattered glass, debris flows like liquid through the water.

FOCUS ON:

Along the street, we can see MOVEMENT.

Something large and BLACK glides along the bottom. It lifts itself up from the submerged street to reveal itself as a giant STINGRAY.

It flies through the water slowly before gently breaking the surface.

132 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—ABOVE WATER

John turns around and WATCHES the scene.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see a small, rubbery surface barely glide above the surface, the rest of the animal underwater.

John tightens up and clings to the side of the building in fear.

133 EXT. UNDERWATER—LOS ANGELES STREETS

The giant ray dives back into the water and swiftly glides into the refuge of a nearby submerged storm drain.


John puts his head back against the wall and SIGHS.

135 INT. JIMMY’S (NORA’S) APARTMENT—SAME TIME

The power is OUT in the apartment, for it is dark.

Nora’s children sit on the couch playing a BOARD GAME while Nora stands against the wall on a phone.

We hear a ROBOTIC FEMALE VOICE over the phone.

FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)We’re sorry, all circuits are busy-

Nora interrupts the voice.

NORADammit!

She throws the phone against the wall.

FOCUS ON:

The phone SHATTERS.

The children POP UP in fright and run off screen to their rooms in fright.

Nora falls to the floor and begins to cry.

The CHILDREN run back into the room yelling.

LITTLE GIRLMommy! Come look at this!


The children direct her to the window.

P.O.V.—NORA

We see John fighting against the current as he swims down the street.

NORAWhat is he…?


John breast strokes through the current, we see him gasping all the way.

We hear what sounds like a HELICOPTER fly overhead as John looks up.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see the COPTER soar overhead before the sound of it disappears.

John continues.

138 INT. WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM—SAME TIME

It is a swarm of reporters as David stands atop the podium.

HE TAPS the microphone as all goes silent.

He seems to have lost his shy attitude and patience.

DAVIDI’m sure we’ve all seen the damage, that nature can do. Well I’ve got more news. The volcanoes right now are going through pre-eruption spasms.

The room itself erupts in chatter.

David taps the microphone again to silence the crowd.

DAVIDThis thing can go off at any minute and when it does, that water will turn the west coast into Atlantis. My suggestion is to warn everybody and get into the highest buildings you can. As for the small towns, all I can do is tell you to pray. That’s al I have to say.

David walks off the podium and disappears behind the curtains much to the disliking of many of the people in the room.

139 INT. GEORGE’S (JOHN’S FATHER) APARTMENT—LATER

The power is out there, too.

George paces around looking out the window while Heather lies on the couch reading a magazine.

George lifts the blinds of one of the windows.

GEORGECan you believe this shit?

HEATHERWhatever.

GEORGEI wonder where your brother is.

HEATHER(casually)Why?

George doesn’t answer.

We hear a LOUD BANGING on the door.

George walks over to the door.

GEORGEWho the hell could that be?

He unlocks the door and it SWINGS open.

P.O.V.—GEORGE

John is dripping wet as he stand with his backpack still on.

GEORGEJohn?

John doesn’t answer.

He walks past his father and picks up a small WALKMAN resting on the coffee table.

He fumbles with it.

Heather sits up annoyed.

HEATHERHey that’s mine!

JOHNI need a radio.

John puts the headphones of the Walkman on and listens to nothing but static.

He looks around.

JOHNI need a signal.

He disappears into the hallway.

George yells after him.

GEORGEJohn, wait!

140 EXT. ROOFTOP—JOHN’S APARTMENT—MOMENTS LATER

John, now on the roof, runs over to the edge of the building.

We hear through John’s headphones a radio broadcasts.

FOCUS ON:

As he listens, his facial expression turns to terror.

141 INT. GEORGE’S APARTMENT

John comes running back into the apartment.

Heather and George look over at him.

JOHNWe have to go.

GEORGEGo where?

