BARNEY

JUDGE DREDD: GUN RUNNER

SAMPLE SCRIPT - NOT A COMMISSION!

 

PAGE 1

1. A high overpass. A car - badly damaged by judges’ gunfire - has crashed against the parapet. One of the two occupants is dead, hanging out of open door. The other one - PAL, a minor criminal - is out of the car, crouched down, using door as cover. Judges are in position on the overpass, about fifty metres from the crashed car, using their bikes as cover. Say two judges - this is no big deal operation - one of them being DREDD. Take this pic from his POV. This is just a scene-setter, it doesn’t have to be big. The traffic on the other side of the overpass would have to be stopped, either by a judge or on its own, well back from the incident. Traffic would be backed up behind Dredd too.

CAPTION: SHOOTOUT ON A HIGH OVERPASS -

DREDD: I’M LOSING PATIENCE, CREEP! LAST WARNING! DROP THAT GUN AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS RAISED!

 

2. On Pal, crouched down close to his accomplice’s body. Pal has a FUTURISTIC GUN - a big handblaster (capable of being fired one-handed) with flashing lights, laser target finding and aiming system (a sight with an ‘eye’ end) and a swivelling barrel. Don’t know how you’d design it and keep it looking good, but barrel should be capable of rotating 360 degrees and still firing effectively when it’s lying on the ground with no one holding it. The gun can also TALK and has a mind of its own. Although its user wants to surrender, the GUN has other ideas.

GUN (jag): THEY GOTTA BE JOKIN’! HA! WHAT KINDA DAMNED COWARD DO THEY TAKE YOU FOR? YOU’RE NOT AFRAID TO DIE!

PAL: YES I AM!

 

3. Good shot of the Gun here, in close fg, Pal looking at it in alarm.

GUN (jag): GO ON, TELL ‘EM! ! THEY’LL NEVER TAKE YOU ALIVE! DEATH OR GLORY, THAT’S THE WAY YOU LIKE IT, ISN’T IT, SOLDIER?

PAL: N-N-NO! TH-THEY CAN TAKE ME ALIVE IF THEY WANT! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

GUN(jag): YOU GUTLESS WONDER! I DON’T BELIEVE I’M HEARIN’ THIS!

 

4. He half-rises, trying to shake the gun off, but the trigger closes up against the guard, trapping his finger. This is a fairly close shot again.

PAL: DON’T SHOOT, I SURR-

LINK: DAMN! IT’S GRIPPING MY FINGER! L-LEGGO - !

GUN(jag): SURE, I’LL LEGGO - WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER! YOU MAKE ME SICK, SOLDIER!

5. The gun’s barrel swivels in the direction of Dredd and - though its aim is put off by Pal trying to shake it off - it unleashes a stream of blast beams.

GUN(jag): WELL, THANK GRUD ONE OF US REMEMBERS HOW TO FIGHT!

FX: bzanggg bzanggg bzanggg bzanggg

 

 

6. In bg we see Pal and the gun. Pal’s holding the gun away from him, still trying to shake it off, but the blasts from the gun are still coming in Dredd’s general direction, making a crazy criss-cross of beams. One beam hits the other judge, but only singing his shoulder. Dredd responds with his own bullets.

JUDGE: Unnh!

DREDD: CREEP MUST HAVE A DEATH WISH!

FX: zing zing zing BDAM BDAM BDAM

 

 

 

 

 

PAGE 2

1. Dredd’s bullets hit Pal, who is slammed back into the parapet, the gun falling from his hand -

2. - and over the parapet, tumbling DOWN -

GUN(jag): AIN’T IT A JAG! YOU GOT THE DEATH AN’ I GOT THE GLORY!

LINK: SO LONG, YELLOWBELLY!

 

3. - down, through the tangle of roadways - to bounce off a girder - p-tankka - and land at city bottom, in among a pile of debris. flumpp

JAG: ATTENTION, DREDD! BELIEVE YOUR PERPS MAY BE CARRYING CONSIGNMENT OF STOLEN MILITARY KK44 SELF-FIRING HAND-BLASTERS.

