INTO THE WILD
Written by
Sean Penn
Based on the book by
Jon Krakauer
1 EXT. THE STAMPEDE TRAIL - DAY 1
SUPER:
Tuesday, April 28th 1992
WIDE-SHOT: A vast, snow-blanketed wilderness that sits
beneath the icy summits of the highest mountain range in
North America. This is BIG Alaska.
A beat up 4x4 pick-up enters very small into the upper
left corner of frame on an unkept, snow-packed road, and
comes to a stop. A figure exits the passenger side and
moves around the front of the truck. We can just make
out the rifle sticking out of his backpack. We HEAR a
very distant "Thank You" as the figure walks away from
the road and away from the truck, seemingly into nowhere.
DRIVER
Hey!
The figure with backpack and rifle, henceforth BACKPACK,
stopping in his tracks, turns around in the direction of
the truck.
DRIVER (CONT'D)
Come here.
BACKPACK walks back to the truck. As he approaches the
driver's door, we
CUT IN TO: TIGHT SHOT over the back-packed shoulder onto
the DRIVER.
DRIVER (CONT'D)
(referring to items we see
sitting on dashboard)
You left your watch, your comb, your
change...
We STAY on the DRIVER as BACKPACK speaks:
BACKPACK
Keep it.
DRIVER
I don't want your money. And I already
have a watch.
BACKPACK
If you don't take it, I'm gonna throw it
away. I don't want to know what time it
is, what day it is, or where I am.
(MORE)
2.
BACKPACK (CONT'D)
I don't want to see anybody. None of
that matters.
The driver reaches behind the seat of the truck, pulls
out an old pair of rubber work boots.
DRIVER
(handing him the boots)
Take em.
There is a pause as Backpack considers accepting the
boots.
DRIVER (CONT'D)
If you make it out alive, give me a call,
and I'll tell you how to get the boots
back to me.
We can feel over Backpack's shoulder that he has taken
the boots and is putting them on but we STAY on the
driver.
BACKPACK
Hey, do me a favor, will ya? Take a
picture of me.
Backpack hands him an Instamatic camera and starts
walking backwards. We PULL BACK with him. And he
maintains his back to us. When he stops, we CONTINUE
until he is FULL-FRAME, head-to-toe from behind, posing.
CUT TO:
CU: driver
CLICK. He snaps the shot.
Backpack re-enters frame in an OVER-SHOULDER. Driver
hands him the camera.
DRIVER
You gonna be alright?
BACKPACK
I'll be better than that.
(I'll be who I am.)
As Backpack exits the frame, we SLOWLY ZOOM past the
concerned face of the driver onto the loose change, the
comb, and the watch on the dash.
3.
Throughout the ZOOM, the SOUND of FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING THE
SNOW, FADE into the distance.
BACK TO:
ORIGINAL WIDE-SHOT:
We see the small form of the truck and the smaller form
of the Backpacker walking away from the truck until the
Backpacker has exited the frame. The truck takes a BEAT,
turns around in the snow, and accelerates back into the
direction from which it came. As the truck exits frame,
we -
DISSOLVE TO:
2 EXT. COMMENCEMENT GROUNDS, EMORY UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA - 2
DAY
SUPER:
May 1990
The crowd of family and friends, and of course, students.
Assembled on fold-out chairs. The broad lawn.
INTERCUT: CHRIS MCCANDLESS. We don't see his face, just
feet pounding the pavement at an increasing pace.
One by one the names of graduates announced. Their
bright young faces, capped heads, and gowns, glide up to
the podium to accept their diplomas.
INTERCUT: Chris, on his run, sweatshirt hood over head.
Amongst assembled crowd and family we find: THE
MCCANDLESS': BILLIE, mid to late forties with dark
striking eyes; WALT, a taciturn man, early fifties; and
CARINE, eighteen, pretty with her mother's eyes and waist
length brown hair, a gold crucifix dangles from her neck.
They look around, looking for Chris, he's nowhere in
sight.
INTERCUT: Chris, in a shower (PHOTO-SONICS) He TURNS INTO
CAMERA, the water streaming down his face.
From the announcement podium comes the name of their son
and brother, CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS. The
McCandless family increasingly panicked over Chris'
absence, when almost magically, he appears in full cap
and gown.
4.
Disregarding the steps that lead up to the podium
platform, the small-framed but athletic CHRIS MCCANDLESS
leaps jubilantly onto the stage in a single bound,
frightening Billie, a little wince from Walt, and Carine
"That's our Chris." And just as quickly as Chris has
been handed his diploma, he civilly descends the platform
steps.
TIME CUT:
SLO-MO: A ballet of graduation caps float upward into a
frame of blue sky. We HEAR Chris' voice OVER this image
as we intermittently cut away from the caps against the
sky to focus on his parents.
(HIGH ANGLE: floating caps in FOREGROUND, Walt and Billie
delight upon the caps.) An outer glee in sharp contrast
to voice over:
CHRIS (V.O.)
I see them standing at the formal gates
of their colleges,
I see my father strolling out
under the ochre sandstone arch, the
red tiles glinting like bent
plates of blood behind his head,
I see my mother with a few light books at
her hip
standing at the pillar made of tiny
bricks with the
wrought-iron gate still open behind her,
its
sword-tips black in the May air,
they are about to graduate, they are
about to get married,
they are kids, they are dumb, all they
know is they are
innocent, they would never hurt anybody.
I want to go up to them and say Stop,
don't do it--she's the wrong woman,
he's the wrong man, you are going to do
things
you cannot imagine you would ever do,
you are going to do bad things to
children,
you are going to suffer in ways you never
heard of,
you are going to want to die. I want to
go
up to them there in the late May sunlight
and say it,
her hungry pretty blank face turning to
me,
(MORE)
5.
CHRIS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
her pitiful beautiful untouched body,
his arrogant handsome blind face turning
to me,
his pitiful beautiful untouched body,
but I don't do it. I want to live. I
take them up like the male and female
paper dolls and bang them together
at the hips like chips of flint as if to
strike sparks from them, I say...
The last graduation cap falls out of the `blue sky'
frame, and into...
CUT TO:
3 INT. ATLANTA RESTAURANT - LATER 3
(Graduation ceremony wardrobe)
Walt and Billie sit at a table. A Cadillac can be seen
through the window (ATLANTA LANDMARK), parked beside the
restaurant.
BILLIE
Here they are.
Walt looks out the window and sees Chris drive up in his
old yellow Datsun with Carine in the passenger seat
beside him, and pulls up to the space beside the
Cadillac.
4 INT. DATSUN 4
Chris is holding a book from which he reads aloud the
LAST LINE OF THE POEM...
CHRIS
I say...Do what you are going to do,
and I will tell about it.
CARINE
Who wrote that?
CHRIS
Well, it could've been either one of us,
couldn't it?
He hands a book of Sharon Olds' poetry to her.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
There's a lot of great poems in there.
6.
CARINE
Thanks, big brother.
They exit the car and frame.
5 INT. ATLANTA RESTAURANT - SAME 5
Chris and Carine join Walt and Billie at the table.
Billie gets up and gives Chris a big hug.
BILLIE
You scared the daylights out of me,
jumping on to that stage, oh my god.
Chris gives Carine a look. Walt extends his hand to
Chris.
WALT
Congratulations, son.
They all sit and pick up menus.
CHRIS
I'm starving.
TIME CUT:
6 INT. ATLANTA RESTAURANT - LATER 6
The foods on the table. Chris is devouring a steak.
CHRIS
My grades are gonna be good enough, I
think, to get into Harvard Law.
WALT
That's a big deal. What do you have left
in your college fund?
CHRIS
It's an inheritance, dad. I've only been
spending it as a college fund...Exactly
twenty-four thousand five hundred dollars
and sixty-eight cents.
BILLIE
That's very specific.
CHRIS
I had to go to the bank this morning.
7.
WALT
Well, we'll certainly contribute the
balance for Harvard.
CHRIS
Yeah. I've got to figure out what I'm
going to do. I got a lot of things to
pack and organize here first.
