Flight Plans Screenplay by Keith Rivers & Steve Stockman WGA REGISTRATION #2033919 ©2020 Barefoot Bandit, LLC BLACK. THE SPUTTERING DRONE of a single-engine plane in trouble. INT. CESSNA 182 - DAY PILOT POV: PURE WHITEOUT. Sheeting rain smacks the windshield. Gut-shaking turbulence, ALARMS SOUND. The plane DROPS -- EXT. 5 NORTH TAVERN, YAKIMA INDIAN RESERVATION - DAY Outside the wood-frame tavern, HUNTERS in camouflage raise a glass to the hunt. Behind them, low clouds obscure a mountain peak. The SINGLE ENGINE CESSNA emerges from the clouds, SPUTTERING. CRASH -- The HUNTERS jump out of their seats and run towards the firey wreckage. EXT. YAKIMA MOUNTAINSIDE - DAY Blood on the door. SMOKE pours from the engine, drifting across the plane's tail registration: N24658 FLIGHT PLANS Based on a true story EXT. BOEING FIELD TARMAC - DAY CLOSE ON the tail number of the parked Cessna 182 Skylane plane: N24658. Beyond, Boeing assembly hangars and two huge runways. CHARLES OPPERMANN, 42, strong jaw, big-boned, wearing a Tommy Bahama button-down shirt and khakis, reads from a laminated page of instructions. CHARLES Fuel. 2. Charles pushes a clear bottle up against the bottom of the wing. Fuel drips into it. He hands the laminated checklist to BOB RIVERS, late 40s, tall, prematurely gray. Charles holds the fuel bottle up to the light. CHARLES (CONT’D) Looks clean. Bob has a voice like a radio host, which he is. BOB You're really anal about this checklist thing, aren't you? Charles pours the fuel back into the wing. CHARLES When pre-flight checklists were introduced in 1935, they cut pilot error by 56%. BOB What did they do before that? CHARLES Crashed. INT. CESSNA 182 - DAY Charles approaches the co-pilot side. Bob, by the pilot seat. BOB You want to take her up? Bob tosses him the key, hands him a headset. EXT. BOEING FIELD RUNWAY - DAY The Cessna rolls down the runway and lifts off, climbing above the Puget Sound on a perfect fall day. INT. CESSNA 182 - DAY CHARLES 2,200 and climbing. At a sudden BUMP of turbulence, Bob grips the passenger yoke. 3. CHARLES (CONT’D) Bob! You look worried. Charles is the picture of relaxation. BOB Not as much as I am about the recession. CHARLES You're the big media guy. What do you hear? BOB That 2008 is shaping up to be the biggest recession since 1929. You better buckle up. CHARLES Microsoft's market cap is at $228 billion. (checks the altitude) 4,500 feet-- it's not like we're going to have to kill the Zune to keep the doors open. BOB So you're not nervous? CHARLES No. Are you? BOB What do you mean? Charles pulls the throttle all the way down to IDLE. Kicks his seat back, arms above his head. The propeller slows. The engine goes SILENT. The STALL ALARM sounds. The plane NOSES DOWN 15 degrees, descending- CHARLES Oh shit. Engine died. What do we do, Bob? Bob braces for impact. BOB Shit. Uh- trim the plane, or uh, check the ailerons. No wait! Spot potential landings! 4. CHARLES You can't look for landing spots if you're plummeting to your doom. Bob plays it cool, thinks. BOB Okay okay! Step 1 is uh- "Fly the plane." CHARLES Right! Get the nose up. Feel the wings. They glide. Bob levels out. BOB Okay I feel them already! Can we throttle up? CHARLES Interestingly, Bob, this new plane of yours was built for aerobatics. Charles pitches the NOSE DOWN 15 more degrees -- WHIPS THE YOKE all the way to the right -- a full Aileron Roll. Charles pulls the throttle back. The ENGINE ROARS. The plane rises. Bob lets out a nervous breath. BOB I doubt this is part of the flight plan. CHARLES Shit. I forgot to take my meds. Charles LAUGHS, loving it. CHARLES (CONT’D) Instinct climb to 5,500. Bob hates every second as Charles levels out. CHARLES (CONT’D) What's next. Loop or a snap roll? BOB How about a barf bag. EXT. PUGET SOUND - DAY The Cessna turns, approaching the San Juan Islands. 5. EXT. ORCAS ISLAND AIRPORT - DAY Evergreens and tied-down private planes on either side of the single paved runway. Over the Puget Sound the Cessna banks left, lining up. CHARLES (O.S.) Nice leather seats on this thing. BOB (O.S.) That's an upgrade. CHARLES (O.S.) Might want to nose-up five degrees. Be a shame to scrape ‘em against the runway. The nose goes up a hair- the Cessna touches down perfectly. EXT. HANGAR - DAY Bob and Charles push the Cessna, each on a wing, through the oversized garage door into the low-slung building just off the tarmac. CHARLES If you'd get your instrument rating, you wouldn't need me to fly her back to the city- BOB I don't want to chance it in bad weather. Gotta have my ass behind the mic by 6am Monday. Van Halen isn't going to play itself. CHARLES Fine, if you insist, I'll take your plane whenever I feel like it. BOB Keys are in here- Bob drops the keys in a tackle box on a shelf. BOB (CONT’D) The hangar key is in the fake rock. Charles steps out and looks at the rock on the ground. "Fake" is an understatement. 