The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ______
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THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CAESAR ___________________________ by Dan Gurskis based on the play by William Shakespeare THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CAESAR FADE IN: A STATUE OF JULIUS CAESAR in a modern military dress uniform. Then, after a moment, it begins. First, a trickle. Then, a stream. Then, a rush. The statue is bleeding from the chest, the neck, the arms, the abdomen, the hands — dozens of wounds. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. HILLY COUNTRYSIDE — DAY Late winter. The ground is mottled with patches of snow and ice. BURNED IN are the words: "Kosovo, soon after the unrest." Somewhere in the distance, an open-topped Jeep bounces along a rutted, twisting road. INT. OPEN-TOPPED JEEP — MOVING FLAVIUS and MARULLUS, two military officers in uniform, occupy the front passenger's seat and the rear seat, respectively. An ENLISTED MAN is behind the wheel. The three ride in silence for a moment, huddled against the cold, wind whipping through their hair. There is a casual almost careless air to the men. If they do not feel invincible, they feel at the very least unconcerned. Even the machine gun mounted on the rear of the Jeep goes unattended. Just then, automatic sniperfire RINGS OUT of the surrounding woods. The windshield SHATTERS. The driver's forehead explodes in a spray of blood and bone. He slumps over the steering wheel, pulling it hard to the side. ANGLE ON THE JEEP swerving off the road, flipping down an embankment. All three men are thrown from the Jeep, which comes to rest on its side. The driver, clearly dead, lies wide-eyed in a ditch. Flavius and Marullus, shaken but otherwise unharmed, scramble for cover as the GUNFIRE continues. 2. ANGLE ON THE WOODS The three SNIPERS — rebel guerillas dressed in barely more than tatters — move through the woods toward the road, FIRING their AK-47s as they go. ANGLE ON THE JEEP As automatic ROUNDS ricochet off the Jeep, Flavius reaches for his revolver. Marullus stops him with a raised hand. Flavius seems puzzled. ANGLE ON THE ROAD Not seeing Marullus or Flavius, the guerillas hold their fire, stop, listen. When they hear nothing, they lower their weapons slightly and approach the Jeep. ANGLE ON THE JEEP The guerillas move slowly INTO VIEW — which is when we see that Flavius and Marullus have manned the Jeep's mounted machine gun. Firing it sideways (the Jeep is still resting on its side), Flavius and Marullus manage to cut down the guerillas before they get off a shot. As the guerillas lie twisted and bleeding, Flavius advances toward them, pulling his revolver from its holster. When he reaches the first guerilla (all but dead), he presses the barrel of his revolver to the back of the man's head and fires a single SHOT. He does the same for the next man he comes to, sprawled on the ground a few feet away. But the third guerilla, though gravely wounded, is still conscious. His lips move to form words that we cannot hear. This time, Flavius drops to a knee and places the barrel of his revolver to the guerilla's forehead so that the man can see what is about to be done. Only then does he FIRE. Flavius now returns to Marullus, who seems totally ambivalent to what he has witnessed. As they pause a moment to survey the scene, we hear OVER: CASSIUS (v.o.) Men at some time are masters of their (MORE) (CONTINUED) 3. CONTINUED: CASSIUS (cont’d) fates. The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.... CUT TO: EXT. EMBANKMENT — LATER Using two huge branches as levers, Marullus and Flavius right the Jeep. They then climb in, start it up, and drive off, leaving the bodies of both foe and friend to rot in the sun. CUT TO: SERIES OF SHOTS — AN OLD WORLD CITY on the rebound from war. Much of the French-inspired architecture is still intact. Many of the boulevards and avenues are thriving. Yet, there are stretches — some side by side with magnificent, perfectly preserved blocks — that are little more than bombed out moonscapes. CUT TO: EXT. CITY STREET — DAY Several dozen revelers occupy a deserted, war-ravaged block, singing, dancing, just generally celebrating. After a moment, the Jeep carrying Flavius and Marullus speeds around a corner toward them. INT. JEEP — MOVING Flavius, who is behind the wheel, lays on the HORN. When the people in the street show no sign of getting out of the way, he brakes hard. The vehicle SCREECHES to a halt. ANGLE ON THE STREET The celebration continues, oblivious to the Jeep, even as Flavius BLASTS his horn again. Patience gone, he jumps from the vehicle and storms toward the revelers who, if they notice him at all, do little more than smile benignly. FLAVIUS Home, you idle creatures, get you home. When no one responds, he angrily grabs the nearest man by the lapels. FLAVIUS Is this a holiday? (CONTINUED) 4. CONTINUED: Gradually, each of the revelers now stops, turns, faces him. REVELER But, indeed, sir, we make holiday, to see Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph. MARULLUS Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? Puzzled looks from the revelers. The man who Flavius has by the lapels nods at a half-dozen identical POSTERS plastered across a deserted storefront. Each bears a photograph of Caesar with the words, "HAIL CAESAR! / IDES OF MARCH / STADIUM." MARULLUS You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things. Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, pray to the gods to intermit the plague that needs must light on this ingratitude. An uncertain beat, as a few make tentative moves to leave. FLAVIUS Go, go, good countrymen.... The revelers reluctantly gather their things and begin to disperse. FLAVIUS (to Marullus) They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.... Flavius and Marullus approach the line of posters plastered across the deserted storefront. FLAVIUS Go you down that way towards the Capitol, this way will I. (rips a poster of Caesar from the wall) Disrobe the images. MARULLUS May we do so? (CONTINUED) 5. CONTINUED: (2) FLAVIUS It is no matter. Let no images be hung with Caesar's trophies. I'll about and drive away the vulgar from the streets. So do you, too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers plucked from Caesar's wing will make him fly an ordinary height and keep us not in servile fearfulness. As Flavius climbs into the driver's side of the Jeep and Marullus starts on foot in the opposite direction, we: CUT TO: EXT. CAESAR'S OFFICIAL RESIDENCE — DAY overlooking a majestic boulevard. INT. RESIDENCE — BEDROOM Caesar stands by a window, gazing down at the BOULEVARD below, lowering a sash over his head onto his dress uniform. After a moment, he turns away from the window. Sprawled languorously across a canopied bed is his wife CALPURNIA. He crosses to her, pauses, then runs a single finger across her bare midriff. She smiles. He does not. CUT TO: INT. LIMOUSINE — MOVING — DAY CASSIUS, seated in the rear behind a glass partition, sees something in the road ahead. He bangs on the glass. The driver glances back. With a nod of the head, Cassius indicates that the driver should pull over to the side of the road. EXT. BOULEVARD — IN FRONT OF CAESAR'S RESIDENCE Caesar steps out of his residence and approaches the security gates just as the CASSIUS'S LIMOUSINE comes to a stop at the end of a long line of vehicles. Cassius hurries out of the limousine to join a group of officials — BRUTUS, CASCA, DECIUS BRUTUS, CICERO — who have been waiting patiently on the sidewalk. (CONTINUED) 6. CONTINUED: Caesar walks past the gates, greeting each of the officials with handshakes, pats on the arm, etc., as a crowd of excited onlookers begins to gather. He waves regally to the crowd. After a moment, he turns back to see Calpurnia emerge from the residence. CAESAR Calpurnia! CASCA Peace, ho! Caesar speaks. CAESAR Calpurnia! CALPURNIA Here, my lord. Calpurnia steps past the gates just in time to cut off Marc Antony, who has been rushing across the street, briefcase in hand. CAESAR Stand you directly in Antonius' way, when he doth run his course. Antonius! ANTONY Caesar, my lord? CAESAR Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, to touch Calpurnia. For our elders say the barren, touched in this holy chase, shake off their sterile curse. Slightly embarrassed looks among those gathered when they realize that Caesar means for Antony to touch Calpurnia's belly. Brutus seems especially troubled by the idea. ANTONY I shall remember when Caesar says, "Do this," it is performed. A perfunctory brush of the hand across her midriff, which leaves Caesar as satisfied as not. CAESAR Set on. (CONTINUED) 7. CONTINUED: (2) Now, the various officials start for their cars only to realize that Caesar is forsaking his own in favor of walking. So as he and Calpurnia start arm-in-arm down the sidewalk, there is a mad scramble behind them. Officials headed for their cars suddenly change direction, while others already halfway inside their cars hurry to get out. EXT. SIDEWALK More onlookers stop and stare as the officials walk down the street en masse. Caesar leads the pack, intermittently stopping to shake hands with some citizen that he passes. SIDEWALK — FARTHER UP A frail old GYPSY pushes his way through the crowd of spectators. GYPSY Caesar! CAESAR Who calls? CASCA Bid every noise be still: peace yet again! CAESAR I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, cry "Caesar!" Speak.