BILLIE
I'm so glad you're getting out of that
place you're living. It was so much
nicer when you lived on campus.
WALT
You'll come to Annandale before you
disappear on us, won't you?
CHRIS
(reluctantly)
Sure, I will.
Carine's not so sure.
BILLIE
You promise?
CHRIS
(whining)
Mom.
BILLIE
Well, your father and I want to make a
present to you.
WALT
We want to get you out of that junker.
CHRIS
What's a junker?
Walt points outside to the Datsun.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
The Datsun?
WALT
Yes. We want to get you a new car.
CHRIS
(appalled)
A new car? Why the hell would I want a
new car? The Datsun runs great.
(MORE)
8.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(Mocking the Cadillac)
Do you think I want some fancy boat? Or
are you worried about what the neighbors
might think?
BILLIE
We weren't going to get you a Cadillac,
Chris. Just a nice new car that's safe
to drive. You don't know when that
thing's just going to suddenly blow up.
CHRIS
Blow up? Blow up?! Are you guys crazy?
It's a great car. I don't need a new
car. I don't want a new car. I don't
want anything. Thing, thing, thing.
Under the table, Carine jabs Chris' leg. Chris returning
to polite -
CHRIS (CONT'D)
But, thanks anyway.
WALT
Everything's gotta be difficult.
CHRIS
I said thank you. I just don't want
anything.
The group returns to some superficial calm.
CARINE
I wouldn't say no to a new car.
CHRIS
(mumbling a rib)
Ivana Trump McCandless.
CARINE
(laughing it off)
Shut up, Chris.
(to her parents, seriously)
Seriously, I'll pay you back.
CUT TO:
7 INT. OFF-CAMPUS ROOMING HOUSE, SECOND-FLOOR, ATLANTA - 7
DAY
OVER Chris' shoulder, he frisbees his graduation cap from
the upstairs window to his parents parting Cadillac on
the street.
9.
As they wave goodbye, Carine catches the cap from the
backseat window. And with a parting smile to her
brother, she poses with it on her own head. Chris smiles
and waves goodbye.
As the Cadillac drifts away, his smile disappears into
something other than sadness.
TIME CUT:
8 INT. OFF-CAMPUS ROOMING HOUSE - NIGHT 8
In a warm ambient light, we SEE a black and white poster
on a barren wall: Poncho-clad Clint Eastwood from "The
Good, The Bad, And The Ugly."
We TILT DOWN a stack of books sitting on the floor -
Tolstoy, Stegner, Thoreau, Jack London, and Pasternak.
Beside them, a camper's backpack.
Chris sits in introspection at his desk by candlelight.
The room is spare, supporting his monkish lifestyle. But
on the desk before him, he counts out $500.68 from a bank
envelope. He pockets those bills and change, then removes
a check for $24,000 made out to OXFAM America from the
same bank envelope. He scribbles a note: These are all
my savings. Feed someone with it. Signed, Chris
McCandless. He then slides the note and the check into a
pre-addressed Oxford Famine Relief Fund (in Boston)
envelope.
He pulls his wallet from his back pocket. Pulls all the
cards and pictures from its sleeves. Considering each,
he flicks them into a trash bin, one by one. Finally
coming to his social security card, he holds it to the
candles flame. As the flame burns bright we -
DISSOLVE TO:
9 EXT. ATLANTA HIGHWAY - SUNRISE' 9
MUSIC (Gordon Peterson's BIG HARD SUN or as radio source
Tom Petty's FREE FALLING) rises and PRESENTATION TITLES
OVER:
A 1982 DATSUN B210 emerges from the rising sun as the car
heads west out of Atlanta. (HIGHWAY 20 TO 78 TO 40)
PRESENTATION TITLES and MUSIC carry OVER:
9A.
MONTAGE: We travel with Chris and his Datsun through the
towns and open highways, landscapes and landmarks, days
and nights, that lead to the Mojave desert in the West.
10.
(In contrast to his introspection of the previous night,
Chris is buoyant throughout this sequence.)
10 EXT. DESERT, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN KINGMAN, ARIZONA AND LAS 10
VEGAS, NEVADA - SUNSET
(CRANE SHOT) We see Chris stop the Datsun in the middle
of the desert road. We (CRANE?) DOWN to a close-up
through the windshield. Chris looks left. Then, right.
Into the rearview mirror, and suddenly turns the wheel,
veering the Datsun off the paved highway into the vast
desert.
As we CRANE back UP, the Datsun moves into the horizon.
END PRESENTATION TITLES. FADE MUSIC
11 EXT. DETRITAL WASH - TWILIGHT 11
ANGLE: WEST-FACING
The Datsun sits in the magical pastel twilight just
before darkness slides over the desert. It is positioned
at the foot of a wash wall that edges the soup bowl.
ANGLE: EAST-FACING
The Datsun, a yellow speck in the frame. Coyotes yap at
the moon. Other than that, no sound on the desert floor.
In the distance, voluptuous cumulonimbus clouds boil
upward catching the last rosy glow of the west-setting
sun over the rim of the upper Detrital watershed.
We see strobe bursts of lightning followed by muffled
thunder illuminating the thunder clouds from within.
Short SERIES OF ANGLES as we MOVE IN on the distant
gullies and ravines, starting to run with copious amounts
of water.
12 INT. DATSUN - NIGHT 12
Chris McCandless, in the same clothes he had been in back
in the rooming house, sleeps in the back seat of the
Datsun. His head supported by his backpack. We begin to
HEAR a rumble. But this rumble is not thunder. It
rapidly builds into an alarming ROAR. The roar grows to
a deafening level. Chris awakens.
11.
As he peeks up from the backseat looking forward through
the windshield, he just barely catches sight of the
leading edge of a flash flood. A four-foot high wall of
water, mud and debris makes impact with the Datsun,
momentarily enveloping it in water. Suddenly the car is
SLAMMED against the cliff. CRACK! Chris sits upright,
disoriented.
POV: As far as the eye can see in the desert moonlight,
water has taken over the desert with a flash flood.
However, there's no panic in Chris' face as we observe
him past a new crack in the wet windshield. The water,
while violent seems to have topped off just above the
wheels. Chris gets a slight smile on his face, as the
car settles into its new position below the cliff. He
returns to sleep.
CUT TO:
13 EXT. DESERT - DAY 13
What remains of Chris' travelling money burns in a pile
beside the Datsun on the sun-lit but muddy desert floor.
We follow a very long set of footprints (CAMERA
TRACKING/TRUE VERTICAL) away from the burning cash
through the mud, finally tilting up to the footprint
maker, Chris. Slogging toward high ground.
WIDE-SHOT: We see the abandoned Datsun nearly a mile
behind Chris as he walks toward us wearing his backpack.
He comes very close to camera (only a day or two's
stubble on his face) and as we PAN him 180, we see as
much wilderness before us as we did behind.
REPRISE MUSIC OVER MAIN TITLE:
(INTO THE WILD)
Chris walks into the distance.
COMPLETE AND END MAIN TITLES.
CUT TO:
14 INT. COLLEGE BUILDING 14
SHAKY HAND-HELD HOME VIDEO IMAGE (4 YEARS EARLIER):
12.
Chris McCandless speaking to camera holds a microphone in
a shadowy room, doing his Geraldo Rivera. It's tongue-in-
cheek at best.
CHRIS
This is Emory University freshman Chris
McCandless reporting from the vault at
Thompson Hall.
He indicates a hatchway in the floor leading to a
brightly lit corridor below.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
We have just dynamited the hatchway and
are the first human beings to step foot
into this vault in over a hundred years.
Somewhere in here lies the secret of the
great beast within us all. A beast built
on lies, corruption, and greed.
We HEAR a GROWLING SOUND from behind Chris.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
And there it is! The legendary beast
Mocra.
CAMERA quickly PANS to a blanket-wrapped, crawling FELLOW
STUDENT in a grotesque Halloween mask.
We MOVE INTO CU on the monster growling.
