KING KONG

KING KONG 

Screenplay by

FRAN WALSH & PETER JACKSON

From an idea conceived by

EDGAR WALLACE & MERIAN C. COOPER

1st Draft

1996

EXT. SKIES OVER FRANCE 1917 - DAY

CAMERA drifts towards a large puffy cloud floating 6000ft above the

French countryside ...

... a roar of engines - sounding like angry buzzing bees - and three ...

six ... NINE SOPWITH CAMEL FIGHTER PLANES emerge from the cloud, flying

in tight formation. These are frail looking, but deadly single seat

BIPLANES, each armed with twin Vickers machine guns. The height of 1917

aircraft design, built for the sole purpose of blasting German planes

out of the skies.

SUPER "FRANCE 1917"

JACK DRISCOLL and his buddy, MATT HAMON are flying two of the CAMELS at

the rear of the formation. An UPTIGHT BRIT - McKECKNIE, is flying along

side them. He's as JUMPY AS HELL, scanning the skies for enemy planes.

MATT looks around furtively. None of the other pilots are looking in

their direction. With practiced skill, MATT reaches down for something

in his tiny cockpit ... HE STANDS UP, wedging the control column between

his knees and turns back towards JACK'S Camel ... a BASEBALL IN HIS

HAND!! With equal proficiency, JACK jams his control column between his

knees and stands, brandishing a BASEBALL BAT! Both pranksters have to

fight against the fierce slipstream as MATT THROWS THE BALL.I across

fifty feet of sky towards JACK! He prepares to swing, but the ball FALLS

SHORT, getting MINCED in JACK'S propeller! A quick look around to make

sure no one is looking, and MATT reaches down again, grabbing ANOTHER

BASEBALL out of the bag of balls he carries in his cockpit!

MATT PITCHES it back towards JACK ... he swings and smashes the ball

into the side of McKECKNIE'S PLANE! He LEAPS WITH FRIGHT, his CAMEL

wobbling in the sky as he frantically spins around, thinking he's been

hit by enemy fire!

JACK and MATT sit in their cockpits, innocently looking the other way!

Sudden MACHINE GUN FIRE ... The SQUADRON LEADER has fired his guns to

attract the attention of all his pilots. He gestures down ...

JACK looks down ... 3 large GERMAN BOMBERS, escorted by 6 sleek

ALBATROSS fighters are heading towards Allied lines, about 1000 feet

below.

With a wave of the SQUADRON LEADERS arm, the NINE CAMELS peel away

towards the GERMAN PLANES. The fun is over for JACK and MATT as they

grimly steer their planes into the steep dive ...

WOOD CREAKS, WIRE WHISTLES as the CAMELS shudder against the wind

resistance. Wings sometimes crumple like matchwood in dives as steep as

this. JACK squints as he lines up an ALBATROSS in his gun-sights. The

Germans have not spotted the FAST APPROACHING CAMELS ...

The Camel Pilots OPEN FIRE virtually simultaneously - 18 MACHINE GUNS

send yellow TRACER BULLETS ripping into the German planes. Within

seconds, 3 ALBATROS are destroyed! One spins away in flames, another

literally collapses under a hail of bullets and the third collides with

one of the BOMBERS, causing both planes to tumble out of the sky.

It's a turkey shoot as the CAMELS fly through the German formation,

turning sharply to attack again before the enemy pilots can recover.

McKECKNIE blasts at the NOSE GUNNER of a German BOMBER, pumping so many

bullets into his plane, the NOSE SECTION DISINTEGRATES and the GERMAN

FALLS OUT ... This is in the days before parachutes ...

CLUNK!!! The GERMAN GUNNER LANDS ON JACK'S WING!!! He desperately hangs

on, spread eagled, FINGERS GRIPPING the wing edges ... JACK stares at

him, amazed ...

This is one of those defining moments in life ... With a flick of his

CONTROL STICK, JACK could send this guy sailing into space. It is a

moment he will remember till the end of his days ... JACK makes EYE

CONTACT - the GERMAN is terrified, helpless ...

JACK reaches out to him.

JACK

(yelling above noise)

Here!

JACK struggles to keep his plane flying as smooth as possible - all

around the swirling DOGFIGHT continues. The German REACHES OUT for

JACK'S HAND ...

