Contact Page #3

Synopsis: Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. It is a film adaptation of Carl Sagan's 1985 novel of the same name; Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film. Jodie Foster portrays the film's protagonist, Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Arroway, a SETI scientist who finds strong evidence of extraterrestrial life and is chosen to make first contact. The film also stars Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hurt, Angela Bassett, Jake Busey, and David Morse.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Production: Warner Home Video
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 26 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.4
Metacritic:
62
Rotten Tomatoes:
63%
PG
Year:
1997
150 min
3,351 Views


EXT. COUNTRY CEMETERY - DAY

The Minister kneels next to Ellie, watching her knead

another piece of bread into a ball before tossing it into

a small fish pond. In the b.g. we see the sheriff and

several relatives watching.

MINISTER:

I'm so sorry, Ellie. More than I

can ever say.

Ellie keeps watching the pond. The clouds overhead are

reflected in the patches of water between the lily pads.

ELLIE:

Those lily pads must look like

clouds to that carp, don't you

think?

The Minister frowns. Gently:

MINISTER:

Ellie... this life doesn't last

forever. Some day you and your Dad

are going to be together again, in

heaven.

ELLIE:

(turns to him;

equally gentle)

He isn't in heaven; he's in the

ground. We just put him there,

remember?

OFF the astonished Minister --

INT. ARROWAY HOUSE - NIGHT

Relatives, townspeople, the Minister and sheriff mingle

quietly. The kitchen table and counters are covered with

a sea of casseroles.

Ellie watches the gathered from a doorway, then slips

away.

INT. ARROWAY HOUSE - WORKSHOP AREA - NIGHT

Ellie slowly approaches the darkened bench area where the

SHORTWAVE is set up; the pin-dotted map above it. She

TURNS it ON; the dial glows.

She reaches out for the microphone, holding it tightly in

both hands. Pushes the button.

ELLIE:

CQ WR2, this is GFO, do you copy?

(looking up)

Dad, this is Ellie, come back.

EXT. HOUSE - HIGH ANGLE - NIGHT

Tiny Ellie is visible THROUGH the window, and as we begin

to PULL UP and AWAY her emotion-choked voice continues,

small and faraway...

ELLIE (V.O.)

This is Eleanor Arroway broadcasting

on 9.2 megahertz. Dad, are you

there? Come back. Come back. Come

back...

CUT TO:

DEEP SPACE - MESSAGE

-- rockets through the Rosette Nebula, a vast cloud of

glowing red hydrogen illuminated by young hot stars a

hundred times brighter than the sun. Their solar wind is

blowing out an immense cavity in the interstellar gas and

dust.

PALM LEAF:

lies on the streetlamp-lit sidewalk.

We hear the sound of a BUS PULLING UP, its door opening.

After a moment a pair of sneakered feet tentatively step

INTO FRAME. A suitcase is set down next to them as we

hear the BUS WHEEZE OFF into the night. A hand reaches

down, picks up the palm leaf.

22-YEAR-OLD ELLIE examines it, then looks up in

apprehension at the old prewar Spanish structure of Cal

Tech.

INT. CAMPUS BUILDING - CORRIDOR - NIGHT

Ellie's FOOTSTEPS ECHO as she walks down a corridor, its

walls hung with portraits of Galileo, Copernicus, Hubble.

She pauses at a photograph of Einstein standing outside

the entrance we just saw. Sound up cut: THE RAMONES' "I

Wanna Be Sedated" --

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

James V. Hart

James V. Hart was born in 1960 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Hook (1991), Epic (2013) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). more…

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Submitted by shilobe on November 16, 2016

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    "Contact" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/contact_645>.

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