JOHNThis building is only fifty feet high. Mario’s is almost a hundred and fifty, we need to get as high as we can. Plus there’s people there, the choppers won’t be able to see just three people in this mess.

GEORGEWait, you want us to swim to Mario’s.

JOHNI swam here.

GEORGEYou’re young.

John fires at his father.

JOHNYou tell me I’m an idiot, too.

George looks down in a suppressed shame.

Heather whines.

HEATHERI can’t swim.

John doesn’t listen, he walks over to the window and opens it.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see that the water level is about three feet lower than the window. It splashes up violently.

John slams the window shut and turns back to his father and Heather.

JOHNThe current’s too rough. We’ll give it a little while and see if it calms down.

ABRUPTLY, we hear a loud metal CLANK and the sound of running water.

All of the characters in the room lean around the corner into the small kitchen.

P.O.V.—EVERYBODY

We see a faucet in the kitchen has EXPLODED, and water shoots from broken plumbing.

We hear a loud CRACKING.

FOLLOW SHOT—A large black CRACK forms around the ceiling, it snakes like an animal around the apartment.

John, Heather, and George follow it.

It eventually forms a full ring and stops.

SUDENLY, the crack explodes and water erupts out.

John runs out the door into the hallway, he yells back at Heather and George.

JOHNCome on!

They FOLLOW him out into the hall.

142 EXT. ROOFTOP—GEORGE’S APARTMENT

John runs to the edge of the rooftop and looks over.

The water begins to quickly rise in the streets. More waves rush down the streets and alleyways.

George and Heather join him on the rooftop.

143 INT. NORA’S APARTMENT—SAME TIME

FOCUS ON:

We see the water begin to slip over the windowsill and into the building.

The children begin to cry.

NORAOh my God!

She grabs her LITTLE BOY and pulls on her little girl’s shirt, pulling her out the door into the hallway.

144 INT. HALLWAY

IN the hall, we see TENANTS running out of their apartments and into the hall.

Water flows like a river, ankle deep, through the corridor.

Nora pulls her children to a DOOR at the end of the hall.

FOCUS ON:

A label on the door reads EXIT.

She pushes through the door, revealing a stairwell.

145 INT. STAIRWELL—NORA’S APARTMENT BUILDING

The stairwell is much like the one in Mario’s. Water flows over the landing and quickly continues to rise.

Nora climbs the stairs, the little girl follows, but TRIPS on the stairs and into the water.

Nora turns and grabs her arm, pulling her out as she CRIES.

146 EXT. ROOFTOP—NORA’S BUILDING

We see Nora run out with her children running to the edge of the rooftop.

Nora looks over the edge.

P.O.V.—NORA

We can see the current pushing things aside in a VIOLENT fashion: cars that once sat on the bottom bob on the surface as they are flipped around by the pushing water, and waves crash against buildings, breaking glass and flooding structures.

147 EXT. ROOFTOP—JOHN’S BUILDING

John and his family watch as the water continues its violent progressions.

We see that other tenants of the building have taken the idea of congregating on the roof.

We see that the water has risen to about 40 feet and seems to be calming.

John turns back to his father; we see that he is turning into a true leader.

JOHNThis won’t do. We have to get somewhere higher.

John pushes past his father and addresses the crowd.

JOHNHey, everybody! Everybody listen up!

People turn their heads to John, many get off their cell phones to listen.

John hesitates a bit but manages to continue.

JOHNWe have to get somewhere higher. Um, this water, is going to get, very, very high! I don’t know how much or when, but I do know that this is not the safest place to be at the moment.

One NERDY MAN wearing a gray suit and glasses speaks up.

NERDY MANWhere do you expect we go?

JOHNI don’t know what kind of condition any of these buildings are in, but two blocks away there’s a building that I know has food, and is easily spotted, so we’ll probably have a good chance of getting rescued.

This causes a stir in the crowd.

NERDY MANDo you expect us to swim there?

JOHNYou got a better idea?

The man remains silent.