BAM! BAM! BAM! A SUDDEN BURST OF GUNFIRE hits the GERMAN. He looks at

JACK with a kind of confused SORROW ... and ROLLS OFF THE WING.

JACK

(shocked)

NO!!

ANOTHER CAMEL is flying just a few feet off JACK'S TAIL . .. It dives

away.

TRACER FIRE rips into JACK'S PLANE ... He SPINS AROUND, confronted with

a TERRIFYING SIGHT!

The 24 gaudily painted FOKKER TRI-PLANES of VON RICHTOFEN'S FLYING

CIRCUS are diving down towards them. The hunters have just become THE

HUNTED! Before JACK can react, the TRI-PLANES swoop into the dogfight

...

The sky is suddenly filled with nearly 50 planes wheeling around in a

desperate life and death struggle. From a distance they look like a

swarm of angry bees against a spectacular backdrop of cumulous cloud

rising in towering columns.

Close in, it's stomach churning, noisy and violent as terrified pilots

throw their planes around the sky in a desperate attempt to blast

bullets into each other. You may have seen movie dogfights before, but

you haven't seen one like this!

JACK wrenches the control stick, sending his Camel through a series of

TIGHT TURNS, wincing as BOILING CASTOR OIL from the rotary engine SLAPS

INTO HIS FACE there are so many planes that collision is as threatening

as the deadly TRACER FIRE that zips in all directions.

MATT fires at a TRI-PLANE, the blast of his guns causing his plane to

tremble violently. The TRI-PLANE'S TOP WING breaks away, sending the

German into a fatal spin.

JACK STARES IN HORROR McKECKNIE'S CAMEL is ON FIRE - and flying STRAIGHT

TOWARDS HIM! He frantically tries to steer his plane away, but ...

CRRUMMPP! JACK'S plane clips McKECKNIE'S and goes into an immediate

spin. JACK tries to regain control ... his right hand wing tip is in

tatters.

MATT sees his buddy going down and dives after him, blasting at a COUPLE

OF TRIPLANES that are closing in on the crippled CAMEL.

JACK uses all his strength to haul the control stick back and pull out

of the dive. He is dangerously close to the ground - the shell torn

landscape of NO MA/s LAND. MATT levels out along side as JACK loses his

last few feet of height and smashes into the ground. His undercarriage

breaks away and the CAMEL slides to a stop in the mud.

EXT. NO MAN'S LAND - DAY

JACK leans back in the cockpit, his nose bloody from the crash, but

otherwise unharmed ...

BANG] BANG! BANG! Machine gun bullets suddenly rip into his plane -

GERMAN SOLDIERS are firing at him from the trenches! The Camel BURSTS

INTO FLAME as bullets puncture the gas tank.

JACK quickly rolls out of the cockpit and crawls away just as MATT roars

low overhead, STRAFING the MACHINE GUN NEST with a withering stream of

tracer fire.

JACK'S plane EXPLODES ... he slides safely into a muddy SHELL HOLE,

pulling his SERVICE REVOLVER out of the holster. JACK rips his FLYING

HELMET & GOGGLES off ... we see that he is just a 17 YEAR OLD KID.

From out of the THICK BLACK PLUME OF SMOKE from the burning plane,

MATT'S SOPWITH CAMEL suddenly appears, gliding very low ... he's

attempting to land!

MATT carefully guides the plane between shell holes and almost gets away

with the landing ... just as the plane slows to a stop, it hits a coil

of BARBED WIRE and FLIPS ON IT'S BACK! MATT releases his seat-blet,

falls to the ground and pulls off his FLYING HELMET ... MATT is about 20

years old.

MATT

(yelling)

JACK!

MATT races towards the BURRING WRECKAGE ... GUNFIRE from the German

trenches kicks the mud up around his feet and he dives forward into a

large SHELLHOLE.

JACK

Matt!

MATT'S only a few yards away from JACK, but they have to stay in their

respective shellholes as a ground shaking volley of ARTILLERY FIRE

THUNDERS around them.

JACK (CONT'D)

(yelling)

What the hell are you doing?

MATT

(yelling)

Saving your lousy ass!

JACK

(yelling)