American History X Page #3

Synopsis: Living a life marked by violence and racism, neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) finally goes to prison after killing two black youths who tried to steal his car. Upon his release, Derek vows to change his ways; he hopes to prevent his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps. As he struggles with his own deeply ingrained prejudices and watches their mother grow sicker, Derek wonders if his family can overcome a lifetime of hate.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Production: New Line Cinema
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.5
Metacritic:
62
Rotten Tomatoes:
83%
R
Year:
1998
119 min
Website
1,948 Views


REPORTER:

To my right I have Lieutenant

Vinyard's oldest son Derek.

(to Derek)

How do you feel about all this, son?

DEREK:

How do I feel? How do you think I

feel? It's typical.

REPORTER:

Typical how, Derek?

DEREK:

Well...look at our country. It's a

haven for criminals. Black...brown...

yellow...whatever.

REPORTER:

So you're saying the murder of your

father is "race" related?

DEREK:

Every problem in this country is

"race" related. Every problem, not

just crime. These problems are rooted

in the black community, the Hispanic

community, the Asian...every non-

Protestant group in our society.

(then)

Look at the sh*t. Immigration...

welfare...AIDS...they're all the

problems of the non-white. Look at

the statistics.

REPORTER:

Most of these issues you're referring

to though son are related to--

DEREK:

(interrupting)

No no no! Don't say poverty right now

cause that's not it. They're not a

product of our f***ing environment

either! Minorities don't give two

shits about this country! They're

here to exploit...not embrace.

RASMUSSEN (O.S)

(over reporter's question)

When Alexander got his hands on this

segment...he copied it, sent it out

and it became the Gettysberg Address

for hate groups across the country.

BACK TO THE TELEVISION.

DEREK:

Millions of white Europeans came to

this country and flourished within a

generation! A generation! So what

the f*** is wrong with these people?!

REPORTER:

What does any of this have to do with

your father?

DEREK:

Because my father was doing his

f***ing job! Saving a n*gger

neighborhood he didn't give two shits

about! And he got killed by some drug

dealer who still collects a f***ing

welfare check.

Derek looks at the man and walks over to HIS MOTHER

DORIS, who smokes a cigarette. The camera follows him as

he puts his arm around her and escorts her back inside

their Venice Beach residence. The camera pans back to

the reporter who just stands there, speechless.

INT. BRIEFING ROOM - SAME

Rasmussen ejects the tape, the screen turns to fuzz, and

he turns it off.

RASMUSSEN:

Vinyard was quietly released from

Chino on Saturday after three and some

odd years. And I think it's something

we might want to keep an eye on for a

few days.

SWEENEY:

I don't wanna be an alarmist. But

payback is out there. I know it is.

And in this particular case...if

Vinyard gets popped...more people will

get popped.

RASMUSSEN:

It's not exactly LAPD policy but I

want 24-hour surveillance on Vinyard

for a few days.

COP #2

(smiling in disbelief)

Twenty-four hour surveillance, sir?

Rate this script:4.6 / 5 votes

David McKenna

David McKenna (born August 14, 1968) is an American screenwriter and producer. He worked as executive producer of E-Ring. He used the screen name Zachary Long for Bully. more…

All David McKenna scripts | David McKenna Scripts

0 fans

Submitted by acronimous on May 16, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "American History X" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/american_history_x_155>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    American History X

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.