QUICK PAN back to Chris.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(in mock fright)
We've got to get out of here quick and re-
secure the hatch while we make a plan of
how to kill the beast.
CAMERA SHAKES all over like a bad horror film trying to
stay with Chris as he makes a quick escape down the
hatchway into the University dorm corridor.
CLUMSY VIDEO TIME CUT: Chris nailing the last nail in
the hatchway from below. He climbs down the steps where
he exchanges his hammer for his microphone from an off-
camera source.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
Well, it looks like we've succeeded -
We HEAR the monster's GROWL from above.
13.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
- at least for the moment, in sealing the
beast back into the vault. Your humble
reporter, Chris McCandless will now
struggle with the journalistic question
of ethics: Will he retain his reporter's
objectiveness or save the future of human
truth by slaying this awful beast?
He gives us a look of vaudevillian puzzlement - what will
he do?
CONTINUE VIDEO:
We pick up with Chris in a corridor outside a door with a
cheap paper-and-tape label announcing the adjacent room
as the office of Ted Turner.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
Once again, your humble reporter Chris
McCandless.
We HEAR OS students commenting on Chris and his video
crew:
OS STUDENT
What is this? Filmmaking 101?
OS STUDENT #2
Point the camera at me. I'm a star.
Chris speaking straight to camera, still tongue-in-cheek:
CHRIS
(with a Wizard of Oz tone)
Pay no attention to the voices behind the
curtain.
15 INT. WOULD-BE TED TURNER OFFICE 15
A FELLOW STUDENT PLAYING TED TURNER with obvious fake
mustache is locked into an episode of Matlock on his
television set as our bold reporter, Chris, barges in.
CHRIS
Ted! We've got a monster in the vault.
It represents all the corruption, the
deceit, and greed within us all. I must
slay it.
14.
TED TURNER/STUDENT
(worst acting we've ever
seen)
McCandless, how many times have I had to
tell you? I've had to tell you that you
are a journalist and you can't get
personally involved in your cases...or
your stories.
CHRIS
Ted! I know how to kill it. And I'm the
only one who knows. You can't keep
sending me on stories and expecting me to
do nothing! I look like some kind of an
idiot.
TED TURNER/STUDENT
Do you know who you're talking to? I'm
Ted Turner.
Behind Chris in the corridor outside Ted's office, a
PANICKED STUDENT arrives at the door.
PANICKED STUDENT
McCandless! You've got to hurry! The
monster is scratching at the hatchway.
He'll be out in no time.
TED TURNER/STUDENT
(threatening)
It'll mean your job, Chris McCandless.
CHRIS
(to Ted)
That's it, Ted. Fire me if you want but
this beast must be slayed.
Microphone in hand, Chris makes haste. The CAMERA RUNS
WITH HIM out the door, through the corridor, up a set of
steps to the hatchway. As he arrives, the monster
appears above him in the hatchway crawl space having
pulled off the board Chris had nailed.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(into camera)
This is the only thing that can kill the
monster. It's gonna be risky but without
great risk, there is no freedom. So we
will now hear from the famous singer -
Chris McCandless.
15.
A piano is PUSHED INTO FRAME beside Chris. A YOUNG BLACK
STUDENT pulls a stool in front of the piano and begins to
play. Chris begins to serenade the monster,
intermittently sharing the serenade directly into camera
as well. He bursts into an uninhibited solo of Tender Is
The Night.
CAMERA TILTS UP to the monster looking out the hatchway,
slowly dying from the song being sung.
As the song continues to be sung and the monster
continues to die, the AUDIO RECEDES and VIDEO IMAGES GO
TO SLO MO.
CARINE (V.O.)
When we were little, Chris was very to
himself. He wasn't anti-social, he
always had friends, and everybody liked
him - but he could go off and entertain
himself for hours, he didn't seem to need
toys or friends. He could be alone
without being lonely. The secrets our
parents kept, though unknown to Chris and
I, led to bouts of rage and even violence
between them that we had been forced to
witness since we were very young. It
seemed like they never fought without us.
I remember the first family meeting to
let Chris and me in on their plans for
getting a divorce. They wanted us to
choose which of them we'd live with. I
cried my eyes out. But the divorce never
happened, though the threats and meetings
never stopped. It wasn't long before
Chris and I shut off -- we would tell mom
and dad to go ahead and get the divorce.
Chris and I just wanted to get away from
their fights and mom kept promising to
get out and take us with her as soon as
their company made enough money. Dad had
been the young genius [that] NASA
enlisted to do [crucial] designs for the
American satellite radar systems that
would be our answer to the Russian
Sputnik. And mom and he later started up
a consulting firm combining her get-up-
and-go resourcefulness with his wealth of
knowledge. By the time the company
actually made its first million, the
careerism and money seemed to erase her
memory of the promise she'd made us.
(MORE)
16.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I think this is when Chris began to see
"careers" as a diseased invention of the
twentieth century and to resent money and
the useless priority people made of it in
their lives. He'd begun planning to
"slay the beast"...to make himself free.
VIDEO IMAGE:
The beast dies.
FADE OUT.
CHAPTER 1: BIRTH - FADE
IN:
16 INT. TENT (IN THE SCRUB BRUSH BESIDE LAKE MEAD) - DAY 16
We see a pile of berries sitting atop a handkerchief.
Beside them, a survivalist's guide to edible growth.
POV: THE TOP OF THE TENT - SOFT FOCUS
The glare of the sun penetrating the canvas. A fly
buzzes and lands, hanging upside down. The image is
blurry.
ECU: CHRIS' EYES
Delirious in the heat, we WIDEN OUT to see that he's
filthy (2 weeks of growth on his face and naked.) He
makes his way out of the tent, peers at the relentless
sun and scurries to his backpack where he removes a
canteen, barely a sip of water left in it. He downs it.
TIME CUT:
17 EXT. LAKE MEAD DAY 17
The following short vignettes are silent and focused
exclusively on Chris:
1. Recreational BOATERS on Lake Mead. GIRLS in bikinis.
BOYS on boats eating Kentucky Fried Chicken.
CUT TO:
2. At lake-side, an unusual sight - the NEW Chris
McCandless, a sun and dirt-beaten bum with a backpack.
CUT TO:
17.
3. A family ski-boat has taken Chris on. They give him
water, dropping him at the north end of the lake at
TEMPLE BAR MARINA. (Director's Note: HIGH ANGLE, TIGHT,
sees Chris and the glimmering water treadmilling below)
CUT TO:
4. Chris washes himself in the lake by the marina.
CUT TO:
18 ESTABLISHING SHOT: CAFE, TEMPLE BAR MARINA 18
CUT TO:
19 INT. MARINA CAFE, UNISEX RESTROOM 19
Chris brushes his teeth.
CHRIS (V.O.)
I need a name.
He takes a swallow of water. Rinses his mouth. Spits it
out. Then checks his bearded face in the mirror. He
likes what he sees.
As he wipes the corners of his mouth with a tissue and
throws it into the bin below the sink, he notices a
discarded tube of lipstick. He picks it up. It's down
to its end. Yet with what lipstick remains, he writes on
the mirror:
ALEXANDER SUPERTRAMP WAS HERE JULY 1990
CUT TO:
20 EXT. MARINA CAFE (BLDG REAR) - SUNDOWN 20
Chris is behind the cafe beside a pair of dumpsters. He
removes the Datsun's license plates from his backpack and
discards them deeply into the garbage.
CUT TO:
17A.
21 EXT. MARINA CAFE (BLDG FRONT) - SUNDOWN 21
Chris appears from behind the cafe lugging his backpack
up the rise from the cafe to the highway and starts
thumbing for a ride.
CUT TO:
18.
22 INT. MCCANDLESS HOME, ANNANDALE 22
VARIOUS shots to accompany V.O.
CARINE (V.O.)
Toward the end of June, Chris had mailed
our parents his final grade report.
Walt and Billie open the envelope.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Almost all A's. "A" in Apartheid in
South African Society and History of
Anthropological Thought; A- in
Contemporary African Politics and the
Food Crisis in Africa; and on it went.
