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Ascension
By
Matthew Lefmann
FADE IN:
EXT. AERIAL VIEW OF COLOMBIAN COUNTRYSIDE -- DUSK
Misty mountains, a motionless lake, and scenic country are
spread out near a small village, vividly painted by the
falling sun.
PAN LEFT to a wide-ranging, jungle-covered mountain hovering
high above the region's many trees and slopes, then STOP.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Mount Aracelis
Elevation: 4,158 m (13,645 ft)
5 Miles West Of Teofila Village
Colombia, South America"
CUT TO:
EXT. MEADOW -- CONTINUOUS
A handsome, mustachioed farmer named JESUS, late 30's, rides
a mule before the SOUTHWEST SIDE of the mountain, weaving
through several cows with his dog PEPE following close.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Spring 1956"
STOPPING to watch the sun descend behind the mountain, Jesus
begins to notice his cows' disjointed movements, mooing and
scuttling directly AWAY from the mountain in a nervous hurry,
with Pepe barking and chasing after them.
Puzzled, Jesus freezes, gazing up at the mountain and then
the sky, where he spots a strange, FLASHING RED ORB LIGHT,
unmoving as though it were a comet.
As he watches the light with wonderment, his mule suddenly
becomes unnerved now, snorting and noisily moving around
with its hooves still firmly planted.
Sensing the mule's anxiety, he heels it and pulls on the
reigns, though his eyes remain fixed on the red sky light as
they move on.
JUMP TO:
INT. RAMIREZ KITCHEN -- LATER
Sitting at a small table near a coal-burning fireplace, Jesus
quietly eats dinner with his family, including his wife
2.
DULCE, 20's, her youthful beauty having been worn down by
motherhood; their daughter IRMA, 5; and LITTLE MOM, 70,
Jesus's tiny mother.
While scolding Irma for playing with her food, Dulce looks
at an empty chair and dinner plate, suddenly realizing that
her son is missing.
DULCE
(in Spanish)
Where's Ivo?
JESUS
(in Spanish)
He's feeding the goats.
DULCE
(in Spanish)
Would you go get him please? His
food will be cold.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What about my food?
LITTLE MOM
(in Spanish)
Jesus! Listen to your wife!
JESUS
(in Spanish)
Yes, Ma-ma. I'll go get him.
He stands up and rolls his eyes.
LITTLE MOM
(in Spanish)
That's why your son misbehaves so
much! His father lets him do as he
pleases. I blame myself.
Jesus leaves. Dulce sighs, playing with her own food now.
JUMP TO:
EXT. RAMIREZ FARM -- MOMENTS LATER
Jesus's son IVO (pronounced EVO), 8, stargazes as he sits
atop a wood fence. Jesus draws near from the house behind
him, startling him.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What are you doing out here boy?
Your mother wants you to eat your
dinner before it gets cold!
3.
IVO
Papi! Papi! Papi!
(in Spanish)
Guess what?
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What?
IVO
(in Spanish)
I saw something in the sky! It was
amazing!
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What did you see?
IVO
(in Spanish)
A big red light. It went over there
and disappeared!
Intrigued, Jesus watches the skies with him now.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
I don't see nothing. When did you
see it?
IVO
(in Spanish)
A few minutes ago.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
You're making up stories.
IVO
(in Spanish)
No, papi! I swear!
FADE TO:
EXT. MT. ARACELIS -- MORNING
As thinning clouds envelop the mountain's powdery white
summit, an SR-71 SPYPLANE zooms by and around it, maintaining
a strangely repetitive course.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Present Day"
CUT TO:
4.
INT. SR-71 SPYPLANE -- CONTINUOUS
The pilot glances out at the mountain through the side window
as he comes back to the same point, levelling out the plane.