6. CHARLES Nobody's going to figure that out. BOB This isn't exactly a high crime zone. INT. THERAPIST'S OFFICE - DAY Charles pops an antidepressant into his mouth -- swallows. The ghost of Charles Oppermann's other self appears beside him: OTHER CHARLES clicks through slides on a Powerpoint named, "THERAPY SESSION #29" on his laptop. OTHER CHARLES What argument should we lose this time? That you love Microsoft more than she loves her job at Amazon? Do they sell those blue, coexist bumper stickers as a corporate gag? CHARLES We've got bigger fish to fry. CHARLES (CONT’D) Oh! Re-finance the ungodly- expensive street of dreams house you overpaid for. That's unresolved. CHARLES (CONT’D) Denied. OTHER CHARLES Yeah- we only have an hour. OTHER CHARLES (CONT’D) Slide three. Sex- once per week but we still need to agree on who initiates. CHARLES I'm not going there either. OTHER CHARLES Then, we can delete slide four. Baby. Charles stares down Other Charles -- 7. OTHER CHARLES (CONT’D) SARAH Chuck? Why are you looking at Chuck? Why are you looking at me like that? me like that? Other Charles' voice now becomes SARAH OPPERMANN, sharp, late 30s, seated across from Charles on the couch facing DR. EMILIA SCHWAB, 45. CHARLES I'm just, thinking. She throws up her hands. SARAH Well, it's therapy. The place where we can- you know, talk. Or do I need to send out a calendar invite? Dr. Schwab gives a "not helpful" nod. SARAH (CONT’D) Sorry. CHARLES (to Dr. Schwab) I don't understand why we're spending $250 an hour, two times a week to talk about something we've already agreed to make. Dr. Schwab writes, unshaken. OTHER CHARLES Right to baby. That's bold. SARAH I- can't. DR. SCHWAB Charles, how do you think Sarah's feeling right now? OTHER CHARLES Head's up. Improv. Charles SIGHS. CHARLES She feels like quitting. SARAH That's an understatement. Sarah and Schwab exchange looks. 8. DR. SCHWAB Try again. OTHER CHARLES Avoid. The. List. CHARLES Like she doesn't want to make a child as much as I do. Or refinance the house. Or allow me to be the breadwinner! OR INITIATE SEX! Is that good? Other Charles gives a sarcastic thumbs up, psyche- down. OTHER CHARLES Hi. Doctor. Can we purchase a subscription? SARAH You're an asshole. CHARLES I'm a determined-to-keep-trying- one. This is what we wanted! (beat) No? Charles thinks he won. OTHER CHARLES We'll take your "Therapy Plus Package" for one year. SARAH Dr. Schwab, can I tell him? Dr. Schwab nudges, "safe place." SARAH (CONT’D) Charles, I'm pregnant. Off Charles' look-- CHARLES HA. HA. Very funny. SARAH What's funny? OTHER CHARLES Wait, are you two role-playing? 9. CHARLES Wow. This is different. OTHER CHARLES (notates) Slide four- Baby. In production. Shit. Sarah sits up straight. Still talking to Charles. SARAH I'm at 8 weeks- CHARLES We're having a baby. CUT TO: ON SCREEN: A cheeky news segment relates the Great Depression with the 2008 economic recession. Black and white footage split screens -- MSN NEWS HEADLINE dated September 29, 2008: DOW JONES DROPS RECORD 777.68 POINTS! The page is filled with financial disaster articles about Lehman's bankruptcy and the coming housing crisis. INT. MICROSOFT -- CHARLES’ OFFICE - DAY Charles rehearses to a room full of senior leadership. CHARLES Despite the RIF, I'm proposing a plan with Megan that calls for growth. FANNING, a techie, KNOCKS and slides the glass door open. FANNING Hey. Megan is ready to see you in Room 1417. CHARLES I thought we were meeting in her office? FANNING Last minute change. 10. CHARLES (to the team) Sometimes you gotta improvise. Mumbles of "good luck" as Charles grabs his folio, pulls his presentation flash drive out of the USB port and exits. INT. MICROSOFT HALLWAY - DAY Charles walks toward room 1417. A WOMAN IN HER 50s, walks past him in the other direction, not meeting his eyes. She too, carries a folio and a flash drive. He arrives at room 1417. He takes big breath to get set, opens the door and steps briskly inside- INT.