John walks over to the edge of the rooftop and looks down at the water. It is relatively calm.

He turns back to the crowd.

JOHNThe water’s pretty calm right now. This’ll probably be our best chance.

Several people go back to their cell phones and their chatter.

John looks frustrated.

JOHNHey! Now you can either stay here and see how long you can tread water, or you can come with me and try to survive! I’m going, you make your choice.

The nerdy man looks amused.

NERDY MANWell I’m not going.

JOHNFine, we don’t need people like you anyway.

John walks over to the doorway that leads back into the building.

He turns to the crowd to see that about a third begin to walk his way.

He chuckles a bit, but then sees that his father and sister stay with the nerdy man’s side.

As people begin going down the stairwell, John runs over to his dad.

JOHNCome on!

George shakes his head ‘no.’

GEORGEI’m gonna stay here, John.

JOHNWhat, why?

GEORGEBecause I just don’t think I can go with you on this one, John.

John gives his father a final DEEP STARE.

JOHNYeah, when do you ever.

John turns and runs into the stairwell.

FOCUS ON:

George SIGHS.


John jumps out of a WINDOW in the apartment and falls a few feet into the water below.

He surfaces and treads water, he looks up at about three PEOPLE gathered by the window.

He YELLS up at them.

JOHNCome on, jump!

FOCUS ON:

One WOMAN looks terrified as she stares into the distance.

John yells back at her.

JOHNWhat’s wrong? Just jump!

John turns around to see what the woman is staring at.

FOCUS ON:

He looks up in horror.

JOHN(to self)Oh, shit.

WIDE SHOT—

We see a GIANT CRASHING wave moving like a monster moving down the street, engulfing floating cars and destroying walls of buildings.

The people gathered by the window flee.

John swims over and reaches up, but he cannot reach the windowsill. He struggles and grunts to no avail.


George looks down over the edge of the rooftop.

P.O.V.—GEORGE

We see John struggling to reach the windowsill, but he can’t.

George’s eyes widen.


John continues to struggle trying to reach the window.

After a few seconds of struggling, we see a HAND reach out of the windowsill.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see George reaching down for John.

GEORGEGrab my hand, son!

John reaches up and grabs his father’s hand.

SUDDENLY, the wall of water violently slams by.

151 INT. JOHN’S APARTMENT BUILDING

George is knocked back by the brief crash of the passing tidal wave.

HE recovers, ALONE.

He runs over to the window and looks out.

P.O.V.—GEORGE

We see the wave continue its course down the city streets.

George yells.

GEORGEJohn!

152 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—UNDERWATER

John is swept like a piece of debris down the street. We see him flailing his arms and holding his breath,


The wave slams into a wall and breaks up.

We see JOHN break the surface of the water and break into heavy breathing.

He grabs onto the side of the wall and closes his eyes in pain.

He looks down the street to see the building containing Mario’s Pizza shop.

154 EXT. ROOFTOP—MARIO’S PIZZA PLACE—LATER

The people atop Mario’s building all chatter and admire the view, trying to make the best of the situation.

We hear a door FLY OPEN.

Everybody’s head turns towards the door leading into the building’s interior.

FOCUS ON:

John stands in the DOORFRAME, dripping wet, shivering, and wheezing for breath.

Mario RUNS to his aide.

He grabs him and lays him down by the edge of the roof, putting a large piece of cloth under his head like a pillow.

MARIOCome on, John, lay down buddy, you’ll be alright.

Mario unzips John’s backpack and takes out a zip lock bag.

FOCUS ON:

The zip lock bag contains a SMALL WALKMAN RADIO.

Mario unzips the bag and pulls out the radio, only to discover that water drips from its insides, ruined.

FADE TO: BLACK


FADE IN FROM BLACK

FOCUS ON:

John’s eyes open slightly as he grunts and wakes up.

He stands up sleepily and we notice that the sky is turning a deep PURPLE.

People are lying down everywhere, some read magazines, others eat candy bars.

