Contact Page #4

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


INT. DORM CORRIDOR - NIGHT

An altogether different sort of hallway, reflecting the

imagination and individuality of its occupants. The walls

are covered with whimsical graffiti ("anthropocentrism is

a 17 letter word;" "WATCH FOR FLYING POTATOES") and 3

A.M. paintings of alien sunsets; the MUSIC is coming from

behind a door covered in Tolkien and comic book art.

As Ellie enters this strange new world she begins to hear

animated voices coming from a room at the end of the hall.

VOICE #1 (V.O.)

... radio luminosity?

VOICE #2 (V.O.)

I dunno, maybe a post-spectral

starburst or something.

EVERYBODY (V.O.)

Right, right --

VOICE #3 (V.O.)

E+A is an elliptical? How can you

tell it's being lensed? Pass me the

Fruity Pebbles.

VOICE #4 (V.O.)

Well I guess you'd have to check

other elliptical galaxies, Mr.

Wizard --

INT. DORM ROOM - NIGHT

As Ellie peers around the corner we see six or seven

STUDENTS, mostly male, of mixed nationality and race,

passing around cereal which they eat from the box. A

primitive (circa 1980) home-built personal computer glows

in the b.g.; a door opens onto a terrace and the

California night beyond. They stop, look up at Ellie --

ELLIE:

I -- uh --

(clears her throat)

I was looking for Koestler Hall?

GUY (STUDENT)

This is it. Hey, do you know the

average radio-luminosity of an E+A

elliptical galaxy?

ELLIE:

Um... I'm not sure.

(hesitates)

Maybe you could deduce it from

lensing a post-spectral

starburst...?

GUY:

(beat, then to his

friend)

See, I told you!

(to Ellie)

Want some Fruity Pebbles?

Carcinogenic, but totally worth it.

Ellie takes the box, and as she tentatively enters the

room -- nibbles on the cereal -- she slowly sits. Smiles.

The argument rages on. She's home.

DEEP SPACE - MESSAGE

We ROAR by a rapidly rotating, flashing pulsar. Cosmic

dust filters the light into the shifting spectrum of

colors...

EXT. MOJAVE DESERT - DAY

DAVID DRUMLIN, 42, fit, sardonic -- and the world's

foremost radio astronomer -- leads a group of grad

students past the first Jet Propulsion Lab radio

telescopes at Goldstone. Ellie lags behind talking to

PETER VALERIAN, who is about as good-looking as an

astronomer should be allowed to be.

ELLIE:

... Drumlin said you're been down at

Arecibo for the last year.

PETER:

It's beautiful but it does get a

little lonely. Sometimes I think

the reason we build these things in

such godforsaken places isn't to

avoid excess radio traffic but

because we're all such pathetic

antisocial misfits... Speaking of

which:
How're you getting on with

the old man?

ELLIE:

He's an incredible prick but I never

learned so much in my life.

PETER:

(smiles)

That's what they all say.

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

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