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TITLE: Script 117 pp AUTHOR:

LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN

Frank Darabont, Kurt Wimmer DRAFT/DATE: 9.19.08 CIRCA: 2008 urban USA Crime, Suspense

David McKenna October 10, 2008

LOCALE: GENRE:

LOG LINE: A prosecutor must outwit an aggrieved crime victim who is using sinister means of exacting revenge against unpunished criminals. CONTENT SUMMARY: The basic idea recalls films like SE7EN, and if the project emphasizes pacing and shock value along with its likely A-list elements, it could be a hit. But Darabont has tended to be fat and self-indulgent over the past few years, running the risk that the values of the piece could be overwhelmed by too much story and too many twists. Can the budget and storytelling be streamlined and controlled so that the project could make profits?

Excellent PREMISE: STORY LINE: CHARACTERIZATION: DIALOGUE: STRUCTURE: SETTING/PRODUCTION VALUES: OVERALL WRITING ABILITY: BUDGET: ___ High

Good x x

Fair

Poor

x x x x x _x_ Medium ___ Low

2. RECOMMENDATION: CONSIDER

3. LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN SYNOPSIS: Horrified CLYDE reports to the cops that his wife and daughter were brutally murdered. Prosecutor CANTRELL and aide NICK debrief Clyde in the hope of nailing the killer. Theyve arrested one suspect (DARBY) on weak evidence and consider offering him immunity if he will convict the second suspect (AMES). Bright young prosecutor SARAH agrees with this plan. The plan enrages Clyde. Satisfied by this compromise plan, Nick goes home to pregnant wife KELL. Years pass. Nick and Kell are raising daughter EMMA, 10. Nick still works for Cantrell (now blind). They visit Ames on Death Row. As Ames is executed for murder, he claims that Darby was the real killer. The execution is a disaster. The phone lines break down, preventing the governor from commuting the death sentence, and the lethal injection causes an inexplicably horrible death. Cops DUNNIGAN and GARZA rage at Nick. It seems that Darby has led a wild life of crime over the years and that the prosecutors let him do so because he is such an effective informant. The cops raid Darbys dope nest. Darby blasts his way out of the dragnet and then gets help from a telephone voice to escape. The telephone voice belongs to Clyde, and he leads Darby into a trap. Clyde uses a drug to paralyze Darby and then kidnaps him to a private torture chamber. Days later, Clyde anonymously sends a video of the torture to Nick. Nick sends cops to the torture chamber to find Darbys mutilated remains. Clyde is long gone. Nick deduces Clydes involvement and has him arrested. Clyde easily defies Nick during questioning, making Nick feel guilty about the compromise deal from years before. Clyde dares Nick to prove Clydes guilt. Nick wants to do just that. Nick also fears that Clyde may be bloodthirsty enough to somehow kill Kell and Emma. Clyde teases the prosecutors with promises to confess. He feeds Nick and the others crumbs while demanding and getting special treatment in jail. Even after Clyde describes how he committed his revenge killings, he keeps Nick and the others on a string because he claims to have evidence on other unsolved crimes.

4.

Clyde is as good as his word, exposing the burial ground of an unsolved missing persons case. Clyde stuns everyone when the burial ground is booby-trapped with land mines and when Clyde brutally attacks and kills his cellmate. Clyde claims self-defense in the cellmate death and refuses to sign his confession about Darby. He insists that Nick release him. When Nick resists Clydes demands, Clyde returns to his jail cell and intimates that he will unleash other lethal traps hes pre-set. Fearing the worst, Nick sends his family to safety. Nick cant imagine the horrors that Clyde has planned. Nick finds out about the horrors when a pre-set bomb kills several of his colleagues in the DAs office. Clyde officially feigns innocence, and Nick cant prove otherwise. Again, Clyde orders Nick to release him. When Nick refuses, Clyde suggests that DA Cantrell will be the next to die. Nick struggles to figure out how Clyde is executing these murders. But hes slow at it, giving Clyde time to bomb Cantrell and several other lawyers and judges to death in a series of blasts. The city is in chaos, and the Mayor scapegoats Nick. But Nick stays on the case and teams with cop Dunnigan to work the clues. Clyde is on the loose now (he has a secret tunnel which allows him to enter and leave his jail cell without being missed), and Nick rallies to pick up his trail. Nick finally gets the upper hand when he discovers a lethal booby trap Clyde has planted in an active courtroom. Nick confronts Clyde back in the jail cell. Unlike Nicks compromise years ago, Nick refuses to compromise with Clyde now. Nick has outwitted Clyde, using a Clyde bomb to rig Clydes jail cell. The bomb blows Clyde to smithereens. Clyde dies, but hed have to acknowledge that Nick has learned his lesson.

5. LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN CREATIVE COMMENTS: An A-list suspense movie. The script is being worked by Kurt Wimmer (THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, THE RECRUIT) and Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE). As such it is a craftsmanlike machine with solid elements and a strong beginning-middleend structure. It bears the assets and foibles of both men, particularly Darabont since this draft emphasizes his name. The idea recalls films like SE7EN in that the instigator of the action is diabolically clever and is driven by a personal obsession. The instigator wreaks havoc on a flawed lawman who is making compromises within the imperfect system. The instigator has no tolerance for imperfection, and he defies the lawman to live up to a higher standard or to face ultimate punishment. The character and lines of action are extremely clear, and the writing team is skilled enough to dish out information on its own timetable. That leads to a handful of shocks and surprises which are peppered throughout. There are some significant contrivances (e.g., a secret tunnel under the instigators jail cell) that challenge credibility, but they are not necessarily fatal problems. In terms of commerce, it should be noted that both writers have reached the peak of the profession and face the challenge of maintaining that high level. That can be a problem since such power frequently leads to selfindulgence. Many audiences have noted that Darabonts postSHAWSHANK work has tended to be fat, lurid and overwritten. Those problems exist here, and its by no means certain that they will be corrected as the project progresses. At base, this could be a trim, 90-minute exercise in suspense and morality. As its written, the piece runs well over two hours, giving far more detail than is actually needed and using violent and grim images to shock us. Arguably, the individual pieces are very effective. But Darabont films over the past few years have tended to wear out the audience and to overstay their welcome. In other words, this will be a noteworthy film with a starladen cast and lots of pre-release buzz. If the budget can somehow be kept in line and if Darabont can be imposed upon

6. to deftly streamline the script, it could be a dark little hit. COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL: The basic idea recalls films like SE7EN, and if the project emphasizes pacing and shock value along with its likely A-list elements, it could be a hit. But Darabont has tended to be fat and self-indulgent over the past few years, running the risk that the values of the piece could be overwhelmed by too much story and too many twists. Can the budget and storytelling be streamlined and controlled so that the project could make profits?

RECOMMENDATION:

CONSIDER