Clever boy, my brother.
We observe Carine in a delicate afternoon light. She is
sitting up on her bed with an unread book, looking out
the window toward us.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
But by the end of July we hadn't heard
anything from him and my parents were
getting very worried.
Carine's POV: Walt with his arm around Billie in the
yard.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Chris had never had a phone, so they
decided to drive down to Atlanta and
surprise him.
CUT TO:
22A EXT. ROAD TO TAHOE 22A
Chris, backpack on, walking away from camera.
CUT TO:
23 EXT. HIGHWAY - ATLANTA - DAY (END JULY 1990) 23
We see Walt and Billie's car pass under an Atlanta
mileage sign.
19.
CARINE (V.O.)
When they arrived at the apartment, there
was a "For Rent" sign in his window, and
the manager told my parents that Chris
had moved out at the end of June.
24 EXT. OFF-CAMPUS ROOMING HOUSE, ATLANTA - DAY 24
We observe Walt and Billie chatting with Chris' apartment
manager.
CARINE (V.O.)
When they got home, I had to hand them
all the letters they had sent Chris that
summer which had been returned in a
bundle.
25 INT. MCCANDLESS HOME, ANNANDALE 25
The bundle of letters are splayed out on the kitchen
table - "Return to Sender" stamps visible.
CARINE (V.O.)
Chris had instructed the post office to
hold them until August 1st so that mom
and dad wouldn't know that anything was
up. Some part of me understood what he
had done. That he had spent the previous
four years fulfilling an absurd and
onerous duty in graduating from college.
We return to the image of Carine sitting on her bed as
she plops on Chris' old graduation cap. We slowly ZOOM IN
on her throughout the remaining V.O.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
And now, at last he was unincumbered.
Emancipated from the stifling world of
parents and peers. Abstraction,
security, and material excess. Those
things that cut Chris off from the raw
truth of his existence. I only hoped he
was safe...and I missed him.
CUT TO:
26 EXT. SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS (LAKE TAHOE AREA) - DAY 26
20.
HELICOPTER SHOT: (MUSIC OVER: PHILIP GLASS) WE FIND
CHRIS MAKING HIS STRIDES THROUGH PINES AND PEAKS, IN AWE
OF THE SCALE AND POWER OF THIS LANDSCAPE.
TRACKING SHOT (GROUND LEVEL): CLOSE ON Chris, surrounded
by a summit grove embraced in its nature.
ANGLE: A DEER drinking from a creek, pops its head up
between trees and scrub, watching the alien human pass.
An EAGLE soars above (perhaps it was this POV represented
in our helicopter shot)
WATER babbling in a mountain creek.
VARIOUS WILDLIFE SHOTS
ANGLE: Chris - In his eyes we see the landscape inject
itself.
CUT TO:
27 EXT. CAMPSITE, PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - SUNSET 27
SEQUENCE: Chris makes camp beside a stream pulling a sack
of rice from his backpack and cooking it.
28 EXT. CAMPSITE, PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - NIGHT 28
Wrapped in his own "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly"
poncho, Chris eats rice while crouched beside a campfire
reading from Jack London's White Fang.
CUT TO:
29 EXT. PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - FURTHER NORTH - DAY 29
Chris is on the move north through the gorgeous landscape
of the Sierras, humming as he walks, when he comes upon a
sign on the trail: PERMIT CAMPING IN DESIGNATED
CAMPGROUNDS ONLY.
Chris bows to the sign as one would to speak to a small
child.
CHRIS
(singing)
Sign, sign. Everywhere a sign. Fuckin'
up the scenery, breakin' my mind.
(MORE)
21.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
Do this. Don't do that. Can't you read
the sign?
And then, very impulsively, he karate kicks the sign off
its post into a log collapsing into ---
CUT TO:
30 OMITTED 30
31 EXT. CAMPSITE II, PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - NIGHT 31
A burning log collapses in Chris' campfire, reduced to
glowing embers.
32 INT. TENT 32
Chris is awakened by the SOUND of TWIGS SNAPPING in a
nearby thicket. He quickly grabs a knife from his
backpack, unzips six inches of the tent door open. We
see his eyes peering out. The CRACKLING moves closer.
His grip on the knife tightens.
Suddenly a hot white light hits his face. And a VOICE
comes from behind the light.
FOREST RANGER
U.S. Forestry. Could you step out of the
tent please?
Now we see the FOREST RANGER appear from the thicket.
Chris exits the tent, catching himself holding the knife.
CHRIS
(as he drops the knife to the
ground)
Sorry. I thought you were a bear.
FOREST RANGER
(approaching)
I don't blame you. You're less than a
hundred yards from the nearest den.
That's why I came over here to talk to
you. Do you have some identification?
22.
CHRIS
No. I'm sorry. My name's Alex. I've
been travelling a lot and I got robbed
and my identification was taken.
FOREST RANGER
You mind if I take a look in your tent?
CHRIS
Go ahead.
The Forest Ranger bends over. Pops his flashlight
through the tent door and peers around a bit before re-
addressing Chris.
FOREST RANGER
You're not the character who knocked down
our sign, are ya?
CHRIS
(giggles)
No.
FOREST RANGER
Because there was a sign indicating that
camping was allowed by permit only.
CHRIS
Well, I don't have a permit.
FOREST RANGER
No, I'm sure you don't. Listen, it looks
like you've got your food secured pretty
good, so I'm not gonna make you move on
tonight. But, these bears out here are
nursing young and you know how that goes.
Next time, stop at the Rangers station
and get yourself a permit.
CHRIS
Alright. I appreciate it. I'm gonna be
headed towards the coast tomorrow.
FOREST RANGER
Be careful.
They shake hands and the Forest Ranger disappears into
the thicket.
CUT TO:
23.
33 EXT. THE NORTHERN CREST - DAY 33
Chris descends the mountains where they meet the
Redwoods. Every perilous step creates a mini landslide
down the hill; dirt and gravel.
Chris stops briefly to observe an over-flying commercial
airliner.
CHRIS
(mocking imaginary
conversation among
passengers)
Is that a man mommy?
That's no mere man, sweetheart. That's
Alexander SuperTramp! King of the wild
frontier!
Chris briefly waves to the airplane above and continues
his descent.
CUT TO:
34 OMITTED 34
35 EXT. HIGHWAY NEAR WILLOW CREEK (AUGUST 10, 1990) 35
A car slows to a stop.
36 INT./EXT. CAR-HIGHWAY 36
DRIVER
This is where I turn off.
CHRIS
Alright man. Thanks a lot.
Chris is dropped off. The driver veers off the highway
and into the distance. Chris is left behind to hitch
another ride.
36A EXT. HIGHWAY 36A
CAMERA is across the road from Chris as one by one cars
pass him by. He turns to move north by foot and we track
with him, his back to oncoming traffic, he continues to
hitchhike with an extended thumb. Something catches his
eye in the treeline beside the road.
24.
REVERSE: Chris, moving to the mysterious object. As he
lifts it, we see that it is a goofy looking straw hat.
He dusts it off, and snugs it onto his head, when a
police car comes into frame and stops beside Chris.
With a quick blast of the siren, Chris turns to regard
the police car. The POLICEMAN gets out of the car and
moves to Chris.
POLICEMAN
How're you doin' this evening?
CHRIS
(reluctantly)
I'm alright. What's the matter?
POLICEMAN
You wanna put your backpack down on the
hood of my car.
Chris does not oblige.
CHRIS
Why?
POLICEMAN
Because I asked you to, sir.
CHRIS
But I haven't done anything wrong. These
are my personal items.
POLICEMAN
Do you know that it's unlawful to
hitchhike on this stretch of highway.
CHRIS
You're kidding.
POLICEMAN
Do you see a safe area for a vehicle to
stop? We got a tree-lined highway
without a substantial shoulder here. And
we've had a lot of accidents on this road
from people stopping in the traffic lane
for hitchhikers.
CHRIS
Alright, but...I mean, you stopped your
car. You're in the traffic lane. And
you can see, there's hardly any cars out
here. Plus, it's a straight road; you
can see for a long ways.
