Lethal Weapon Page #3

Sees the dog watching him with a beseeching expression.

Pitiful.

RIGGS:

Aw, sh*t.

He signals the dog.

RIGGS:

Awright. Move it. Let's go.

The COLLIE BARKS happily and dashes toward him through

the surf, kicking up sand and water.

As they shuffle off against the palm-lined skyline, we

hear, supered, Riggs' voice.

RIGGS (V.O.)

So. You live in the area? What's

your major ... ?

And so on as we ...

CUT TO:

2 OMITTED 2

thru thru

4D 4D

5 EXT. MURTAUGH'S HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 5

Palm trees cast shadows on the lawn. Toys, lots of them,

littered across the lawn. A Big Wheel, a G.I. Joe figure.

Christmas lights are strung across the eaves.

CUT TO:

6 INT. HOUSE - BATHROOM SAME 6

A real gun, a .38 Police Special, dangling in its holster

from the back of a chair. Next to it -- A real

badge, gleaming in the light. It identifies its owner

as LAPD Robbery/Homicide.

7 ANOTHER ANGLE 7

A birthday cake comes INTO FRAME. A set of matronly

hands places it directly in front of -

8 DETECTIVE ROGER MURTAUGH 8

Seated in the bathtub. He groans, throws a towel over

himself, and mutters in mock indignation: Roger is

tough:
An old-fashioned fighter, wears his past like a

scar. Piercing eyes; cynical. He is surrounded by his

family; wife and three children, names and ages as

follows:
TRISH: Roughly thirty-eight. She used to be a

stunner. NICK:
Ten years old. Precocious. CARRIE:

Age seven. Eyes like saucers. Adorable. RIANNE:

Heartbreaker stuff, Seventeen. Takes your breath away

folks. The cake is a real beauty.

CARRIE:

Make a wish, Daddy.

RIANNE:

Go for it, Dad.

MURTAUGH:

(smiles)

Go for it, huh...? Okay, I'll

go for it.

He blows out the candles. Applause. His gaze lingers

on -- the cake. Or rather, the message scrawled atop it

in icing:
WELCOME TO THE BIG 50

The presents arrive.

CUT TO:

9 EXT. SIMI VALLEY - MORNING 9

The scorched landscape stretches out beneath a latticework

of high-tension power lines. only scrub grass

grows here. Rusted railroad tracks wander into the distance,

and nestled beside them, like the last stop before

death -- sits a lonely trailer home. Battered TV

antenna. A dirt yard which houses a beat-up pickup

truck. Dead garden sprouting weeds. The ground begins

to tremble ... like an earthquake, RATTLING the POWER

POLES, as, without warning -- An express TRAIN BLASTS

BY CAMEPA and streaks past the trailer at seventy miles

an hour.

10 INT. TRAILER HOME 10

Now we are inside, the RUMBLING FAINTER ... And we are

looking at a tired, chiseled face. Etched with line and

shadow. Eyes closed, as the shadows from the speeding

train strobe across DETECTIVE SERGEANT MARTIN RIGGS.

Morning is not a good time for Riggs. The CLOCK RADIO

suddenly BLARES to life: "Silver Belllls ... It's

Christmas Tiiime in the City..." Riggs snaps awake

instantly. Alert. Tense. Face bathed in sweat.

11 ANOTHER ANGLE

He is not alone. In the doorway sits a thoroughly

loveable black Labrador. Sitting stock still. Star3.ng

at Riggs, watching him sleep. Tail going thump-thumpthump

on the carpet.

Riggs sits up. Stares at the dog.

RIGGS:

Sam, today is the first day ...

of the rest of my life.

He lights a cigarette.

Coughs and hacks.

Inhales.

The TRAIN THROBS by outside, rattling his skull ...

CUT TO:

12 INT. MURTAUGH HOME - SAME TIME 12

And it is a typical morning for Detective Roger Murtaugh.

Chaos. The TELEVISION BLARES. Young Carrie Murtaugh

wails like a banshee. Her brother Nick tells her to

shut up. Trish Murtaugh is burning eggs in the kitchen.

Roger Murtaugh enters then, fixing his tie. The following

dialogue is fast and furious, tossed over the shoulder

as Murtaugh scurries to and fro, getting dressed:

MURTAUGH:

Honey, what's this on my tie?

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