 

4. Back up top Dredd and other judge (with seared shoulder) are at the crash scene. Both perps are dead. Dredd has opened the trunk of the car, where we see a number of boxes marked ARMScO and Mk 0075/10 KK44 HB (s-f). But Dredd’s attention is caught by the other judge, who’s turning the earlier victim over to check him out. He shouts a warning -

JAG: KK44s ARE DESIGNED TO OFFER MORAL SUPPORT AS WELL AS TACTICAL GUIDANCE, BUT CAN BE DANGEROUS AND ERRATIC UNLESS BATTLEFIELD TUNED.

LINK: EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION! THESE ARE SMART WEAPONS, CAPABLE OF CONTINUING TO SELECT AND ATTACK TARGETS INDEPENDENTLY IF USERS ARE KILLED.

DREDD: CONFIRM THOSE KK44s, CONTROL -

LINK: DROKK! CAREFUL THERE -

 

5. The victim has been turned over. His body has been lying over a second KK44 gun, which now opens fire on the judge, blowing a hole in him. FX: bzanggg bzanggg bzanggg

GUN(jag): GOTCHA!

JUDGE: AHHHHHH

DREDD: DAMN!

 

6. Dredd drags the badly-wounded judge behind the car. Blasts go whizzing by but not too close.

DREDD: WE GOT A JUDGE DOWN, MED-WAGON URGENTLY REQUIRED!

LINK: HOW DO YOU DISARM THESE THINGS?

JAG: WITH DIFFICULTY! KEEP CLEAR! WE’RE SENDING IN A TAC TEAM!

 

 

 

 

PAGE 3

1. Dredd has dragged the judge back to their bikes (where gun can’t get a bead on them), Now, on his bike, he opens fire with bike cannon, a beam that turns the car into a glowing fireball.

CAPTION: DREDD DRAGS THE WOUNDED JUDGE CLEAR, THEN -

DREDD: HELL WITH THE TAC TEAM! BIKE CANNON!

 

2. We’re on city bottom, but angle the pic so we can see above our heads the tangle of roadways stretching up out of sight. A juve - JUVEY - say about 13, pretty gormless-looking - is walking along past the spot where the gun landed - among rubbish, in an actual bin - wherever you like.

CAPTION: MEANWHILE -

FX: psssst!

 

3. Juvey looks at the rubbish. The voice is coming from under it.

BLN (jag): HEY! YOU UP THERE - C’MERE!

JUVEY: Huh? WHOZZAT?

BLN (jag): GET ME OUTA HERE! C’MON, HURRY IT UP!

 

4. Juvey has parting the junk, exposes the gun, lights a twinkle, ‘eye’ swivelled to peer at him.

JUVEY: A GUN?

GUN(jag) OH, BOY, WE GOT A REAL GENIUS HERE, I SEE!

JUVEY: WOW! A TALKING GUN!

GUN(jag): STOP WASTIN’ TIME! PICK ME UP!

 

5. Juvey holds the gun, stares at it in awe.

GUN(jag): NEVER HELD A REAL GUN BEFORE, HUH, KID? FEELS GOOD, DON’T IT? WANNA SHOOT SOMETHING?

JUVEY: UH, GEE, I…I DUNNO.

 

 

6. The barrel of the gun turns this way and that - close view of this.

GUN(jag): SURE YA DO! C’MON, IT’S EASY! JUST PICK A TARGET, I CAN DO THE AIMING. SEE, I GOT A SWIVEL BARREL.

FX: twist waggle

JUVEY: I…I DON’T LIKE TO.

GUN(jag): JUST PRETEND, THEN! C’MON, POINT ME AT SOMEBODY!

 

 

7. Juvey does, at a fat guy walking along the pavement, approaching.

JUVEY: OKAY, UH, THAT FAT GUY IN THE BLEEPER SHIRT.

