"JACKIE BROWN" (1997)

JACKIE BROWN

Screenplay by

Quentin Tarantino

Based on the Novel by Elmore Leonard

OPENING CREDITS

We hear the rhythm of funky seventiesSOUL MUSIC.

ThenSHEsteps intoFRAME.

She isJACKIE BROWN, a stewardess dressed in herCABO AIRuniform. (A little shuttle airline that flies from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas. Approximate flight time: forty five minutes)

Jackie stands still as a people-mover slowly inches her through the airport. TheCREDITS APEARandDISAPPEARin front of her.

Jackie Brown is a very attractive black woman in her mid forties, though she looks like she's in her mid-thirties.

The people-mover reaches the end of the line, she steps off.

She breezes through Customs and we follow her with aSTEDICAMas she strides through the airport... She gets to her gate disappears inside the plane for a moment comes back out sans flight bag picks up the microphone.

With a smile on her face, she collects passengers' boarding passes as they board the plane.

TITLE CARD

"ORDELL ROBBIE"

FADE UP ON:

VIDEO

A chorus line of six beautiful bikini-clad women, all holding different automatic weapons, BLASTINGaway.

The cheapVIDEO TITLESto:

"CHICKS WHO LOVE GUNS"

Play over this image.

One bikini beauty is singled out. She's a gorgeous brunette namedSIDNEY. Sidney stands facing camera holding a TEC-9 and describing it.

SIDNEY'S STATISTICS:Age, height, measurements, date of birth, appear at the bottom left- hand corner. As Sidney continues her sales pitch/demonstration, aBLACK MAN'S VOICE begins talking over the video.

After aCLOSEUPof the TEC-9, SidneyFIRESthe weapon.

The Black Voice belong to forty-five-year oldORDELL ROBBIE.

Ordell wears clothes nice and likes wearing nice clothes. Stylish, athletic wear (Reebok), heavy, black leather jackets (Hugo Boss), warm-colored berets and baseball caps to cover his balding head are Ordell's "look." At this moment Ordell's wearing an open silk shirt.

Ordell narrates the video playing on the big-screen V. (the most expensive thing in the apartment). He holds a cocktail in one hand (screwdriver, his drink of choice) and the remote control in the other, pacing the floor in his I-can-talk-anybody-into-anything voice.

LOUIS GARA, who looks like he does his shopping at the Salvation Army (dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and dungarees), sits on the sofa staring blankly at the video, drinking Jack Daniels on ice. Louis, white, also in his mid forties, has lived over half of his life in penal institutions. The experience has affected both his body language and his thought process.

While acutely aware of the rhythm of life inside a correction facility, in the real world his timing is thrown. It's like a song he doesn't know the lyrics to but attempt to sing anyway.

The third person watching the video is the person who lives in this apartment,MELANIE RALSTON. Melanie, thirty-three, is a tanned, blonde, California beach bunny. Like the kind you se in the old Crown International movies from the seventies like "Pom Pom Girls" "Malibu Beach" and "Beach Girls," except Melanie is older than any of those girls ever are. She's dressed in her Melanie-uniform of stringy Levis cutoffs and a stringy bra top. So far Melanie has been able to make a living out of lying in the sun, always finding a generous, wealthy man more than willing to pay her rent and pick up her tabs. In her prime (twenty two) it was Japanese industrialists, film production guys, and Middle Eastern businessmen who kept Melanie. And it was places like the Bahamas, Acapulco, and the Virgin Islands where they kept her.

But now, at thirty three, she lives in an apartment in Hermosa Beach, California that Ordell pays for an drops in and out of. She's curled up in a reclining chair, smoking weed from a pipe, reading Movieline Magazine and paying no attention to the video.

Ordell hits the fast-forward on his remote control.

Sidney is rushed off the screen and replace byCINDY, a pretty, blonde bodybuilder clad in a red, white and blue bikini, holding a Styer Aug.

Ordell punches up the volume.

CindyBLASTSthe Styer Aug, loud.

Ordell imitates the sound of the weapon.

Melanie puts down the magazine, takes his cocktail glass from him and moves to the kitchen.

Melanie comes back, hands Ordell his screwdriver, then sits where she was.

Ordell sits down on the couch. Melanie's reading "Movieline Inside" magazine.

GLORIA, a tall, Amazonian, bikini-clad, black woman faces camera and describes the AK-47.

The phone rings.

Ordell just stares at her.

Louis keeps staring at he screen.

Melanie gets up, goes over to the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen, picks up the phone, says:

Puts the phone down and says;

Before Ordell knows it, Melanie is back in the reclining chair, reclining back all the way.

Ordell, pissed, looks at her a moment before taking the phone.

