Sample Script

JUDGE DREDD:
INCIDENT AT ROWDY YATES

[By John Wagner]

REFS REQD: Rubella Ffish/Rowdy Yates Block (incl Dredd’s apt)

PAGE 1

1. External ROWDY YATES BLOCK, Dredd riding into it. The block shows some war damage.

CAPTION: UNDER A MISGUIDED POLICY OF FOSTERING BETTER RELATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY, MANY JUDGES HAD BEEN ALLOCATED APARTMENTS IN CITYBLOCKS.

CAPTION: IN THE LATTER DAYS OF VOLT’S TERM THESE HAD LARGELY FALLEN INTO DISUSE.

LINK(TO 2): AH, JUDGE DREDD! IT’S NOT OFTEN WE SEE YOU IN THE BLOCK!

2. In the block Dredd gets off his bike. He’s met by chair of the residents’ committee, RUBELLA FFISH, for whom he has even less time now that Volt is dead. He doesn’t even look at her. Longish shot, leave room for dialogue.

FFISH: TOO BUSY TO SPARE YOUR FELLOW RESIDENTS ANY TIME, I SUPPOSE.

DREDD: YOU GOT IT.

FFISH: HMMPH! WELL, IF THAT’S YOUR ATTITUDE I DON’T KNOW WHY I SHOULD TELL YOU A STRANGE ROBOT HAS BEEN SEEN HANGING AROUND YOUR APARTMENT.

LINK: I INFORMED JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THEY HAVEN’T SO FAR DEIGNED TO SEND ANYONE.

DREDD: THEY SENT ME.

3. Close, face to face.

DREDD: RETURN TO YOUR APARTMENT AND LOCK THE DOOR. STAY THERE UNTIL I’M GONE.

FFISH: YOU MEAN THERE’S GOING TO BE FIGHTING?

4. Small. Just Dredd’s unforgiving visor.

DREDD: NO, I MEAN YOU’RE GETTING ON MY NERVES.

5. She storms off in high dudgeon. Dredd’s face in fg, watching with a malevolent scowl.

WOMAN: WELL! SUCH INTOLERABLE RUDENESS! THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED WHEN CHIEF JUDGE VOLT WAS ALIVE!
6. Down in the dimly-lit basement area (I think!) where he has his apartment, Dredd examines the armoured door. From deeper in the shadows comes a noise. FX: creeeaaak

DREDD(TH): NO SIGN OF ANY TAMPERING.

7. In bg, in the light, Dredd whirls, lawgiver drawn, pointing at the partial silhouette of a robot, arms raised, in the shadows in close fg.

DREDD: COME OUT!

ROBOT: D-D-D-DON’T SHOOT!

PAGE 2

1. BIG, full length shot - WALTER emerges from the shadows, arms raised. This is a major pic. Walter hasn’t been seen for some years, so lots of focus on him. Do it as a full page shot with the other pics inset.

WALTER: IT’S ONLY ME, JUDGE DWEDD!

DREDD: WALTER!

2. On both of them, face to face.

CAPTION: JUDGE DREDD’S FORMER ROBO-SERVANT HAD BEEN THE CITY’S FIRST FREE DROID. SINCE THEN HE HAD FALLEN FOUL OF THE LAW -

WALTER: WALTER HAS BEEN WAITING HERE HOPING YOU MIGHT DWOP BY.

DREDD: THIS IS THE LAST PLACE YOU WANT TO BE. IF I REMEMBER RIGHT, YOU’RE FIVE YEARS INTO A THIRTY STRETCH. *

CAP BELOW: * See (Dark Walter Story/PROG NOS)

3. Walter on his knees, begging. Tears of oil run from his screen. Dredd’s heart softens not a jot.

WALTER: HAVE PITY ON A POOR DWOID! WALTER KNOW HE HAS ONLY SERVED FIVE YEARS, BUT HE IS A WEFORMED CHAWACTER ALWEADY!

DREDD: THEN JUST THINK HOW GOOD YOU’LL BE AFTER ANOTHER TWENTY FIVE.

WALTER: P-PLEASE, PWISON IS NO PLACE FOR A WOBOT OF WEFINEMENT! I’M GOING CWAZY IN THERE!

DREDD: YOU COMMITTED SERIOUS CRIMES, WALTER - YOU’RE COMMITTING ANOTHER RIGHT NOW BY BEING ON THE RUN. YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE.