(MORE)
25.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(in disbelief)
There's really been accidents along here?
POLICEMAN
May I see some identification?
Now Chris is worried.
CHRIS
I don't have any.
POLICEMAN
You don't have any identification?
Chris shakes his head "No."
POLICEMAN (CONT'D)
(pulling out a ticket)
Well, I'm gonna site you for unlawful
hitchhiking. You don't have to appear.
You can send a check directly to the
Humboldt County Clerks Office for
restitution. If you don't pay it within
30 days, you're subject to fine and
warrant. I'm gonna trust that you're
gonna give me accurate information.
What's your name?
Chris can't bring himself to lie.
CHRIS
(a beat)
McCandless. Christopher Johnson
McCandless.
CUT TO:
37 INT. MCCANDLESS HOME, ANNANDALE (MID-AUGUST 1990) 37
Walt, Billie, and Carine sit around the kitchen table in
August. A copy of Chris' ticket has been sent to the
Annandale address and sits before them. Billie and
Carine sit silently. Walt's on the phone.
CARINE (V.O.)
If Chris were trying to disappear, it
would have been a pretty uncharacteristic
lapse for him to give the police his real
place of residence. Though my parents
had already contacted the Annandale
police with their initial concerns, this
ticket arriving from California made them
frantic.
(MORE)
26.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
My father called one of his old
government friends who put him in touch
with a private investigator, someone
who'd done work with the DIA and the CIA.
Using the Willow Creek ticket as a
starting point, the investigator began
chasing down leads. Most of them led far
afield -- to Europe and South Africa.
Ultimately turning up nothing. What my
dad couldn't believe was that he'd given
up his car. He seemed to love that
Datsun so much. It sounded just like
Chris to me, though. He was very much of
the school that you should own nothing
except what you could carry on your back
at a dead run.
38 EXT. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY, NEAR ORICK, 60 MILES 38
SOUTH OF THE OREGON LINE - DAY (MID-AUGUST 1990)
With his backpack lunging and a free hand holding his
goofy new hat onto his head, we find Chris at a "dead
run" to catch a ride that had overshot him. (Director's
note: Don't leave this image too soon.) An old van idles
waiting for him. As he gets to the passenger side, the
woman passenger gets out. This is JAN BURRES, early
40's, looks to be still on the long road home from
Woodstock. A little heavyset, dark wavy hair with a lot
of premature grey in it.
Jan moving to the side door.
JAN
Hi. We just barely saw you there, under
that crazy hat of yours. We couldn't
back up - the van's reverse is broken.
CHRIS
(as Jan fiddles with side
door handle)
Oh. That's okay. Thanks for stopping.
JAN
This door's a little tricky, I'll get it.
And with a little pulling, it opens. Indicating the pony-
tailed and bearded driver (RAINEY), early 50's,
definitely Woodstock...
JAN (CONT'D)
Hop in, that's Rainey.
27.
RAINEY
Hey, I'm Rainey.
JAN
And I'm Jan.
CHRIS
Hey, Rainey. Hi Jan. I'm Alex.
RAINEY
Alex of the hat.
CHRIS
(closing the side door)
Yeah.
Jan jumps back in passenger seat and the van rolls on.
39 INT. RAINEY & JAN VAN 39
3-SHOT - CHRIS BETWEEN THEM IN THE BACKSEAT.
RAINEY
Were you out there a long time hitching?
CHRIS
Couple of days. But sometimes I forget to
put my thumb out.
JAN
Probably, the rest of the time, that hat
scares `em away.
Chris checks himself in the rearview mirror and gets a
kick out of what he sees (That hat's staying on.) Jan is
looking at the rearview mirror too, observing Chris with
mild concern.
JAN (CONT'D)
When's the last time you ate something?
Chris pulls out a bag of berries and edible plants he's
collected.
CHRIS
(excited)
See that? I've got this book and it
shows you all the plants and berries that
are edible. You can find things wherever
you go.
Jan steals a glance to Rainey. He's hip.
28.
RAINEY
We were just in town getting some beads
and stuff. Jan does handicrafts, so
we're usually going from one swap meet to
another. She's so good at what she does,
we sold everything. So, we set up camp
at Orick Beach. You're welcome to camp
there with us.
JAN
And eat there with us.
Chris is beaming at the thought of real food.
CUT TO:
40 EXT. CAMPSITE, ORICK BEACH - NIGHT 40
Chris, Jan, and Rainey are beside a campfire, sitting on
blankets. Their tents loom behind them.
Jan is weaving some sort of craft art. Chris is chomping
on chicken and beans like they're going out of style.
CHRIS
(between large swallows)
So, I just left the car. It was a great
car too. I'd driven it cross country the
first time when I got out of high school.
I had some really great adventures with
it. That thing would just go and go. I
mean, it was an `82 but if I'd kept it,
it would've lasted me forever.
RAINEY
So, you're a leather now.
CHRIS
I'm a leather?
Rainey nods, smiling.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(looking to Jan)
What's a leather?
JAN
You're a leather tramp. That's what they
call the ones that hoof it on foot. So,
we're technically rubber tramps.
29.
RAINEY
(interjecting)
As we have a vee-hi-cle.
Rainey makes a move to put his arm around Jan. She goes
a little stiff and fends it off. Chris notices.
JAN
Alex could have a vehicle. If he didn't
burn his money. Why would you want to do
that?
CHRIS
I don't need money. It makes people
cautious.
JAN
(a little irritated)
Well, you have to be a little cautious
Alex. That book of yours is all well and
fine but you can't depend entirely on
leaves and berries.
CHRIS
I don't know if you'd want to depend on
much more than that.
JAN
Where's your mom and dad?
CHRIS
Makin' their money somewhere.
JAN
Come on Chris. You look like a loved *
kid. Be fair. *
CHRIS
Fair?
JAN
You know what I mean.
CHRIS
I'll paraphrase Thoreau -- "Rather than *
love, than money, than fairness, give me *
truth." *
RAINEY *
You look like shit. There's the truth. *
They all laugh. *
30.
CUT TO: *
41 INT. CHRIS' TENT, ORICK BEACH - LATER 41
Chris sits up reading, his tent entry flap ajar to let
the small candle lantern ventilate.
OS we HEAR a ZIPPING SOUND. It's Rainey. We see him
from Chris' POV coming out of his tent deep in thought.
As he moves to the glowing embers of what remains of the
campfire, Rainey's face goes out of frame and all Chris
can see are his booted feet, tapping bits of glowing wood
into the center of the fire. The tapping is slow and
thoughtful. Micro-embers float upward into the night.
Chris' tent flap closes by his own hand.
ANGLE: Chris' dog-ears his book and puts out the lantern.
CUT TO:
42 EXT. ORICK BEACH - DAY 42
We see Chris foraging for firewood in the bluffs above
the beach. He's got it tied to his back and his front.
If we didn't know better, we'd think he was camouflaging
himself.
Chris' POV: The rocks beside the water's edge. We see
Rainey sitting beside the water, staring out to sea. We
follow Chris' gaze to Jan, some fifty yards down the
beach, walking melancholically in the opposite direction
of Rainey.
ANGLE: Rainey at the water's edge. Chris appears beside
him.
RAINEY
(regarding Chris wrapped up
in wood)
Geez. If I struck a match to you, I'd
have warmth and dinner at the same time.
31.
But Rainey's humor does not hide an inner turmoil.
CHRIS
Where's Jan going?
RAINEY
Well, my friend, all is not well on the
hippie front.
Chris pulls out his pocketknife, cuts the twine that
binds the firewood to his body, and takes a seat beside
Rainey.
RAINEY (CONT'D)
You're an industrious little fucker,
aren't ya... Yeah, it's funny how things
happen at particular times. I've loved
that woman for a lot of years. But you
know, she's got a...story. We've been
going through this thing real quietly
cause, well...So, after running into you
last night, this thing we were going
through quietly, she started talking
about. You know what I mean?
CHRIS
I think so.