Mario runs over to John with a bar of chocolate.

He hands him the bar.

MARIOHere, eat this.

John takes a bite of it and then talks.

JOHNWhat time is it?

MARIOEight.

JOHNWhat’s the water looking like?

MARIOIt’s up to the eighth floor, about seventy feet, give or take.

John goes and looks over the edge of the rooftop.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see that the water is relatively calm about seventy-five feet below; we see only a few pieces of debris floating slowly.

John turns back to Mario.

JOHNWe need to move.

MARIOWhat, why?

JOHNI listened to a little bit of report, this water’s only gonna get higher. Probably over two hundred feet. What’s the highest building in the area?

Mario hesitates, then points to a building about three blocks away.

WIDE SHOT

The building is about eighty feet taller than Mario’s.

MARIOThat’s Apex Apartments. It’s the tallest within a mile.

JOHNThat’ll have to do.

John starts to walk over to his backpack.

Mario follows.

MARIOWait, you mean you actually want to move all these people three blocks in seventy feet of water. Tidal waves come through out of nowhere John, it looks calm now but in a few minutes it could be a deathtrap.

John bends down and unzips his backpack.

He flips it upside down and begins to shake out water.

He speaks as he works.

JOHNWell we can either stay here and take the risk of the water getting to us before we’re rescued, or we can figure out a way to get to that building and by ourselves some time.

MARIOI don’t know, John.

JOHNYou don’t have to come, but I am. Candice is coming with me.

John stands up and walks over to the edge. He throws his backpack over the side and watches as it floats slowly.

JOHNNo current, good time to get going.

MARIOAlright, John, I’m going with you, but only because I wouldn’t think your father would appreciate me letting you go alone.

John walks to the center of the rooftop and says something almost indistinct to Mario.

JOHNI don’t think we have to worry about what my dad thinks anymore.

Mario looks down pondering.

John walks to the middle of the roof, stops, and addresses the crowd of people who, most of which anyway, lie falling asleep.

JOHNI know, this hasn’t been the best day for a lot of you. And I’m sorry I have to say this, but it doesn’t look like it’s getting any better. Now look, I’ve already made this speech once today, and no one listened, and those people who didn’t listen are around anymore, so please, just, just-

A MAN speaks up from the crowd of people who seem to be waking up.

MANWhat is it, kid?

JOHNWe have to get to higher ground. As much as I hate to say it, we have to leave now. Are you with me or not?

Unlike before, everyone seems to agree with John. Nearly everyone gets up from their resting places and stretch, some yawn, others take off their heavy jackets and lay them on the ground.

John smiles a little.

156 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREETS—UNDERWATER

We are at the bottom, we ride along the streets as we see flipped cars and streetlights. School of FISH swim by us.

FOCUS ON:

We see the submerged front of a large building.

FOCUS ON:

A sign above the entrance way reads “APEX APARTMENT COMPLEX.”

PAN UP TO:


We continue following the building up until we reach the rooftop, where we see about TEN PEOPLE gathered.

158 EXT. ROOFTOP—NORA’S BUILDING

The Apex Apartment building is where Nora lives (or once lived).

FOCUS ON:

She sits in the corner, her little boy snuggled under her arm.

The little girl runs amuck on the rooftop HUMMING. She brushes by various people who seem not be too annoyed.

She runs over to the edge of the rooftop and looks over the edge.

P.O.V.—LITTLE GIRL

We see John swimming with about ten or so PEOPLE following him, including Mario, like of pod of dolphins swimming through the streets.

FOCUS ON:

Candice rides on John’s back as he breaststrokes through the water, leading the pack.

The little girl runs over to her mother and pushes her, she yells in excitement.

LITTLE GIRLMommy, wake up. There’s people coming, mommy!

The tenants on the rooftop start looking over the edge. They all see the people coming towards the building.

Nora wakes up.


John reaches the Apex building.