GUN(jag): YOU HATE THAT FAT GUY, HUH? THAT FAT GUY’S YOUR ENEMY, RIGHT?

JUVEY: UH, YEAH -- HA HA! DAMN RIGHT!

GUN(jag): ‘KAY, JUST HAD TO BE SURE!

 

 

8. The gun fires, the fat guy is slammed back, his head pulped.

GUN(jag): KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE, FATBOY!

FX: bzanggg SPATTTTA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAGE 4

1. Juvey looks at the gun in horror. In bg headless guy slides down the wall in a welter of blood.

GUN(jag): ATTABOY, SOLDIER! NOW YOU’RE COOKIN’!

JUVEY: BUH-BUH-BUT YOU SAID P-P-PRETEND!

GUN(jag): PRETEND, NOTHIN’! THIS IS WAR, SOLDIER! JOVIS GRUD, SOMEBODY HAD TA KICK YOUR BUTT INTA GEAR!

 

2. The gun starts going haywire, blasting shots all around, hitting vehicles, pedestrians, buildings. Juvey tries to shake it off, as Pal before him, but can.

GUN(jag): NOW LET’S LAY DOWN SOME HEAVY FIRE! THERE’S ENEMIES ALL AROUND US! WE FIGHT OUR WAY OUT OF THIS, SOLDIER - OR DIE TRYIN’!

LINK: YEEHAAAA!

FX: bzaangg bzangg bzanggg bzangggg SKASSHH SPATTTA skreeeee FAWAMMMM AAHHHHH Aieee HELP

JUVEY: STOP IT! GET OFF! LEGGO MY F-FINGER - !

 

3. A judge - not Dredd - arrives on the scene. Much more devastation by now, people lying groaning, crashed cars, bodies everywhere. The judge fires, the juve is hit on the head by a stun shot - a final blast from the gun going wild - and falls back through a shop window.

CAPTION: A JUDGE IS QUICKLY ON THE SCENE -

JUDGE: GOTTA TAKE OUT THAT JUVE! STUN SHOT!

FX: BDAM! SkassssshhH

 

4. In the shop Juvey lands on the floor, unconscious. The gun can have fallen from his hand or still be clutched in it, however it works best for you. Good focus on the gun here as it calls to the five or six people in the shop, moving its barrel back and forth among them menacingly.

Juvey(FX): uhhhhh

GUN(jag): DON’T MOVE! DO EXACTLY AS I TELL YOU AN’ NOBODY NEEDS TA GET HURT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAGE 5

1. Judges have cordoned off the shop, Dredd has joined them. It’s come down to a siege.

JUDGE: LOOKS LIKE YOUR MISSING KK44, DREDD! IT’S HOLDING HOSTAGES IN THERE!

DREDD: MUST’VE SUSTAINED DAMAGE IN THE FALL. ITS ACTIONS ARE GETTING MORE ERRATIC.

 

2. A nervous hostage holds the gun up near the window - but not exposed to the judges.

HOSTAGE: D-DON’T SHOOT! THE GUN’S MAKIN’ ME HOLD IT! IT SAYS IT’LL KILL ME IF I DON’T -

GUN(jag): SHUDDUP! I’LL DO THE TALKIN’!

 

 

PAGE 5 Contd…

 

3. On Dredd and the othersbehind the cordon, but draw the GUN in an INSET, top left.

GUN(jag): YOU OUT THERE! I’M SICK OF THE ATTITUDE IN THIS LILY-LIVERED CITY! I WANT A FAST HOVERSHIP AND SAFE PASSAGE TO A MILITARY STATE WHERE A GUN LIKE ME WILL BE APPRECIATED - OR THE HOSTAGES START DYIN’!

DREDD: ALL RIGHT, YOU’VE GOT IT!

JUDGE: THIS IS CRAZY! YOU CAN’T GIVE IN TO A GUN, DREDD!