RAINEY
You think what?
Chris is looking off at Jan walking in the distance.
CHRIS
I think she's probably quietly
disconnecting. It doesn't feel right to
her to be close to you if there's a hole
of some kind somewhere else.
RAINEY
That's a helluva insight. Jesus!...
You're not Jesus, are you? You gonna
walk on that water and get her back for
me?
CHRIS
Actually, I'm a little afraid of water.
Rainey gives him a sideways glance.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
It's true. But it's something I've got
to get over sometime.
(MORE)
32.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
So, I'll swim in it if you'll carry the
firewood back to the campsite.
RAINEY
I'll carry. Shit-yes I'll carry.
And with that, Chris runs down the beach toward Jan.
Rainey watches Chris and Jan chat briefly. Then they
strip down to their underwear and jump into the ocean,
splashing and laughing.
ANGLE: Rainey. A warmth comes over him, watching his old
lady having some fun. He grabs two armfuls of wood and
heads to the campsite.
ANGLE: Chris and Jan swimming in the chilly water, having
a ball.
Jan increasingly indulges herself a motherly closeness
and joy with Chris. And Chris allows it. She pushes the
stringy hairs from his eyes, worries when he descends
below the surface for too many seconds, and smiles and
laughs in tender relief when from below surface one of
her toes is pulled on by the big fish Chris. As he re-
surfaces, she gives him a splash right in the face.
TIME CUT:
43 EXT. CAMPSITE, ORICK BEACH - LATER 43
Through a burning campfire in the late afternoon, we see
the chilly bodies of Chris and Jan carrying their clothes
run shivering toward us.
Rainey sits beside the campfire.
RAINEY
I thought you guys might need a little
heat.
Jan smiles appreciatively.
JAN
(moving to Rainey)
That's not hot enough. Put your arms
around me.
As they embrace, Chris throws a coat on from his tent,
puts on his funny straw hat, and grabs a book.
Rainey has wrapped a blanket around Jan and they sit
beside the fire.
33.
CHRIS
I'm going to go down the beach a ways and
read a little bit. I'll bring the rest
of that wood back before nightfall.
RAINEY
Alright. We might take a run into town
to grab some food for tonight.
CHRIS
Sounds good.
He heads off down the beach.
44 EXT. ORICK BEACH MONTAGE 44
MUSIC OVER:
1. The ocean moving toward sunset.
2. Seagulls, gliding inches over the water.
3. The breeze on the sea grass.
4. Chris in his big hat reading at water's edge.
5. Jan and Rainey deeply engaged in conversation beside
the fire.
6. Chris closing his book, remaining meditative at
water's edge.
7. Jan and Rainey in town, buying groceries and being
playful with each other.
8. OVER Chris' shoulder, the sun sets and day becomes
night.
CUT TO:
45 EXT. CAMPSITE, ORICK BEACH - NIGHT 45
Jan and Rainey on a blanket sharing a joint. Chris lying
beside the campfire in his sleeping bag. Jan takes a
toke, passes the joint to Rainey.
JAN
You know what Alex ought to do, Rainey?
He ought to come out to the Slabs this
winter.
34.
RAINEY
Oh yeah.
Rainey takes a toke on the joint.
RAINEY (CONT'D)
You'd like that if you're still on the
road. Lot of fellow travelers.
Rainey offers the joint to Chris. Chris passes it up
with a hand gesture.
CHRIS
What is that? The Slabs?
RAINEY
It's down in Niland, California. You
know where the Salton Sea is?
CHRIS
Near San Diego, yeah?
RAINEY
Well about 200 miles Northeast of there,
but yeah. Niland's off the east shore of
Salton. Wild place. The navy bulldozed
and abandoned a base there. All that's
left is a grid of concrete foundations.
They're scattered over about a square
mile or so.
JAN
When the weather turns cold across the
rest of the country, people show up there
by the thousands: snow birds...
RAINEY
Drifters...
JAN
Sundry vagabonds...
RAINEY / JAN
Like ourselves.
JAN
Livin' on the cheap under the sun.
CHRIS
You sell your handcrafts there?
35.
JAN
Oh yeah. And a lot of second-hand goods.
There's a swap meet. The people are
cool. There's even some kids running
around sometimes. Most everyone there,
if they're not avoiding the cold, are at
least dodging the IRS.
RAINEY
Or the FBI. CIA! DDT!!!
The three of them laugh.
JAN
It's good. You should check it out. If
you come, I'll make a proper hat for you.
(standing, shaking out her
blanket)
Well, Alex. I'm gonna clean up and the
old man and I are gonna get some rest.
(indicating the sleeping bag)
Looks like you got yourself a good bag
there.
CHRIS
Yeah...my mother made it from a kit.
Jan sees an almost imperceptible mother pang in Chris,
but he pushes it away quickly.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
I'm gonna sleep out here by the fire. I
want to read a little bit.
Jan moves to Chris, hugs him, kisses him on the cheek.
JAN
You're wonderful. Don't make me worry
about you.
TIME CUT:
46 EXT. CAMPSITE, ORICK BEACH - LATER 46
The fire is burning low. Chris reads from Thoreau's
WALDEN from the chapter on "Higher Laws" as we move
slowly in toward him, we begin to HEAR quiet sounds of
what may be love-making coming from Rainey and Jan's
tent. A gentle smile comes over Chris' face and in its
irony, he looks to the page before him.
36.
Chris' sliding fingertip underlines the following
passage:
Chastity is the flowering of a man; and what are called
genius, heroism, holiness, and the like, are but various
fruits which succeed it.
CUT TO:
47 EXT. CAMPSITE, ORICK BEACH - MORNING 47
Gulls pierce into the grey morning ocean, snapping from
schools of fish. And the subtle crackling of a
campfire's death. There on the beach, Jan and Rainey's
van, their tent, and the fireless coals of last night.
But no sign of Chris, his bag or his tent.
Jan appears from her tent, rubbing her eyes. She wears a
sarong which she re-secures at the breast, then notices
that Chris has left. But where his tent had been, the
words:
THANK YOU JAN AND RAINEY
are spelled out in the sand with bits of driftwood.
CU: Jan - We see her sadness. Rainey appears at her
shoulder. He understands what is inside his woman.
JAN
He reminded me...
RAINEY
I know.
Go to WIDE SHOT: Jan and Rainey remaining as they were.
FOREGROUND: Seagulls GLIDE THROUGH FRAME.
CHAPTER 2: ADOLESCENCE
DISSOLVE TO:
48 EXT. CASCADE RANGE - DAY 48
MUSIC OVER: Joe Henry's King's Highway
A SERIES OF SHOTS:
1. Chris hitchhiking through the Sage Brush Uplands
2. Chris squatting over a water bucket, shaving.
37.
3. Camping in the lava beds of the Columbia River Basin.
4. Walking across the Idaho Panhandle.
5. Cooking the last of his rice on the Montana border.
6. Hitchhiking in the Montana sunset.
49 EXT. CUT BANK, MONTANA - SUNSET (SEPTEMBER 10 1990) 49
We see Chris hitching down a lonely two-lane road
surrounded by fields and distant mountains.
CARINE (V.O.)
In early September, mom and dad got a
call from the Annandale police notifying
them that Chris' abandoned car had been
identified by the Arizona Highway Patrol
after a group of rare flower hunters
stumbled upon it in the desert. There
were no signs that Chris had intended to
return to it. But there wasn't any
evidence of struggle. The police said
they thought Chris had chosen to leave it
behind and not that it had been taken
from him. Nonetheless, the initial
comfort that gave mom and dad, quickly
turned to their realization that Chris
was actually trying not to be found.
50 EXT. ANNANDALE STREET - DUSK 50
We see Walt. He walks out the door of his house into the
street. He keeps walking. And we go with him in his
silent but internal Armageddon. We PULL him in CU
throughout all that follows...(Refer to SCENE 171: "Dad
calls it `suspended animation.'" This may affect our
visual approach)
CARINE
The year Chris graduated high school he
bought the Datsun, used. He wanted to
drive it cross-country and visit our old
neighborhood in California. The day
before he left was my dad's birthday.