Louis sits on he couch, drinking his Jack Daniels, watching the video.

Melanie lies back on the reclining chair, takes a hit off her pipe, then says in a 'holding in smoke' voice;

Holding up her pipe.

Louis takes a hit off the pipe.

Louis takes a drink of whiskey.

Louis nods his head in agreement.

Ordell hangs up the phone.

Ordell comes back, sitting down on the other side of Louis.

The phone rings again. Ordell looks at Melanie. Melanie looks at Ordell.

They have a bit of a staring contest before she gets up and gets the phone.

Melanie sits back down in he chair.

KITCHEN

Ordell, drink in hand, picks up the receiver.

He listens to Beaumont on the other line – it's obvious Beaumont's starting to freak out. Ordell changes his tone.

Ordell hangs up the phone.

The store front window of Cherry Bail Bonds in Inglewood, California. The name of the business is spelled out on the window, which also includes a drawing of a fat red cherry.

Ordell'sBLACK MERCEDES CONVERTIBLEpulls up.

Ordell in the driver's seat. Louis in shotgun position.

Inside Cherry Bail Bonds, looking out through the picture window. We can read the name on the glass backwards. Ordell and Louis appears in the window and enter the building. Ordell carries a L.A. Lakers athletic bag.

An unidentifiedMALE VOICE, obviously on the telephone, can be heard.

Ordell goes toward the voice and tells Louis to "hang back."

The voice belong toMAX CHERRY, bail bondsman. Max, a regular-Joe-type white guy in his fifties, sits behind his desk talking on the phone. His eyes raise as he sees Ordell approach him.

Ordell motion to the chair in front of Max's desk. Max motions for Ordell to take a seat.

Ordell lights up a cigarette. (Viceroy).

He notices a picture on the wall of Max with his arm around a big, powerfully built black man. They're both grinning.

Louis pours himself some coffee from a coffeemaker into a small, white styrofoam cup. He picks up a jar of powdered non-dairy creamer that's so dry he has to break off a rock. Louis adds the rock of coffeemate to his beverage.

He hangs up the phone.

Ordell sits in front of the desk, smiling at him and smoking.

Max looks at him for a moment.

Ordell picks up the coffee cup, which still has a little bit of coffee in it, and flicks his ash.

Max throws a look past Ordell to Louis.

From across the room, Louis nods his head in Max's direction.

Max looks at him a moment, then back to Ordell.

Max looks at him a moment and says;

Max looks at Ordell, getting his drift, then says;

Ordell picks up his Lakers bag and puts it in the empty chair next to him.

Louis just stands, feeling uncomfortable, in the other room drinking coffee.

Max taking papers out of the drawer...

... picking up the pen...

Max looks at Ordell, but doesn't ask him the obvious question.

Max picks up the phone.

Max on hold, looks at Ordell.

Ordell smiles.

Louis enters the area, standing over Ordell.

Ordell pulls out a heavy-duty keychain with a shitload of keys on it.

Ordell finds it. While he goes through the keys, Vicki comes back on the line.

Max speaks with her as he fills out his papers.

Louis nods and goes out.

Louis walks out of the office. He goes up to Ordell's black Mercedes. He points the little black box at it. The car goes BLEEP.

He gingerly approaches it, opens the door and climbs inside.

Max hangs up the phone.

Ordell hands him the Lakers bag. Max takes the money out putting it on the desk.

Max begins counting it.

Max pulls the forms from his desk, and lays them in front of Ordell. Max goes back to counting the money. Ordell reads the first agreement then says;

A BLACK FINGER

Pressing aBLACK BUTTONnext to the name, "BEAUMONT LIVINGSTON".

BEAUMONT LIVINGSTON, wearing no shirt, sweatpants, and smoking a fatty answers the intercom, which buzzes loudly. We can hearJAY LENOinterviewing aCELEBRITYon TV OFFSCREEN.

Ordell stands outside the security gate of Beaumont's Hollywood apartment.

EXTREME CLOSEUP –Ordell's lips talking into the intercom speaker.

EXTREME CLOSEUP –Beaumont's finger pressing the entry button.

EXTREME CLOSEUP –The doorknob on the security gate,BUZZING. Ordell's hand comes into frame twisting it open.

Beaumont opens his apartment door, fatty between his fingers. He sees Ordell approach.

Ordell greets him, arms spread out in hug mode, with a big smile across his face.

Ordell and Beaumont embrace.

Laughing his hustler's laugh and bumping Beaumont's fist hard.

Beaumont laughs.

Beaumont takes a hit off the fatty and nods his head.

Beaumont gesture inside his apartment.

This has the desired effect.