CUT TO:
EXT. SR-71 SPYPLANE-- CONTINUOUS
PLANE CAMERA POV
A linear ANOMALY hangs on the edge of the mountain's WESTERN
PLATEAU, near a wide-ranging glacial ice cap, nearly a mile
in distance from the plane, where the ice and snow seems to
be receding.
Suddenly a camera snaps multiple pictures of the anomaly.
FREEZE FRAME on the last shot of the Anomaly and
TRANSITION TO:
INT. U.S. AIR FORCE EUROPE OFFICE -- A WEEK LATER
PULL AWAY from the freeze frame shot of the Anomaly, slowly
turning into a large color photograph.
A young LIEUTENANT stands over the desk, nervously gripping
his fingers behind his back.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"United States Air Force Base
Bogota, Colombia"
He glances around, waiting for a response from his superior.
SSG WILLIS (O.S.)
This is it?
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
Whip around to reveal
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIS, a sturdy man in his 50's.
He picks up the top photo and examines it, then glances
through the others, with the Anomaly centered and squared so
that it's enlarged.
The general stares at another one of the photos, startled by
what he's seeing.
LIEUTENANT (CONT'D)
Sir, the Anomaly can be found near
the summit of the mountain in a large
(MORE)
5.
LIEUTENANT (CONT'D)
crater-sized depression. It doesn't
look very deep, but it is very wide.
You can see the trees all around it.
(pause)
Now I don't know about the depression
surrounding it, but the linear shape
and odd dimensions of the Anomaly
suggest a structural aberration
uncommon to any mountain.
He leans in and squints his eyes, trying to read the the
flight data and coordinates on the top corner of the
photographs.
GENERAL WILLIS
How big would you say this Anomaly
is?
LIEUTENANT
Uh, I'd estimate anywhere from 600
to 900 feet long, sir, either making
it somewhat smaller than the RMS
Titanic, or... Slightly LARGER.
GENERAL WILLIS
Jesus. You said 900 feet?
LIEUTENANT
That's correct sir. But again, this
is just an estimate. I also checked
for archival aerial photographs, but
found none of this particular site.
GENERAL WILLIS
So we have no idea how long this
thing's been there?
LIEUTENANT
No sir.
He STOPS and leans forward, narrowing his eyes again for a
closer look.
GENERAL WILLIS
(tilting head)
You know, if I didn't know any better,
I'd probably guess it was manmade.
LIEUTENANT
Yes.
There's an awkward pause, broken by the lieutenant's sudden
cough. Willis throws him a strange look, then studies the
photo again.
6.
GENERAL WILLIS
Alright, Lieutenant. You can go
now. Shut the door behind you.
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
GENERAL WILLIS
And remember what I told you before,
Lieutenant: This is to remain
confidential, and should not be
discussed any further between those
of us who do know. Understood?
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
Willis waits for the Lieutenant to close the door, then starts
looking for something in his drawer for something he can't
find.
GENERAL WILLIS
(into phone)
Susan? Wait five minutes and bring
me a couple 9" X 12" envelopes, will
ya? Thank you.
He hangs up and makes a call on his cell phone this time,
his voice becoming low and secretive as he leaves a message
on someone's voicemail.
GENERAL WILLIS (CONT'D)
(into phone)
Hello, this General Willis. My
subordinate just brought me the
photographs. I'm sending them first
class this afternoon. Feel free to
fill me in on just what the hell I'm
looking at. I'd appreciate it.
Anyway, I'll be in touch.
He hangs up and looks down at the photos again.
FADE TO:
EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE -- DAY
A crowd on the street and sidewalk slowly gives way to the
RAVEN WONDER, 30, short, lean, naturally pretty tomboy, with
barely any makeup.
She hurries through people as bright, Autumnal trees blanket
the sidewalks with orange and red, crossing the street to
enter a small cafe.
7.
CURLEY (V.O.)
You're late!
JUMP TO:
INT. CAFE -- MOMENTS LATER
Raven sits at a booth across from her book agent
CURLEY, 50's, wiry, balding Italian with a swift tongue.
