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me ... This is boss. Come on .•. Teddy, Chris, and Gordie continue to sing. VERN. (continuing). Okay. Okay. Forget it. I don't have to tell you nuthin'.
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( THE· BODY)
Screenplay
by
RAYNOLD GIDEON &. BRUCE A. EVANS
Draft: Revised
Based on a short story
by
STEPHEN KING
Executive Producer: Andy Schei:nman
Bruce Evans
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BLACK SCREEi."l'. The title "THE BODY" DISSOLVES UP IN WHITE LETTERS.
"'/J t "- A hard autumn RAIN POUNDS a land Rover ·. parked on the shoulder. THROUGHthe water-streaked WINDOWS, we see a blurred image of GORDON;LACHANCE; 37, slumped down in
Lying on the dash is a crumpled copy of The or egonian folded open to a story whose headline reads "Local Attorney Fatally Stabbed in Restaurant." outside, a yellow school bus drops off a young boy.
Gordon watches as the bus drives off and the young boy, 12, yanks his jacket up over his head and ·runs up the · hill toward his house. THROUGHTHE WINDSHIELD we MOVE IN ON Gordon's face.
NARRATOR (V .O.) (the adult voice of Gordon Lachance) In all of our lives there's a fall from innocence. A time after which we are never the same. ·
FADE OUT.
FADE IN: F/,'J ,1i"~/ (iZ,;:~)NC-: ~ /
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It's 7: 30 and already hot. "BIRDDOG"
by 'I'he Everly Brothers BLEEDS IN ON THE SOUNDTRACK. old GORDONLACHANCE, dark hair, sweet
The twelve-year-· face, walks down a street of the to.v:n reading a 'detective' magazine.
HARRATOR (v.o.) I ~·,as twelve going on thirteen when I first saw a dead human being.
I -----·~
,-
4
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NARRATOR (V. 0 • )
TEDDY
eyes.
TEDDY
. "
4
4
G
'{ ...._ (^) __/ )
CONTINUED: ( 2)
NARRATOR (V .O.) Chris was the ·1eader of our gang,
a bad family and everybody thought he would turn out bad ... including Chris.
We hear SOMEONE COMING FAST UP THE LADDERnailed to the side of the elm. Chris stops dealing. A FIST RAPS on the underside of the trapdoor.
GORDIE That's not the secret knock.
A sequence of knocks is tried.
I forgot the sec:::-et knock.
, BOYS It's Vern.
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Chris th::-ows open the trapjcor and VERN'IESSIO, another twelve-year-old, raises hiT11Self into the cl11hhonse. He I^ s out of breath.
(panting) Wow, man! Wait'll you hear this.
Chris and Teddy continue to play cards.
GORDIE Hear what'?
(wrea~n~ng^ .,_^ -•.^ .neavi_y^ ·,^ ) Lemme get my breath. I ran all the way from_my house.
TEDDY (breaking into song) ! ran all the way home••.
CHRIS & GORDIE (singi.'1g) Co wah •• do wah ...
'IED:JY .•• just to say I'm soh-ree ..•
CHRIS & GORDIE Soh-ree •.. soh-ree ..•
'-:'.3DDY :•:nae ca..'1 _ say ...
,. ii II
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,n
_. j . ·,~.. •, ........
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So what are you pissing and moaning about, Vern-0?
CHRIS I knock.
TEDDY What?!! You liarl You ain't got no pat hand! You didn't deal yourself no pat handll
CHRIS (smirks) Make your. draw, shi theap.
Teddy reaches for the top card on the pile of bikes. Chris reaches for his smoke on the ledge behind him. Gordie .bends over to pick up his detective magazine.
body?
Everybody stops and looks at Vern.
VERN (continuing)
know.
NARRATOR (V. O. ) We all understood what Vern meant right away.
The front porch runs the length of the house probably forty feet. long ..and seven feet wide. As the Narrator talks,· we MOVE TOWARD a small door in the lattice-work. skirt that fences the underside of the porch.
NARRATOR (V. O. ) When Vern was eight he buried a quart jar of pennies under his _-:por:eh.. He drew a treasure map so he could find them again. A week later his mom cleaned out his room and threw away his map.·
CUT '10:
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NARRATOR (V. O. )
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Aw, shut up and come on.
Two pairs of legs clad in tight, wash-faded jeans, two pairs of feet in black engineer boots with side
The boys' positions around Vern have changed. They're all sitting facing him now.
, TEDDY I know the Back Har low Road. It comes to a dead end by the Royal River. The train tracks are right
for cossies out there.
there, they would have killed you.
Everybody nods in agreement. Then the idea begins to take hold.
GORDIE {musing) Could he have gotten all the way from Chamerlain to Harlow? That's twenty or thirty miles.
CHRIS
walking on the train tracks and followed them the whole way.
TEDDY Yeah. And after dark a train must have come a long and ••• (drives his right fist into his left palm) .•• el smacko.
CHRIS Yeah. I bet you anything if we find him we'll get our pictures in the paper.
VERN (shocked) Huh?l
(CONTINUED)
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TEDDY Yeah! We could even be on TV.
CHRIS Sure. If we can find the body and report it, we'll be on the news.
TEDDY We'll be heroes.