TIME CUT:

WITH ORDELL WAITING OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Beaumont comes out of the apartment, sporting Nikes and a Queen Latifah t-shirt. He locks his front door and walks with Ordell to his car. They talk the whole way. We STEDICAM in front of them the whole way.

TRUNK

The trunk of a car is opened.

Ordell bends down into the trunk and pulls out a pump action shotgun. Beaumont obviously doesn't want any part of any Ordell game that requires a pump action shotgun as a playing piece.

Beaumont starts to speak –

Beaumont smiles. So does Ordell.

Beaumont and Ordell laugh together... the Beaumont says;

TRUNK

Beaumont in the trunk, holding the shotgun. The trunk lid isSLAMMEDclosed.

Ordell walks around the car, climbs into the plush interior of the Olds and turns on the engine. It comes to life with aSOFT RUMBLE. He puts a tape in the player inside the dash.

The tape is labeled "ORDELL'S JAMS."

Cool, old-school R&B fills the cab.

Ordell cruises, moving his head to the rhythm and mouthing the words.

He drives for awhile, just groovin' on the music...

... then stops.

Ordell switches the engine and the music off. The cab goes black.

He leans over the passenger seat, opening the glovebox. A tiny light turns on when the glovebox is opened. It's the only light in the cab. Ordell leaves it on.

In silence he takes one glove out and puts it on his right hand. Then with his gloved hand, reaches in the glovebox and pulls out a five-shot .38 snubby. He closes the glovebox.

The cab goes black.

The Olds is parked out in the middle of some urban nowhere.

Ordell gets out, sticks the snubby in his pants, and walks to the back of the Olds. He sticks his key in the trunk and says;

The trunk opens. Beaumont is hunched on his side with the shotgun.

Beaumont doesn't say anything.

Ordell takes the snubby out of his pants.

Beaumont quick-racks the pump shotgun, pulls the trigger, and hears the click you hear from an empty weapon. He racks it again, CLICK then BAM. Beaumont is shot hard in the chest. He goes back into he trunk.

Ordell puts one more shot in his head, BAM, tosses the weapon on top of the dead body and closes the trunk.

Ordell's Beaumont problem is solved. He climbs back into the cab, turns on the engine. We hear the old-school R&B song come back on, butVERY LOW.

Ordell drives the Olds away.

Louis sits on a bed in a flophouse motel room, flipping from one channel to another with a remote control, drinking cocktails from a can.

The phone rings. He answers it.

Ordell is sitting parked in the comfy-cozy cab of the Olds, listening to soul music with his tiny cellular phone next to his ear.

Louis, having just thrown on some pants, walks outside his room and sees Ordell's big, black Oldsmobile parked in front of the motel.

As he approaches, the power window on the driver's side comes down, revealing a comfortable Ordell sitting back in his seat looking up at Louis.

Louis doesn't say anything, he just puts his hands in his pockets.

CLOSEUP: KEY GOING INTO TRUNK

Trunk opens showing Beaumont shot in the chest with half his head blown off.

Louis looks inside, see Beaumont, looks at Ordell, then back to Beaumont.

Ordell closes the trunk.

Ordell smiles (not his hustler smile, but a genuine smile).

Louis grins.

They both bump fists.

TITLE CARD:

"JACKIE BROWN"

The sound of airplanes landing and taking off can be heard underneath this...

ASUBTITLEreads:

"LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PARKING GARAGE"

We look down a row of cars in an enclosed parking garage at LAX. Jackie Brown, the Cabo Air stewardess from the opening credits, walks into frame. We dolly behind her as she walks down the row of cars.

VOICE (O.S.) Miss Brown.

She turns towards the voice/camera.

Young plainclothes cop,MARK DARGUS, walks up to her, holding open his I.D. case.

Young plainclothes copRAY NICOLET, enters the scene.

As Jackie pulls the cigarettes (Davidoffs) from her purse, she says to Ray;

Jackie lights her cigarette with a yellow Bic lighter.

Jackie shrugs and says;

Dargus lays the flight bag on the pavement, gets down on his haunches, and starts feeling through her things.

CLOSEUP FLIGHT BAG

A soiled blouse, uniform skirt, – then a manila envelope, a fat one, nine-by-twelve.

Jackie watches him straighten the clasp...

ENVELOPE

Opens it. Out drops several packets of one hundred dollar bills secured with rubberbands.

Nicolet whistles.

Dargus looks up at her.

JACKIE

Not saying anything at the moment.

Dargus smiles.

Nicolet smiles.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Doesn't smile back.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Sitting in a chair facing the two offscreen detectives. Jackie lights up a cigarette. We don't leave theCLOSEUPuntil noted.

Nicolet laughs O.S.

Jackie doesn't sat anything... she just smokes.

Not a word.

Jackie, she puts the "ool" in "cool."