The server brings them drinks as Raven sits down and slips
off her jacket.
CURLEY
I figured you would be so I went
ahead and ordered you a drink.
RAVEN
I'm sorry, Curley. I couldn't find
my keys!
CURLEY
It's fine. You look good, by the
way.
RAVEN
Thanks. So what did you wanna tell
me?
CURLEY
(sighing)
Um, I told you I was forwarding your
MANUSCRIPT over to Bob Farber over
at Meridian Press, right?
RAVEN
Yeah...
CURLEY
Yeah, he was pretty into it. In
fact, he called me twice while he
was reading it to tell me how much
he liked it.
RAVEN
And?
CURLEY
And then he read Chapter Six.
RAVEN
What about Chapter Six?
CURLEY
Well, you know that part where you
call Anna Wintour the Wicked Witch
of Greenwich Village?
8.
RAVEN
Yeah.
CURLEY
Well, apparently Ms. Wintour is a
close personal friend of Mr. Farber's.
RAVEN
Small world.
CURLEY
Raven, listen to me: We've been
through ten major publishers, and
all have passed in some way or
another. Now either you're going to
have to excise a few things in the
manuscript, or brace yourself for
more rejections.
RAVEN
Rejection doesn't bother me.
CURLEY
Good to hear that. And in spite of
the fact that you told Ken Pruitt to
go screw himself, I still think it
would be better for you to actually
GO MEET some editors from other
publishers.
RAVEN
He insulted me! And my book!
CURLEY
Look, you've got the voice, but you
don't know how to speak. Believe
me, I wouldn't be wasting my energy
on some bratty little rich girl if I
didn't think you were a fantastic
writer. And I'm not the only one
who thinks so.
RAVEN
Come on...
CURLEY
No, just wait now. Listen to this...
He moves his hands to pretend he's reading from something.
CURLEY (CONT'D)
"Forget John Reed... The New Wonder-
Boy of Greenwich Village really is a
Wonder... And a girl to boot."
RAVEN
Eww. Who the hell wrote that? The
Times?
9.
CURLEY
Well, no actually. I just made it
up. But that's not the point.
RAVEN
What is your point?
CURLEY
People will talking about you soon.
And not as some brittle socialite,
but as a true thinker of the modern
age. A revolutionary!
RAVEN
I'm writing about the corporate
bastardization of New York City, not
communism.
CURLEY
This is just the beginning, Raven.
This is just your first book! You
have so many ideas. But first you
have to get yourself out there.
RAVEN
I'm really not interested in meeting
with anymore of these schmoozeballs.
CURLEY
You're Bill Wonder's little girl for
Chrissakes! You're the golden goose
egg! No way in hell they're gonna
publish this without greasing you
first.
RAVEN
Well, if that's the case, then maybe
I should send my father in my place.
He could use that magic salesman's
mouth to grease THEM.
CURLEY
Speaking of the old man, how is he?
RAVEN
He's in South America, I think.
CURLEY
Oh yeah? What's he doin' down there?
RAVEN
Mountain climbing.
CURLEY
Mountain climbing? Which mountain?
The Andes?
By
Matthew Lefmann
FADE IN:
EXT. AERIAL VIEW OF COLOMBIAN COUNTRYSIDE -- DUSK
Misty mountains, a motionless lake, and scenic country are
spread out near a small village, vividly painted by the
falling sun.
PAN LEFT to a wide-ranging, jungle-covered mountain hovering
high above the region's many trees and slopes, then STOP.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Mount Aracelis
Elevation: 4,158 m (13,645 ft)
5 Miles West Of Teofila Village
Colombia, South America"
CUT TO:
EXT. MEADOW -- CONTINUOUS
A handsome, mustachioed farmer named JESUS, late 30's, rides
a mule before the SOUTHWEST SIDE of the mountain, weaving
through several cows with his dog PEPE following close.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Spring 1956"
STOPPING to watch the sun descend behind the mountain, Jesus
begins to notice his cows' disjointed movements, mooing and
scuttling directly AWAY from the mountain in a nervous hurry,
with Pepe barking and chasing after them.