HE stops before a halfway-submerged window and looks back at the people following him.

JOHNCome on! In here!

John ducks below the surface of the water, Candice SCREAMS as she is almost brought down, too, but doesn’t.

Mario follows John in, and other people continue to follow suit.

160 EXT. ROOFTOP—APEX BUILDING—MOMENTS LATER—NIGHT

A small FIRE lights the rooftop in the middle of the area. People gather around it.

The tenants of Mario’s building are being cared for by the tenants of the Apex building, they are wrapped in towels and given blankets.

John leans against the edge of the rooftop,

Mario walks over.

MARIOYou should get some sleep, John.

John CHUCKES.

Nora’s little girl runs on screen and tugs at John’s shirt enthusiastically.

She looks up at him wide-eyed.

LITTLE GIRLHi, what’s your name?

JOHNMy name’s John.

LITTLE GIRLOh, my daddy just calls me sweety.

JOHNI’m sure he’s a good man.

LITTLE GIRLHe was a fisherman. But we got cut off on the phone this morning, so we don’t know where he is.

The little girl’s tone changes from bright and cheery to quiet and sad.

LITTLE GIRLI don’t think I’ll ever see him again.

She looks down at the ground with a sudden sadness.

John looks and Mario and SIGHS.

He kneels down in front of the girl and pats her on the back. He speaks in a soothingly compassionate tone.

JOHNHey, I lost my dad today, too.

The little girl looks up at him, her eyes wet and teary.

JOHNBut you know what, he wouldn’t want you to be sad. He’d want you to stay strong and live your life to the fullest. That’s what we have to do now. Can you stay strong for me?

She sloppily shakes her head “YES.”

John smiles and the little girl scurries off screen.

John stands up and SIGHS.

Mario looks at him.

MARIO(sarcastically)How old are you?

John chuckles.

JOHNSeventeen in two days. Hope I get to see it.

MARIOJohn, you’ve fought harder throughout your life than anyone else I know. Trust me, I remember when you and your brother were both drinking bottles and walking around in diapers. Don’t quit now, kid. Don’t quit now.

Mario pats him on the back and walks off screen.

John SINKS to the ground.

FADE TO BLACK.

161 EXT. LOS ANGELES HIGH RISE—MORNING—ABOVE WATER

FADE IN FROM BLACK.

Los Angeles looks like a sinking city. Far in the distance, we can still see towers rising well above the water.

In the district where the Apex apartments are located, we can see hardly any buildings. It is a collection of small rooftops barely sticking out from the surface, most of which have people gathered atop them.

We see a HELICOPTER soar through the air.

162 EXT. ROOFTOP—APEX BUILDING—MOMENTS LATER

Everybody is asleep; it is like a war zone after a battle.

We hear the sound of roaring helicopter blades off screen.

The tenants gathered atop the building begin to yawn and stretch and open their eyes.

We hear a MAN (PILOT) over a MEGAPHONE off screen.

PILOT (V.O.)Hello, down there!

After a brief pause, people begin to stand and look above them.

P.O.V.—TENANTS

Hovering about thirty feet above the building is a black HELICOPTER.

The people begin to smile and cheer.

Mario looks up and smiles.

FOCUS ON:

John is still asleep through all of this.

Mario leans down and shakes him.

John’s eyes open wearily.

MARIO(excitedly)Wake up, John. We did it, buddy! We did it! Ha ha!

FOCUS ON:

A smile draws over John’s face.

PULL BACK TO WIDE SHOT

All over the city, countless helicopters buzz about like flies, hovering above rooftops and dropping down rope ladders to pick up refugees.

The mood is cheery and hopeful.

PILOT (O.S.)(over megaphone)The space is too small to land, we’re sending down ladders.

163 EXT. PACIFIC COASTLINE—SAME TIME

The water is rough, white caps are everywhere, giant masses of water make mountains that rise and sink in an instant.

We see a buoy violently convulsing in the stormy sea.