PAGE 3

1. Headshot, Walter.

WALTER: WALTER CAN’T HELP BWEAKING OUT - WICKED WOBOTS DESTWOY HIS ISO-BLOCK. HE COME HERE TO…TO TURN HIMSELF IN.

LINK: BUT WALTER KNOW YOU ARE TOO GWEAT AND TOUGH AND UPWIGHT A JUDGE TO GO EASY ON ANY CWIMINAL -

2. Dredd continues to examines his door for tampering, distracted. Walter, in bg, has risen again.

WALTER: - EVEN THOUGH HE WAS A GOOD FWEND ONCE.

DREDD: DON’T KID YOURSELF.

WALTER: THAT’S WHY WALTER IS WILLING TO HAVE THE OPEWATION.

3. This gets Dredd’s attention. He looks up at Walter.

DREDD: THE OPERATION - ?

WALTER: CASTWATION.

DREDD: I’M NOT SURE WE DO THAT.

4. Just Dredd, lying flat, trying to see under his door (and failing). Keep it small.

WALTER(OFF): WALTER IS SPEAKING FIGUWATIVELY.

LINK: HE HAS SEARCHED THE WECORDS. HE CAN GIVE YOU PWECEDENTS - CASES WHERE EARLY WELEASE WAS GWANTED WHEN CWIMINAL BEHAVIOUR WAS CURED BY A MEDICAL PWOCEDURE.

DREDD: THAT HARDLY APPLIES TO ROBOTS.

5. Headshot, Walt.

WALTER: WITH WESPECT, AS A FWEE WOBOT WALTER WOULD ARGUE HE HAS THE SAME WIGHTS AS ANY OTHER CITIZEN. AND THERE IS NO MORE SUITABLE SUBJECT FOR CASTWATION, AS IT WERE, THAN A WOBOT.

6. Dredd rises, back to the wall beside his door, draws his gun, motions Walter towards him.

DREDD: TURNED INTO A REAL ISO-CUBE LAWYER, HAVEN’T YOU? C’MERE -

7. There’s a little recess beside door where Dredd can get some small degree of shelter. With his gunhand he indicates the handle of his door. Walter is reaching for it.

DREDD: TRY THAT HANDLE.

WALTER: YES, JUDGE DWEDD.

PAGE 4

1. Dredd presses his back to the wall as the whole door is ripped off by a mighty explosion. The door takes Walter with it, slamming him against opposite wall, doing severe damage to him.

FX: VAROOOOOOOOOM
SLAMMMM KRANGGGG skassssh craak

2. Inside the apartment, amid the swirling smoke and dust, an assassin droid opens fire in the direction of the gaping doorway - fzanggg fzanggg. The destination of these blasts, partly lost in the smokehaze, would be the door, now pressing Walter to the opposite wall.

3. Dredd dives/rolls across the doorway, firing a couple of shots.

DREDD: HI-EX!

4. VAROOOOOM SPRANGGG etc. Robot is explosively dismantled.

PAGE 5

1. Gun ready Dredd ventures into the apartment amid the slowly clearing smoke. The robot’s remains fizz and craklll here and there on floor, embedded in walls etc. Dredd’s former possessions (admittedly, few) are scattered everywhere. Pages of his law books are still swirling around, fluttering down. Show his own book DREDD’S COMPORTMENT ripped/embedded somewhere. The wall between here and the bathroom is part demolished, so we can see the bath, itself broken/collapsed. Fairly big. This may be the last time we see the apartment.

DREDD: SO MUCH FOR THE APARTMENT.

BELOW: FIGURED NARCOS MIGHT HAVE BREACHED SECURITY, LEFT A CALLING CARD…

LINK: THE EVIL MEN DO LIVES AFTER THEM.

2. Outside, Dredd pulls the severed door off Walter, who has lost an arm, has a cracked screen and other showy but fairly superficial damage.

DREDD: STILL WITH US, WALTER?

WALTER: NO THANKS TO YOU! I’M BADLY BWOKEN!

DREDD: YOU CAN BE FIXED.

PAGE 5 Contd…

3. Dredd dumps the door aside. Walter upright again, the picture of bruised pride. Lots of dialogue, take it into account.

WALTER: THAT’S NOT THE POINT! IT’S THE PWINCIPLE! YOU PUT WALTER IN GWEAT DANGER - YOU VIOLATE HIS HUMAN WIGHTS!

DREDD: HUMAN RIGHTS? YOU’RE A ROBOT, WALTER - YOU GOT NO HUMAN RIGHTS!