Puzzled, Jesus freezes, gazing up at the mountain and then
the sky, where he spots a strange, FLASHING RED ORB LIGHT,
unmoving as though it were a comet.
As he watches the light with wonderment, his mule suddenly
becomes unnerved now, snorting and noisily moving around
with its hooves still firmly planted.
Sensing the mule's anxiety, he heels it and pulls on the
reigns, though his eyes remain fixed on the red sky light as
they move on.
JUMP TO:
INT. RAMIREZ KITCHEN -- LATER
Sitting at a small table near a coal-burning fireplace, Jesus
quietly eats dinner with his family, including his wife
2.
DULCE, 20's, her youthful beauty having been worn down by
motherhood; their daughter IRMA, 5; and LITTLE MOM, 70,
Jesus's tiny mother.
While scolding Irma for playing with her food, Dulce looks
at an empty chair and dinner plate, suddenly realizing that
her son is missing.
DULCE
(in Spanish)
Where's Ivo?
JESUS
(in Spanish)
He's feeding the goats.
DULCE
(in Spanish)
Would you go get him please? His
food will be cold.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What about my food?
LITTLE MOM
(in Spanish)
Jesus! Listen to your wife!
JESUS
(in Spanish)
Yes, Ma-ma. I'll go get him.
He stands up and rolls his eyes.
LITTLE MOM
(in Spanish)
That's why your son misbehaves so
much! His father lets him do as he
pleases. I blame myself.
Jesus leaves. Dulce sighs, playing with her own food now.
JUMP TO:
EXT. RAMIREZ FARM -- MOMENTS LATER
Jesus's son IVO (pronounced EVO), 8, stargazes as he sits
atop a wood fence. Jesus draws near from the house behind
him, startling him.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What are you doing out here boy?
Your mother wants you to eat your
dinner before it gets cold!
3.
IVO
Papi! Papi! Papi!
(in Spanish)
Guess what?
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What?
IVO
(in Spanish)
I saw something in the sky! It was
amazing!
JESUS
(in Spanish)
What did you see?
IVO
(in Spanish)
A big red light. It went over there
and disappeared!
Intrigued, Jesus watches the skies with him now.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
I don't see nothing. When did you
see it?
IVO
(in Spanish)
A few minutes ago.
JESUS
(in Spanish)
You're making up stories.
IVO
(in Spanish)
No, papi! I swear!
FADE TO:
EXT. MT. ARACELIS -- MORNING
As thinning clouds envelop the mountain's powdery white
summit, an SR-71 SPYPLANE zooms by and around it, maintaining
a strangely repetitive course.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"Present Day"
CUT TO:
4.
INT. SR-71 SPYPLANE -- CONTINUOUS
The pilot glances out at the mountain through the side window
as he comes back to the same point, levelling out the plane.
CUT TO:
EXT. SR-71 SPYPLANE-- CONTINUOUS
PLANE CAMERA POV
A linear ANOMALY hangs on the edge of the mountain's WESTERN
PLATEAU, near a wide-ranging glacial ice cap, nearly a mile
in distance from the plane, where the ice and snow seems to
be receding.
Suddenly a camera snaps multiple pictures of the anomaly.
FREEZE FRAME on the last shot of the Anomaly and
TRANSITION TO:
INT. U.S. AIR FORCE EUROPE OFFICE -- A WEEK LATER
PULL AWAY from the freeze frame shot of the Anomaly, slowly
turning into a large color photograph.
A young LIEUTENANT stands over the desk, nervously gripping
his fingers behind his back.
SUPERIMPOSE:
"United States Air Force Base
Bogota, Colombia"
He glances around, waiting for a response from his superior.