SUDDENLY, like a monster rising from the depths, a mountainous WAVE forms and begins to move and grow as it glides through the water.

164 EXT. ROOFTOP—APEX BUILDING

The doors of one helicopter SHUT as we can see it is packed with rescued tenants.

It flies away, leaving John, Mario, and a few other people (minor characters) on the roof.

In an instant, another helicopter begins to hover over the roof. The doors open and a rope ladder unfolds itself as it falls to the roof.

A FAT TENANT gets on the rope first.

FOCUS ON:

John looks around, a look of WORRY develops on his face.

JOHN(to Mario)Where’s Candice?

MARIOI don’t know, she didn’t get on the first chopper.

John looks around until he stops and focuses on something.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see that the door leading down into the building is ADJAR.

John takes off towards the door.

MARIOHey, where’re you going?

John turns and yells back at him.

JOHNJust tell him to wait up!

John disappears through the door.

Mario looks up to see the last tenant (besides him) halfway up the ladder.

He looks behind him.

His facial expression turns to horror.

PULL BACK TO WIDE SHOT

We see the MONSTROUS WAVE, at least three hundred feet high, powering its way towards the city.

MARIO(to self)My god.

165 INT. STAIRWELL-APEX BUILDING—DARK

The stairwell is just like every other building in the city.

John moves down slowly, we can see water reflecting off the walls as he reaches the water level.

FOCUS ON:

On a landing that is only ankle deep in water, we see Candice looking down the stairs into the depths.

John runs up to her.

JOHNCandice, Candice we have to go.

Candice doesn’t speak, she remains transfixed on the water before her.

John looks at her.

JOHNWhat’s wrong? Honey, what’s wrong?

Candice points into the water below.

CANDICEThey look like angels.

John looks into the water, his face GLOWS.

P.O.V.—JOHN AND CANDICE

We see a brief PULSATING LIGHT in the water, then another, and another, and then HUNDREDS of tiny lights light up. They are BIOLUMINESCENT JELLYFISH. They are scattered throughout the submerged stairwell and release brief pulsations of eerie blue light.

FOCUS ON:

The jelly fish vaguely resemble the shape of angels, with flaps that look like wings and a bell that looks like a halo.

Candice speaks with the innocence of an angel herself.

CANDICEDo you think my mommy and daddy are in there.

JOHNI’m sure they are.

166 INT. HELICOPTER—ABOVE APEX BUILDING

Mario sits inside the cargo area of the chopper along with two other tenants. We hear the pilot yell over the blades.

PILOTWe don’t have much time!

MARIOJust a few more minutes!

Mario looks out the opened door.

P.O.V.—MARIO

The wave is almost to the city.

MARIO(to self)Come on, John.

167 EXT. ROOFTOP—APEX BUILDING—SAME TIME

John comes BURSTING through the door clutching Candice.

He looks out at the wave in horror.

P.O.V.—JOHN

We see the wave begin to crash into the remaining buildings that stand above water, working its way through them like the behemoth monster it is.

John reacts quickly, he lifts Candice as far as he can up the ladder. She climbs slowly and begins to CRY as she does.

She eventually reaches the top and is pulled in.

John turns back to the wave.

P.O.V.—JOHN

The wave about a thousand feet away.

HE rushes up the ladder as fast as he can, the wave begins to casts a shadow over him.

Mario and the tenants cheer him on from the cargo area.

FOCUS ON:

We see a BOLT break off the ladder near the top.

The ladder jolts down, but John regains control and continues his climb.

FOCUS ON:

Another bolt SNAPS, and the ladder gives WAY.

SLOW MOTION SHOT

John falls with the ladder to the ground below. He lands on his back and closes his eyes in pain.

FOCUS ON:

Mario yells.

MARIOJohn!

168 INT. HELICOPTER

We hear the pilot yell over the blades.

PILOT (O.S.)We gotta roll!

169 EXT. ROOFTOP—APEX BUILDING

The helicopter flies off.