VERN I dunno. Billy will know where I found out.
GORDIE He won't care. Because it'll be us guys that find that kid, not Billy and Charlie Hogan in a boosted car. They' 11 probably pin a medal on yo~.
VERN Yeah? You think so?l
Sure.
VERN But what will we tell our folks?
GORDIE
our folks we're tenting in your back yard, and you tell your folks you're sleeping over at Teddy's. And that the next morning we're all going over to hang out at the drag races. We're rock solid 'til dinner tomorrow night.
VERN But if we find. that kid's body over in South Harlow, they'll know we didn't go to the drag races. We'll get hided.
TEDDY :;ro, we won't. Everybody' 11 be so jazzed. a.bout what we found.
Yeah.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
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He hears FOOTSTEPS coming down the hall and hides the pages under a stack of comic books.
Gordie's FATHER, a tall, stooped man with a tired face and gray hair, walking aimlessly down the hall, glances into Gordie's room. There's an awkward pause.
(offering what I^ s left of the hotdog) You want some, dad?
FATHER No •••
The Father continues down the hall. After a beat, Gordie collects all the loose change and a watch off the top of the dresser and .puts them in his pocket.
CUT TO:
INT. TEDDY'S ROOM - MIDDAY
There's an Army recruiting poster above his bed. Child-like crayon drawings of battle scenes decorate another wall. There's a faded 8Xl0 of his father as a young man in combat gear propped up on the dresser. - Cheap plastic models of planes, tanks and ships litter the room. Teddy takes a set of dog tags off his father's picture and pulls them over -·his head. Humming the Marine hymn Teddy puts on a cut-down battle blouse and tucks it into a pair of fatigue pants.
TEDDY (looking at himself) in the mirror) Too cool.
He turns around and searches · the floor for a helmet liner. 'When he finds it he scoops it up and returns to the mirror tc put it on. He picks up a web belt with a canteen hooked onto it and buckles it around his waist.
TEDDY (continuing) ;.hh ... Too cool!
He increases the volume of the Marine hymn as he goes to the ,::loset and drags out a full-length greatcoat. He comes back to the mirror and struggles into it.
(CONTINUED)
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·TEDDY (continuing) Too cool .•• (after a pause; feeling the weight of the jackei:) Too hot.
He starts to take it off.
INT. CHRIS' ROOM - MIDDAY
.CUT TO:
While his FATHER, unshaven, 40's, snores bare-assed on a filthy bed surrounded by empty wine bottles, Chris is very carefully pulling Winstons out of a pack on the dresser.
-:,:;,,:: ,.c. N. '5 ' INT. KITCHEN - VERN'S HOUSE - MIDDAY
CUT TO:
Vern is sitting alone at the kitchen table shoveling ravioli's into his mouth. Anxious to leave, he gets up from the table.
VERN 'Bye, Ma, see you tomorrow.
MOTHER ( 0. S • ) Vern1 You're not going anywhere until you finish everything on that plate.
I .finished, ~,a. :~!JTHER {0. S. ) :)id you finish your lirna. beans?
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Vern hasn't a.n.ci.is rromentarily stumped. He sees the open kitchen window. He picks 1 .:;: the plate a11d, ·,,;ith a flick of ti1e wrist, lau.-riches the beans into t.:: great outc.cors.
Yeah.
':.7ERN (setti..'1,:; down the nOiv- eznpty plate)
Z-;QTHER (0. S.) ,:,kay, have a gocd ti.-:ie.
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DENNY (V .0. )
FLASHBACK: INT. DENNY'S ROOM - DAY
CUT 'IO:
DENNY
GORDIE
FATHER (V .o. )
CUT BACK TO:
FATHER
-. I-NT. HALLWAY - MIDDAY
FATHER
(CONTINUED)
\ (^) ~ .. ,,/
F.evised 6/18 (^) 16.
CONTINUED:
GORDIE
FATHER
GORDIE
book.
CUT 'ro:
CHRIS
·GORDIE
CHRIS
( CONTINUED )
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_(_ , ./
CHRIS
GORDIE
KA--BLAMJ
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CHRIS
.GORD.IE
( ) ..__,,,
CONTINUED : ( 2)
Chris and Gordie run like hell up the alley -- past the drugstore, pa.st the Emporium Galorium. Gordie tosses the .45 to Chris. Chris is killing himself laughing, but catches it and somehow manages to stuff it back in his knapsack. They vault over a fence and find them- selves back on the street. They slow down so they won't look suspicious.
CHRIS Man, you shoulda seen your face. Oh man, that was so neat. That was really fine.
You knew it was loaded, didn't you? You wet. I'm gonna be in trouble. That Tupper babe saw me.
CHRIS Shit, she thought it was firecrackers. Besides, old Thunderjugs can't see past the end of her nose, you know that.
GORDIE Well, I don't care. mean trick, Chris.
CHRIS
That was a Really.
Come on, Gordie. I didn't know it was loaded, honest to God.
You really didn't load it?
CHRIS No way.
even if she ·goes -to hell for you telling a lie?
CHRIS I swear.
He crosses himself and spits, then starts to laugh again. Even Gordie has to chuckle.
CHRIS (continuing) God, you shoulda seen your face.