SSG WILLIS (O.S.)
This is it?
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
Whip around to reveal
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIS, a sturdy man in his 50's.
He picks up the top photo and examines it, then glances
through the others, with the Anomaly centered and squared so
that it's enlarged.
The general stares at another one of the photos, startled by
what he's seeing.
LIEUTENANT (CONT'D)
Sir, the Anomaly can be found near
the summit of the mountain in a large
(MORE)
5.
LIEUTENANT (CONT'D)
crater-sized depression. It doesn't
look very deep, but it is very wide.
You can see the trees all around it.
(pause)
Now I don't know about the depression
surrounding it, but the linear shape
and odd dimensions of the Anomaly
suggest a structural aberration
uncommon to any mountain.
He leans in and squints his eyes, trying to read the the
flight data and coordinates on the top corner of the
photographs.
GENERAL WILLIS
How big would you say this Anomaly
is?
LIEUTENANT
Uh, I'd estimate anywhere from 600
to 900 feet long, sir, either making
it somewhat smaller than the RMS
Titanic, or... Slightly LARGER.
GENERAL WILLIS
Jesus. You said 900 feet?
LIEUTENANT
That's correct sir. But again, this
is just an estimate. I also checked
for archival aerial photographs, but
found none of this particular site.
GENERAL WILLIS
So we have no idea how long this
thing's been there?
LIEUTENANT
No sir.
He STOPS and leans forward, narrowing his eyes again for a
closer look.
GENERAL WILLIS
(tilting head)
You know, if I didn't know any better,
I'd probably guess it was manmade.
LIEUTENANT
Yes.
There's an awkward pause, broken by the lieutenant's sudden
cough. Willis throws him a strange look, then studies the
photo again.
6.
GENERAL WILLIS
Alright, Lieutenant. You can go
now. Shut the door behind you.
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
GENERAL WILLIS
And remember what I told you before,
Lieutenant: This is to remain
confidential, and should not be
discussed any further between those
of us who do know. Understood?
LIEUTENANT
Yes sir.
Willis waits for the Lieutenant to close the door, then starts
looking for something in his drawer for something he can't
find.
GENERAL WILLIS
(into phone)
Susan? Wait five minutes and bring
me a couple 9" X 12" envelopes, will
ya? Thank you.
He hangs up and makes a call on his cell phone this time,
his voice becoming low and secretive as he leaves a message
on someone's voicemail.
GENERAL WILLIS (CONT'D)
(into phone)
Hello, this General Willis. My
subordinate just brought me the
photographs. I'm sending them first
class this afternoon. Feel free to
fill me in on just what the hell I'm
looking at. I'd appreciate it.
Anyway, I'll be in touch.
He hangs up and looks down at the photos again.
FADE TO:
EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE -- DAY
A crowd on the street and sidewalk slowly gives way to the
RAVEN WONDER, 30, short, lean, naturally pretty tomboy, with
barely any makeup.
She hurries through people as bright, Autumnal trees blanket
the sidewalks with orange and red, crossing the street to
enter a small cafe.
7.
CURLEY (V.O.)
You're late!
JUMP TO:
INT. CAFE -- MOMENTS LATER
Raven sits at a booth across from her book agent
CURLEY, 50's, wiry, balding Italian with a swift tongue.
The server brings them drinks as Raven sits down and slips
off her jacket.
CURLEY
I figured you would be so I went
ahead and ordered you a drink.
RAVEN
I'm sorry, Curley. I couldn't find
my keys!
CURLEY
It's fine. You look good, by the
way.
RAVEN
Thanks. So what did you wanna tell
me?
CURLEY
(sighing)
Um, I told you I was forwarding your
MANUSCRIPT over to Bob Farber over
at Meridian Press, right?
RAVEN
Yeah...
CURLEY
Yeah, he was pretty into it. In
fact, he called me twice while he
was reading it to tell me how much
he liked it.