John struggles but gets up and stands before the wave.

WIDE SHOT

The wave is well over 500 feet tall. It stands before him like God preparing to JUDGE. IT crashes through glass and swallows skyscrapers.

FOCUS ON:

John runs through the door leading into the building.

170 EXT. LOS ANGELES

The wave SLAMS through the Apex building, submerging it, sending it to the depths.

It continues its course, smashing buildings in its wake.

We see it swallow two HELICOPTERS trying to escape.

171 INT. HELICOPTER

The helicopter with Mario in it ASCENDS just in time to miss the tip of the monster.

172 EXT. SAN FRANCISCO

A similar (if not the same) monstrous wave towers above the Golden Gate Bridge.


Rose stands quivering before her window, watching as the monster approaches.

174 EXT. SAN FRANCISCO

The wall of water crashes over the Golden Gate Bridge.

We see the enormous red towers collapse in its wake. We hear a loud METAL MOANING as the bridge collapses and is carried along with the newly created current.


The wave slowly begins to fall and eventually dissipates back into the newly extended Pacific Ocean.

WIDE SHOT

Only the tops of a few buildings remain.

FADE TO BLACK

176 INT. WHITE HOUSE AUDITORIUM—WASHINGTON D.C.

The room, though full, is suspiciously quiet. Reporters seem to be showing respect, cameras are not flashing.

David stands at the podium, a very serious look on his face.

He begins the EPILOGUE SPEECH.

DAVIDI know what all of you are thinking. It’s been going through my mind lately, too. The past few hours, have made one of the biggest impacts on this Earth, in its four billion year history. The death toll is over a billion. Economically, we’ve lost billions of dollars worth of companies, Hollywood’s pretty much gone, Japan and all of its technology’s gone. The Philippines, parts of Australia. People, are gone.

177 EXT. LARGE REFUGEE CAMP—NEVADA

TITLE: NEVADA

Establishing shot.

We see a large, military like base camp with tents and tables. Helicopters land and unload the rescued.

David continues his speech through the shot.

DAVID (V.O.)The refugee camps we have set up have reported minimal production, a lot of that is due to the fact that, as terrible as it is, there just aren’t that many survivors.

FOCUS ON:

We can see WILL walking around the base camp, panicky.

He is showing people a picture.

We can barely hear him in the distance.

WILL(to Man)Excuse me, have you seen this guy, he’s my brother.

The man shakes his head “NO.”

178 INT. HELICOPTER

The MAN sitting next to the pilot leans back into the cargo area holding a CELL PHONE.

MANDoes anybody need to make a call?

After a brief pause, Mario takes it.

179 EXT. REFUGEE CAMP

We see Will stop walking and take out his RINGING cell phone. He answers suspiciously.

WILLHello?

There is a pause.

WILLOh, Mario. Where’s John, is he alright.

There is a long pause.

FOCUS ON:

Will bursts into TEARS as he hears the news.


David continues talking as the lights dim and a map of the globe appears on the GINAT SCREEN behind him.

DAVIDLet me introduce you to the new, world.

FOCUS ON:

The map of the new world shows a large chunk of the West Coast of the United States missing. We see that there is no Japan or Philippines, and that there is a large new land formation, a new continent, resting in what was once the Philippine Sea.

FADE TO: LOS ANGELES


We continue to hear David speak as we race above Los Angeles. Only a few buildings still peak out above the water, and it is so clear that we can almost see the bottom.

DAVIDEvery so often, something happens to this world that changes its face. It’s often a test of human will; Noah’s Ark, the Ice Age, and now this. The only thing we can do is accept it. And we, human beings, are not the only ones who have to adjust to this new world.

We see a WHALE jump out of the water among some buildings that still stick out of the water.

FADE TO BLACK.

THE END.

FATHOMS - SimplyScripts SimplyScripts | Free ... · Web viewDAVID CONNORS sits at an onboard...

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