Scribd
Upload
1K views122 pages

The Number 23 Script PDF

Uploaded by

Menios Tsaparas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
1K views122 pages

The Number 23 Script PDF

Uploaded by

Menios Tsaparas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 122
the number 23 an original screenplay written by Fernley Phillips November 4, 2002 FADE IN: EXT. MARSH - DEAD OF NIGET A signpost reads: “THE STEPS TO HEAVEN." Below it, another adds: “WARNING: UNSAFE FOOTING. DON'T STRAY OFF THE PATH." Beyond them, STEPPING STONES disappear into darkness. The WIND picks up as we head into the marsh. Listen to it. it carries INDISTINCI, TROUBLED WHISPERINGS. A DOG, a 95-1b pit bull, 90 of which is pure terrifying muscle, sits ona stone halfway across. An ANTIQUS SILVER COLLAR glints around its neck and its eyes... its eyes are a Black, bottomless void. The whispers SWIRL AROUND it, getting louder and louder, and’more and more troubled... DISSOLVE TO: ARED SCREEN. ODD, --it seems alive, Moving. Flowing. WALTER (V.0.} "you can call me Fingerling. Tt's not my real name, but comes from a book I read as a child, 'Fingerling at the Zoo.’ Paper flap long gone, it had a green, hardback cover and mottled texture, and was possibly my very first book. Funny, T can't recall what it was about, the’ only thing I remenber is the name, 'Fingerling.* I wished it was mine. Now it is." WIDER ANGLE: WALTER SPARROW lies on his back in a cobblestoned road, staring at the BLOOD seeping from his head. As we PULL UP (looking down on Walter), we might notice the specific paths his blood has chosen through the cobblestones, Pathways that depict a number... .the number 23. SUPER UP: FEBRUARY 10 Suddenly, the screen BLURS ag images (THE MOVIE IN REVERSE, FLASH PAST SUPER FAST-MO. The date COUNTS DOWN, stopping a SUPER UP: FEBRUARY 3 NORMAL SPEED: a WOMAN walks her BULLDOG down a STREET. She stops for some aimless window shopping. A cat MEOWS. The dog turns and stares, 2. ‘The woman moves on but the dog won't budge. she tugs on the leash. Tt GROWLS. She follows its stare to Walter, sitting ina truck, half-eaten pastrami sandwich in hands. He's staring right back at the dog. Walter MEOWS. The dog BARKS. The woman, shocked, notices the words "ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER” engraved on the truck's side. Suddenly fearful, she checks her leash and pulls the dog away. Walter MEOWS once more, then chuckles and resumes his lunch. INT, TRUCK - LATE AFTERNOON Stuck in traffic. The dashboard clock reads 4:58 p.m. Walter's CB radio CRACKLES into life. A female voice: RADIO Unit 5, come in. We have a U.S.S. Walter stares at the clock. It clicks to 4:59. WALTER (V.0.} I'd never thought much about destiny, but, maybe this was mine. Then again, things didn't really start here... The screen BLURS once more as we FAST-MO BACK IN TIME to: SUPER UP: DECEMBER 23 (43 DAYS HARLIER) NORMAL SPRED; LIGHTS flash on a stunning CHRISTMAS TREE, we're in a HALLWAY at SVENING-TIME. walter stares into a tinsel-edged, snow-dusted mirror, uncomfortable in suit and Lie. ROBIN SPARROW, Walter's son and best friend, comes upstairs, juggling. WALTER How do I look? ROBIN The truth? WALTER Are you kidding? ROBIN You look great. WALTER Thank you.

You might also like