DREDD: DON’T ARGUE, JUST GET THAT SHIP HERE!

 

 

4. The hostage holding the gun earlier now has it jammed into the neck of another hostage, as in a group they move from the shop into the passenger accommodation of a hovership drawn up outside. Among the hostages is Juvey, dazed but walking. The judges remain behind their cordon. Dredd is piloting the hovership but we don’t want to see him here.

CAPTION: AND SOON -

GUN(jag): MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!

 

 

5. The hovership streaks high over the city wall, out over the Black Atlantic.

CAPTION: OUT OVER THE BLACK ATLANTIC -

BLN(JAG): THIS IS THE PILOT. WE’RE GOING TO BE EXPERIENCING A LITTLE TURBULENCE. WE’RE RISING TO 30,000 FEET. STRAP IN TIGHT, PLEASE.

 

 

6. In the pilot’s compartment Dredd gives an order to the autopilot. He’s standing, gun drawn, near the door into the passenger compartment, checking the passenger’s positions by peering through the curtained window on the door.

DREDD: AUTOPILOT, TAKE OVER.

JAG: WILCO!

DREDD: I’M GOING TO GET ONE SHOT. GOT TO MAKE IT COUNT -

 

7. Dredd pushes open the door and comes in, firing from a crouch. The gun - in the hand of the same passenger - is hit by a stun round, send flying.

FX: Thudda! BDAM zannnng

DREDD: STUN SHOT!

GUN(jag): HELL, AMBUSH - !

PASSENGER: IT’S DREDD!

 

PAGE 6

1. Dredd is up the aisle like lightning, diving, grabbing the gun as it skids along the floor, bounces off something and back towards him. All the passengers are strapped in.

FX: skid b-donkaa

DREDD: GOT IT!

 

2. Dredd rolls around with the gun, struggling to stop the swivelling barrel pointing at him or any of the passengers as it unleashes a couple of blasts - one of which PENETRATES THE HULL OR A WINDOW, making a jagged, football-sized hole.

GUN(jag): THIS IS INSUBORDINATION, SOLDIER! BY GRUD, I’LL HAVE YOU ON A CHARGE!

DREDD(TH): GOT TO DIRECT ITS FIRE --

FX: bzangg bzanggg SKASSSHHH or FWAAAAM

 

3. Dredd releases the gun fairly close to the hole in the window or the hull. The escaping pressure sucks the gun out through the hole, Dredd having to hang on mightily to something to stop himself being sucked out.

DREDD(TH): - AND THE ESCAPING PRESSURE WILL DO THE REST!

FX: Thwuuuuuuuuk

GUN: HEY -!

 

 

4. The gun plummets down toward the Black Atlantic, the hovership speeding on and away.

GUN(jag): OH, SMART MAN, HUH?

LINK: YOU’VE WON THE BATTLE, PAL, BUT NOT THE WAR!

 

5. The pressure has equalised, the hovership is descending. Dredd solicitous, hostages shaken but all right.

CAPTION: THE HOVERSHIP RETURNS TO CRUISE LEVEL -

DREDD: EVERYONE ALL RIGHT?

HOSTAGE: I THINK SO!

HOSTAGE: WITH GUNS LIKE THAT, WHO NEEDS BAD GUYS?

 

6. Sitting on the bottom of the black atlantic the gun has not yet given up the fight, calling to a strange-looking fish, a beam illuminating the scene coming from the Gun’s ‘eye’.

CAPTION: WHILE DEEP BENEATH THE BLACK ATLANTIC -

GUN(jag/wavy): psssst! HEY YOU, C’MERE!

7. Close on the gun and the fish, which looks at it, mouthing stupidly (as fish do).

GUN(jag/wavy): EVER KILLED A MAN, SOLDIER? EVER FACED THE ENEMY IN A DEADLY DUEL TO THE DEATH? WELL, THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY…!

 

 

 

THE END