RAVEN
And?
CURLEY
And then he read Chapter Six.
RAVEN
What about Chapter Six?
CURLEY
Well, you know that part where you
call Anna Wintour the Wicked Witch
of Greenwich Village?
8.
RAVEN
Yeah.
CURLEY
Well, apparently Ms. Wintour is a
close personal friend of Mr. Farber's.
RAVEN
Small world.
CURLEY
Raven, listen to me: We've been
through ten major publishers, and
all have passed in some way or
another. Now either you're going to
have to excise a few things in the
manuscript, or brace yourself for
more rejections.
RAVEN
Rejection doesn't bother me.
CURLEY
Good to hear that. And in spite of
the fact that you told Ken Pruitt to
go screw himself, I still think it
would be better for you to actually
GO MEET some editors from other
publishers.
RAVEN
He insulted me! And my book!
CURLEY
Look, you've got the voice, but you
don't know how to speak. Believe
me, I wouldn't be wasting my energy
on some bratty little rich girl if I
didn't think you were a fantastic
writer. And I'm not the only one
who thinks so.
RAVEN
Come on...
CURLEY
No, just wait now. Listen to this...
He moves his hands to pretend he's reading from something.
CURLEY (CONT'D)
"Forget John Reed... The New Wonder-
Boy of Greenwich Village really is a
Wonder... And a girl to boot."
RAVEN
Eww. Who the hell wrote that? The
Times?
9.
CURLEY
Well, no actually. I just made it
up. But that's not the point.
RAVEN
What is your point?
CURLEY
People will talking about you soon.
And not as some brittle socialite,
but as a true thinker of the modern
age. A revolutionary!
RAVEN
I'm writing about the corporate
bastardization of New York City, not
communism.
CURLEY
This is just the beginning, Raven.
This is just your first book! You
have so many ideas. But first you
have to get yourself out there.
RAVEN
I'm really not interested in meeting
with anymore of these schmoozeballs.
CURLEY
You're Bill Wonder's little girl for
Chrissakes! You're the golden goose
egg! No way in hell they're gonna
publish this without greasing you
first.
RAVEN
Well, if that's the case, then maybe
I should send my father in my place.
He could use that magic salesman's
mouth to grease THEM.
CURLEY
Speaking of the old man, how is he?
RAVEN
He's in South America, I think.
CURLEY
Oh yeah? What's he doin' down there?
RAVEN
Mountain climbing.
CURLEY
Mountain climbing? Which mountain?
The Andes?
Document Outline
- 1 EXT. AERIAL VIEW OF COLOMBIAN COUNTRYSIDE -- DUSK
- 2 EXT. MEADOW -- CONTINUOUS
- 3 INT. RAMIREZ KITCHEN Ņ LATER
- 4 EXT. RAMIREZ FARM Ņ MOMENTS LATER
- 5 EXT. MT. ARACELIS -- MORNING
- 6 INT. SR-71 SPYPLANE -- CONTINUOUS
- 7 EXT. SR-71 SPYPLANE-- CONTINUOUS
- 8 INT. U.S. AIR FORCE EUROPE OFFICE -- A WEEK LATER
- 9 EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE Ņ DAY
- 10 INT. CAFE Ņ MOMENTS LATER
- 11 EXT. SIDEWALK Ņ MOMENTS LATER
- 12 INT. BILL'S OFFICE -- 5 MINUTES LATER
- 13 INT. HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS
- 14 INT. BILL'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS
- 15 EXT. BASE OF MT. ARACELIS Ņ EVENING
- 16 EXT. FARC BASE CAMP Ņ CONTINUOUS
- 17 INT. PRISONER CONCENTRATION CAMP Ņ CONTINUOUS
- 18 EXT. WONDER ESTATE -- NIGHT
- 19 INT. WONDER ESTATE Ņ CONTINUOUS
- 20 INT. BILL'S STUDY Ņ LATER
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