Chris made a speech...
38.
51 INT. MCCANDLESS HOME, ANNANDALE (PAST) 51
Chris stands beside the family piano, speaking to a party
of his parent's friends, Walt and Billie among them.
Beside him, a large gift-wrapped present. Carine sits at
the foot of the stairs at the back of the room watching
her brother with a hint of concern.
CHRIS
(a little drunk, a little
emotional)
Dad, you and I have had our differences
over the years...but on your birthday I
want to tell you how grateful I am for
all the things you've given me. And that
you did it starting from nothing to
working your way through college and
busting your ass to support us kids. So,
in return, I've been busting my ass a
bit...at Domino's Pizza -
Chris moves to the gift.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
and I've gotten you this token, this
damned expensive token, as a token of
that appreciation.
Chris holds the large gift toward Walt. Walt moves
through his friends to Chris and strips the paper,
exposing a beautiful Questar Telescope.
WALT
(patting his son the back)
Would you look at that.
Walt holds the telescope up for all to see. And the
party responds with applause.
Chris walks through the cheering family friends to take
his place beside Carine at the bottom of the steps.
CARINE
Jesus, you must've had a lot to drink.
CHRIS
Too much and not enough. I used to
believe all that stuff. That whole
story. I thought maybe if I said it
again, I'd believe it. But I don't.
39.
Tears have come to Chris' eyes. He puts his head in his
hands. Carine puts an arm around him.
BACK TO:
52 EXT ANNANDALE STREET - DUSK 52
PRESENT: Walt expressionless, walking into camera.
CARINE (V.O.)
The day after the party, Chris left on
his trip and ended up staying away most
of the summer. It was nearly three months
before he walked back into our house in
Annandale. He had a scruffy beard, his
hair was long and tangled, and he was
rail thin. As soon as I heard he was
home, I ran into his room to talk to him.
In California, he'd looked up some old
family friends who still lived there.
He'd found out that long after he had
been born, our dad had continued a
relationship with his first wife Marcia
in secret.
53 EXT CUT BANK, MONTANA - SUNSET 53
BRIEF CUTAWAY to Chris hitching on the Montana highway.
CARINE
And that one lie had led to another.
That two years after Chris was born, dad
had had another son with Marcia. Worse
yet was that it was Marcia to whom he was
still legally married at the time. And
it was Chris and I who were the bastard
children.
BACK TO:
54 EXT ANNANDALE STREET - DUSK 54
Walt.
CARINE
Dad's arrogance made him conveniently
oblivious to the pain he caused. And
mom, in the shame and embarrassment of a
young mistress, became his accomplice.
(MORE)
39aA.
CARINE (CONT'D)
She and my dad had decided to bend the
truth about this other child saying that
dad wasn't the father and they maintained
that their fraudulent marriage was real.
(MORE)
39A.
CARINE (CONT'D)
Chris was quiet when he told me this. He
said it made his "entire childhood seem
like a fiction"; that "the truth had been
dying everyday." If something bothered
Chris, he'd usually keep it to himself.
And he made me promise to do the same.
(MORE)
40.
CARINE (CONT'D)
He never did tell mom and dad that he
knew. But Chris measured himself and
those around him by an impossibly
rigorous moral code. He loathed what he
considered mom and dad's hypocrisy and
resented what they considered guidance.
Chris submitted to dad's authority
through college but I knew he raged
inwardly the whole time. It was
inevitable that Chris would rebel. And
when he did, he did it with
characteristic immoderation.
Walt suddenly collapses to his knees weeping, heartbroken
and ashamed on a quiet Annandale street in the shadowless
light of dusk.
CARINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
My father is a brilliant man. But he had
made some terrible mistakes. And to some
extent, it seemed Chris was making him
pay an awful price.
The image of Walt DISSOLVES INTO...
BACK TO:
55 EXT. CUT BANK, MONTANA (SEPTEMBER 10, 1990) 55
A pick-up truck pulls over for Chris. As Chris jumps in,
we see on the passenger side door, the name WAYNE
WESTERBERG boldly painted across it. Chris hops in
beside a hyper kinetic man with thick shoulders and a
black goatee.
WAYNE
(rolling a cigarette without
moving forward with the
truck, his knees rattling up
and down)
How're you doing? Wayne Westerberg.
CHRIS
(shaking hands)
Hi Wayne. Alex McCandless.
WAYNE
Seems like every time I come on this
road, there's somebody hitching out here
who looks as skinny and unfed as you.
Chris nods with a laugh. Wayne continuing...
41.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
Look, I gotta stop in Ethridge to drop
something off (know what I mean?)
Chris is not sure about the "drop something off" part.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
How `bout you and I grab something to eat
down there?
CHRIS
Oh, I wouldn't want to burden you.
WAYNE
How long has it been since you've had
anything to eat?
CHRIS
Couple of days. I kinda ran out of
money.
WAYNE
Well, there's no choice about it. I'm
gonna get you some dinner.
Wayne lights his cigarette, puts the truck in gear and
they head down the road.
As the sun dips behind the horizon we TILT UP off the
departing truck to the sky. Ominously mounting clouds
stunningly reflect the red rays of the hidden sun:
CUT TO:
56 EXT. SUNBURST - NIGHT 56
Wayne's truck cuts through a track in a wheat field
moving toward a compound of three trailers, one a double-
wide, the other two on wheels, smaller. Beside them, a
Wyeth-esque farmhouse. He eases the engine and comes to
a stop in front of the double-wide.
As he and Chris dismount the truck, Wayne gives him a
hushing finger across the lips. They tip-toe up to the
door, where Wayne shuffles a bunch of keys.
A little thunder kicking in the distant sky.
41A.
56A INT. DOUBLE-WIDE - NIGHT 56A
As Wayne and Chris enter, they tip-toe over empty booze
bottles and passed out work crew; Wayne's harvesting
team.
They make their way to a small table in the kitchenette.
Remains of the evening's dinner are on the stove. Wayne
turns on the stovetop coils to heat it up.
WAYNE
So where is it you're headed?
CHRIS
I was thinking about doubling back
through the Canadian side of Glacier
Park.
WAYNE
Yeah, I used to have a girlfriend who'd
go there, camp on the Black Feet Res.
She was into all that American Indian
stuff.
(MORE)
42.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
I can bring you to the border at Sweet
Grass once you've had some food.
CHRIS
Well, that'd be great. What do you do
out here?
WAYNE
Well, I do a lot of things. Computer
programming. Video game repair. I'm a
licensed pilot, own a grain elevator in
Carthage and another one a few miles out
of town. But in the summertime I run a
combine crew, follow the harvest from
Texas way the hell north to the Canadian
border. We just got done cutting barley
for Coors and Anheuser Busch. But then I
got this little black box deal on the
side (You know what I mean?)
CHRIS
You mean those free satellite TV deals?
WAYNE
(as though he hadn't brought
it up)
You said it, not me.
Chris is dazzled by this renaissance man of the plains.
Wayne stands to dish out a couple of plates of heated
food. As Chris starts digging in, a major gust of wind
rocks the trailer.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
(smiling, responding to wind)
OOOOOOH.
Chris doesn't respond, digs into the food. Points to the
unconscious tribe splayed out. SIX GERMANIC-LOOKING
UNCONSCIOUS BODIES.
CHRIS
Who are these guys?
Wayne gets a little giggle.
WAYNE
Those are my Hudderites. Agriculture's a
pretty transient business. These guys
come off the Hudderite colony looking for
work. I always got work for people.
Then that guy -
(MORE)
42A.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
(pointing at guy making most
of his snore)
That's Kevin. He's with me most of the
time. He's not a Hudderite. He's from
Madison.
CHRIS
Madison. Okay.
Just then, the rain kicks in full gear outside, pounding
the trailer shell. A couple hits of lightning follow.
WAYNE
Listen, you don't want to go out there on
the road tonight. Why don't you just
roll your sleeping bag out and play like
a Hudderite until morning.