WALTER: I HAVE ALWEADY PWODUCED ARGUMENT TO THE CONTWAWY. YOU YOURSELF HAVE PWOOVED YOU AGWEE.

DREDD: WHEN?

WALTER: IF WALTER WAS JUST A WOBOT, WHEN HE TURN TO CWIME HE WOULD HAVE BEEN SCWAPPED - COWWECT?

LINK: BY SENTENCING WALTER TO IMPWISONMENT YOU ADMIT HE HAS WIGHTS!

4. Dredd wears an expression of reluctant acquiescence. Just him.

DREDD: SO YOU WANT ME TO HAVE YOU REPAIRED, FIXED SO YOU CAN’T EVER AGAIN RUN FOUL OF THE LAW - AND RELEASED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY?

5. Just Walter, prepared to go on at length.

WALTER: WALTER BELIEVE HIS DESCENT INTO CWIMINALITY HAVE ITS WOOTS IN FWAGMENTATION OF HIS PWOGRAMME - - WHICH PWOBABLY BEGAN WHEN HE WAS CWUELLY WEJECTED BY THE ONE PERSON HE LOVE AND WESPECT MORE THAN ANY OTHER, THE MAN HE DEVOTE HIS MISEWABLE LIFE TO AND DO NOT EXPECT GWATITUDE OR -

OFF: ENOUGH!

6. Headshots, Dredd and Walter.

DREDD: ALL RIGHT, YOU WIN - BUT I DON’T THINK OUGHT TO BE QUITE THAT EASY.

LINK: I’M PUTTING YOU ON PROBATION. I WANT YOU TO GET BACK TO BASICS, LEARN WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A SIMPLE ROBO-SERVANT AGAIN.

WALT: TEWWIFIC! THANK YOU, JUDGE DWEDD! IT’S WALTER’S WILDEST DWEAM! HE’LL SCWUB YOUR KNEEPADS AND WUB YOUR CHAIN AND BWUSH THE BLOOD OFF YOUR DAYSTICK AND -

7. Inset headshot of Dredd, snarling.

DREDD: NOT ME, YOU IDIOT!

LINK: I SAID PROBATION, NOT PURGATORY!

PAGE 6

1. External, Sylvia Plath. FX: Rap Rap Rap

2. Narrow. Myopic Mrs Gunderson opens the door, peers out.

MRS G: Yes…?

3. Pull back. She adjusts her glasses and recognises Dredd.

DREDD: JUDGE DREDD, MRS GUNDERSON!

MRS G: OH! IT’S YOU, JUDGE DREDD!

DREDD: I’VE BROUGHT THE PAROLEE I MENTIONED. MIND IF I COME IN?

MRS G: GOODNESS ME, MY MANNERS, KEEPING YOU STANDING HERE! WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME IN?

4. Dredd is inside - now we see that Walter, freshly repaired, is with him. Mrs Gunderson notices Walter for the first time, adjusts her specs again, a little startled.

DREDD: I KNOW HOW THINGS CAN GET ON TOP OF YOU THESE DAYS - I THOUGHT HE MIGHT BE OF SOME USE TO YOU.

MRS G: OH! AND WHO’S THIS?

DREDD: IT’S THE PAROLEE I MENTIONED. ANSWERS TO THE NAME WALTER. HE’S BEEN FULLY REPAIRED, SHOULDN’T GIVE YOU ANY TROUBLE, BUT IF HE DOES YOU GET STRAIGHT ON TO ME.

WALTER: GWEETINGS.

5. Mrs G a bit worried by Walter, speaks confidentially to Dredd.

MRS G: HE’S A VERY STRANGE LOOKING MAN. ARE YOU SURE HE’S ALL RIGHT…?

DREDD: HE’S A ROBOT!

MRS G: A ROBBER! OH MY GOODNESS!

DREDD: A ROBOT! HE’S HAD ONE CRUEL OWNER! I’M LEAVING HIM IN YOUR CAPABLE HANDS! I’M SURE YOU’LL GET ON VERY WELL!

6. Dredd backs out. In bg Mrs G is giving bemused Walter a finger wagging lecture.

DREDD: ALL YOURS, WALTER. I MAY CHECK BACK IN A YEAR OR TWO, SEE HOW YOU’RE GETTING ON.

MRS G: I WARN YOU, YOUNG MAN, IF I FIND ONE THING MISSING IN THIS HOUSE --

WALTER: CWIPES! PEWISH THE THOUGHT!

THE END