Basic Page #2

Synopsis: During a special operations training mission in Panama, four U.S. soldiers are killed mysteriously, and their leader, Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson), goes missing. A military investigator, Capt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen), has trouble convincing the two survivors to talk about what happened that night. A more experienced investigator, Tom Hardy (John Travolta), is brought in to crack the case. However, when the survivors do start talking, their stories differ from one another.
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Production: Sony Pictures Entertainment
  3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
34
Rotten Tomatoes:
21%
R
Year:
2003
98 min
$26,536,120
Website
1,029 Views


with WARRANT OFFICER JULIA OSBORNE - early 30's, attractive,

close cropped hair and icy eyes. In the middle of protesting.

5.

OSBORNE:

This is totally unnecessary-

STYLES:

He asked to see a policeman, we're

getting him a policeman .

OSBORNE:

But this guy you called, he's not

even Army-

STYLES:

He's former Army and the best I’ve

ever seen in a room. Besides, he

knows the territory, we did Basic

together here.

(off her look)

You've had three hours with Dunbar

and haven't gotten a peep, we need

to take a different tack.

OSBORNE:

He's not Army, it’s not official-

STYLES:

Then it's unofficial.

He takes a hit from an ASTHMA INHALER, as a '71 PONTIAC GTO

drives through the gate and pulls up. Hardy emerges.

OSBORNE:

(re:
his appearance)

Doesn't get any unofficialer than

that...

The two old friends embrace.

HARDY:

How are you?

STYLES:

Been better.

(pause)

I read about what's been happening

With you... I should have called-

HARDY:

What kind of trouble are you in?

Styles looks at the ground. Momentarily flustered.

HARDY:

That bad?

STYLES:

Would I have called you if it wasn't?

If there was any other way

6.

HARDY:

Tell me what I can do.

OSBORNE:

You can get us some answers.

Hardy takes off his sunglasses, noticing her.

STYLES:

This is Warrant Officer Julia Osborne,

The closest thing we have to an in-

House investigator.

HARDY:

And here you are going out of house.

How's that make you feel, Jules?

OSBORNE:

Hostile and uncooperative.

HARDY:

Fantastic. You want to tell me what's

going on?

INT. FORT MCKINLEY -- CORRIDORS MORNING

Hardy follows Styles and Osborne. They pass SOLDIERS

replacing broken windows and sweeping up glass.

STYLES:

The official term for it is

"Clusterfuck" . By the time Beth hit

us, I'd canceled all off base

exercises save one - a six man cadet

team and their Drill out in the bush.

We're missing three and the Sergeant.

The cadets are in their eighth week

of the cycle, nobody here knows much

about them, up to and including their

names. But the Sergeant...

HARDY:

It's not West, is it? Tell me it's

not West.

Styles' look tells him it is.

HARDY:

Ah, Christ

OSBORNE:

You knew Sergeant West?

HARDY:

He was our Drill here. Man's older

than sand.

7.

STYLES:

A few years ago, the Army picked our

good buddy as their go to non-com to

trot out to the press to talk about

the kinder, gentler military. He

even did the standard video greeting

played to all incoming Basic cadets

across the country.

HARDY:

Well, he's a good soldier.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

James Vanderbilt

James Platten Vanderbilt (born November 1975) is an American screenwriter. He is best known for the films Zodiac, White House Down, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. more…

All James Vanderbilt scripts | James Vanderbilt Scripts

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Submitted by aviv on November 01, 2016

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