Chris looks about. There's not much room but it beats
the pelting outside.
CHRIS
Thanks Wayne. I will.
TIME CUT:
Chris, with a grin on his face, lays in his sleeping bag
between a Hudderite and the sleeping KEVIN. Wayne comes
from the back bedroom, tip-toes through the sleeping
bodies to hand Chris a pillow.
WAYNE
Get a good sleep. See you in the
morning.
Chris waves a thanks, puts the pillow beneath his head
and closes his eyes.
57 OMITTED 57
58 OMITTED 58
59 EXT. SUNBURST - DAY 59
We are TIGHT on Chris' hand atop the shifter of one of
Wayne's lumbering harvesters.
43.
WAYNE (O.S)
Okay. Now take hold of the joystick, get
the feel of header, idle it down with the
toggle switch...
As Chris makes the attempt, we immediately hear the
grinding of gears, the instrument alarms in chaos.
WIDE SHOT: Chris and Wayne sit atop a combine. In the
background we see Wayne's trailer and two other combines
piloted by Wayne's crew members on the ocean of ripe
blond grain.
Chris tries his hand at the shifter once more. This time
the thing starts to move.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
That's it. That's it. Now take it on
out and make yourself some money.
Wayne jumps off the combine and Chris begins to cut his
pattern, intermittently struggling with the shifter.
Wayne laughs his ass off.
60 EXT SUNBURST - DAY 60
SERIES OF SHOTS indicating a SERIES OF DAYS passing as
Chris gets a hang of the machines a little more at a
time.
CUT TO:
61 INT. DOUBLE-WIDE, SUNBURST - NIGHT 61
Six men including Wayne and Chris, two among them -
Hudderites, crowd in to the small dinner area of the
trailer. Talking politics and bullshit, and eating a
welcome meal.
WAYNE
I'm gonna break out some whiskey. Alex,
you want anything other than that beer?
CHRIS
I'd take a White Russian if you've got
it.
The group of men laugh at the youngster's order of a
fancy drink.
44.
MAN #1
What are you Alex, a Commie?
CHRIS
No, I just like White Russians.
WAYNE
I haven't got anything like that here.
But I tell ya what. And I know I speak
for everybody. You wanna come work with
us in Carthage, we'll hook you up on the
grain elevator and get you a White
Russian down at the Cabaret.
CHRIS
Really?
WAYNE
Dawn tomorrow, engines roaring.
(to the others like a mock
blues singer)
"Pot o Gold. Oh that pot o gold."
They all join in to the chant/song:
ALL
"Pot o Gold. Gotta get that pot o gold!"
CHRIS
(raising his beer)
To Carthage.
WAYNE AND HIS MEN
(toasting)
To Carthage.
CUT TO:
62 OMITTED 62
62A EXT. HIGHWAY BETWEEN SUNBURST AND CARTHAGE 62A
MAGIC HOUR. TELEPHOTO LENS. The harvesting convoy rolls
toward us like a herd of mammoths.
44A-45.
63 EXT. CARTHAGE - NIGHT (LATE SEPTEMBER 1990) 63
A series of silent, quaint establishing tableaus.
(Director's Note: Condor above street)
It's a sleepy little town. Population: 274. Cluster of
clapboard houses, tiny yards, and weathered brick
storefronts rising humbly from the immensity of the
northern plains. Stately rows of cottonwoods shade a
grid of streets, seldom disturbed by moving vehicles.
From UNDER CAMERA, the series of tableaus is interrupted
as the convoy roars into our frame from BENEATH CAMERA.
CUT TO:
63A INT. WAYNE'S TRUCK 63A
In the passenger seat, Chris is glowing at his new
surroundings. Wayne picks up the CB radio.
WAYNE
Okay Kevin, get all the machines back to
the elevator. I'm gonna show Chris to
his room.
KEVIN (O.S.)
(over CB)
I've got dibs on that shower, that
shower's all me.
WAYNE
(laughs)
First come, first serve buddy.
Wayne signs off and veers off the road.
64 OMITTED 64
46.
65 OMITTED 65
66 EXT. WESTERBERG'S CARTHAGE HOME - NIGHT 66
A two-story Victorian in the Queen Anne style. Wayne
veers his truck into the front yard, parking under the
big cottonwood that towers above.
SHORT TIME CUT:
67 INT. WESTERBERG'S CARTHAGE HOME - SAME 67
Chris follows Wayne up the narrow stairwell.
47.
WAYNE
(carrying Chris' pack for
him)
Come on up in here. This'll be your room
for as long as you hang about.
Wayne opens the door at the top of the stairs.
68 INT. CHRIS' ROOM, WESTERBERG'S CARTHAGE HOME - SAME 68
Wayne plops Chris' pack beside a single bed in the tiny
but comfortable room. Chris enters, very happy with his
new quarters.
WAYNE
Shower's down the hall. If you hurry you
can beat the rest of the boys to it. But
you do want to grab a shower cause we're
all heading over to the Cabaret in
exactly thirty-six minutes. So, get your
dancing shoes on. There's foo-foo in the
medicine cabinet. I think it's Brut.
(slaps his own face as if
he's putting on cologne)
Then you want to put your charm in
overdrive cause we like to PAH-TAY!
Wayne gives Chris a wink and exits, shutting the door
behind him.
Chris takes in his new surroundings. He's on a work crew
and he likes it. Chris makes the move for the shower but
by the time he opens his door to the hall, all the other
crew members are barreling up the stairs in front of
them, clamoring for dibs (Chris' POV)
MAN #1
I got first!
MAN #2
(in a kid voice)
You had first last night!
MAN #1
(entering the bathroom)
Well, if you wanna wash my back,
cowboy...
MAN #2
You go ahead, fairy. Just don't use all
the soap.
48.
ANGLE: Chris. He gets a kick out of these guys. He
closes the door.
CUT TO:
69 INT. CABARET BAR, CARTHAGE - NIGHT 69
The Jack Daniels is flowing. Wayne's crew drinks,
smokes, and strikes out with every fat woman in the
place. GAIL BORAH, an on-again, off-again girlfriend of
Wayne's tends bar. A petite sad-eyed woman, slight as a
heron, delicate features and long blond hair. Wayne and
Chris sit at the end of the bar.
WAYNE
Alex, this is Gail . This is the one to
go to for that White Russian you've been
wanting. Of course the quid pro quo can
be hazardous.
GAIL
Shut up, Wayne.
(to Chris)
You want a White Russian, sweetie?
CHRIS
(shyly)
Yes please, ma'am.
WAYNE
Yes please, ma'am?
Wayne slaps Chris on the back.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
Ain't he great?
GAIL
(to Chris)
Don't pay any attention to him.
With that Wayne reaches over the bar, grabs Gail and
gets her in a lip-lock, to which she ultimately gives in.
TIME CUT:
70 INT. CABARET BAR, CARTHAGE - LATER 70
Wayne and Chris are both drunk.
49.
WAYNE
Anything to do with hunting, preserving
the meat, smoking it or whatever, you
talk to Kevin over there. That's your
man.
ANGLE: KEVIN. He looks every bit the Grizzly Adams part.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
Outdoors-man. What's the interest in all
that?
CHRIS
I'm thinking about going to Alaska.
WAYNE
Alaska, Alaska? Or city Alaska? The
city Alaska does have markets.
CHRIS
(with a drunken, excited
energy)
No, Alaska, Alaska. I want to be all the
way out there. On my own. No map. No
watch. No axe. Just out there. Big
mountains, rivers, sky. Game. Just be
out there in it. In the wild.
WAYNE
In the wild.
CHRIS
Yeah. Maybe write a book about my
travels. About getting out of this sick
society.
WAYNE
(coughing)
Society, right.
CHRIS
Because you know what I don't understand?
I don't understand why, why people are so
bad to each other, so often. It just
doesn't make any sense to me. Judgement.
Control. All that.
WAYNE
Who "people" we talking about?
CHRIS
You know, parents and hypocrites.
Politicians and pricks.
50.
Chris is clearly troubled by his own words.