Not a word.

Jackie puts out her cigarette.

She stares down the cops.

DARGUS AND NICOLET

We cut to the detective and the special agent for the first time in the scene.

Jackie's eyes don't even narrow at the insult. She just says without expression;

Jackie remains unmoved by this monologue.

Nicolet joins back in.

Jackie just stares at them, saying nothing.

Dargus sits behind his desk, with Jackie's flight bag on it.

Jackie gets up from her chair, walks over to the desk, unzips the bag, takes out the manila envelope and drops it on the desk.

She reaches in the bag and brings out a pocketbook.

Nicolet takes the manila envelope.

Dargus points at a clear plastic bag with pills and packets in it.

Nicolet takes out the bills from the envelope.

Nicolet takes the bills and looks inside the envelope. His expression changes to a shit-eating grin.

Nicolet pulls out a clear cellophane sandwich bag with a half-inch or so of white powder inside.

Nicolet and Dargus laugh at that.

Jackie just looks at the two grinning Cheshire cats as the balance of power rolls over on her.

A Los Angeles County Jail bus pulls up behind the Torrance Court House.

Jackie, now wearing County Jail blues, sits next to anotherBLACK WOMAN. Their hands cuffed together.

The bus stops. A rough-lookingFEMALE COUNTY SHERIFFunlocks the gate that encloses the prisoners. Then explains in a you-better-do-exactly-what-I-say manner, how they're going to leave the bus.

MANY WOMEN, including Jackie, all wearing county blues and handcuffed to each other, exit the bus.

TheSHERIFFSlead them into the back entrance to the court house.

Dargus and Nicolet confer with thePUBLIC DEFENDER, an attractive blonde woman in a nice business suit.

Jackie and the Public Defender. Jackie, in her county blues; Public Defender in her nice suit.

COURT IN SESSION

It's a full schedule in court today. Jackie sits with a bunch of other females wearing county blues in the defendant's area (where the jury sits during a jury trial)

Dargus and Nicolet sit in the courtroom.

TheJUDGEreads the next case.

Jackie rises amongst the other defendants.

The P.D. rises.

Dargus, the arresting officer, rises.

The Judge looks at the report, then at Jackie...

Jackie sits down.

Dargus sits down next to Nicolet. They smile and giggle together.

Jackie sees them giggle like fifth graders. It fucking pisses her off.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

We go from aCLOSEUPof a boiling Jackie, to a perspective from the back of the courtroom.

We see Jackie in the defendant's area.

We see the two happy detectives walk past us on their way out of the courtroom.

ORDELL

Sits in the back, watching the proceedings without any expression. When he's seen enough, he stands up and out of the shot leaving anEMPTY FRAME.

TITLE CARD

"MAX CHERRY"

FADE UP ON:

The bathroom door in Max's office. We hear a toilet flush behind it. The door opens, and Max Cherry emerges, zipping up his pants with a TV guide in his hand.

He looks up and stops dead.

Ordell sitting oh-so comfortably in the chair in front of Max's desk.

Max looks at Ordell, then takes his place behind his desk.

Sitting back in the chair – almost grinning – but not quite.

Ordell gives up and takes an envelope out of his pocket.

It's early evening; and Max's powder-blue Seville is driving to the County Jail with a client, a young Hispanic woman of twenty namedANITA.

Max gives up.

Like an exasperated teenager.

POV THROUGH A WIRE MESH CAGE

Max and Anita, side by side. Anita's hands are cuffed behind her back.

We're at the admitting desk of the L.A. County Jail. Max undoes Anita's handcuffs, while a SHERIFFwaits to take her away.

She kisses Max on the cheek and the Sheriff takes her away.

Max puts the cuffs away, sits on a bench, takes out a Len Deighton paperback and begins to read.

FADE UP:

MAX

Still reading his novel. We hear offscreen, aSHERIFF'Svoice.

Max puts his book down and see –

Jackie being led into the Admitting Area byTWO SHERIFFS. She's wearing her stewardess uniform and carrying a small envelope with her belongings in it and her shoes. When Max was imagining a woman in her forties, he had someone with a bit of wear and tear on them in mind. But this Jackie Brown's a knockout.

As he watches her, she steps out of the County Jail slippers she was wearing and slips into her shoes.

He approaches, handing her his card.

She takes the card and shakes his hand saying nothing.

Max puts his key in the ignition, when Jackie asks;

She doesn't answer.

She waits.

Max digs the case out of his pocket, hands it to her, then reaches up and turns on the light above them for her to see.

MAX'S ID: SURETY AGENT LICENSED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

She looks straight ahead.

Max shifts into drive.

Max rolls down his window at the front gate. ADEPUTYcomes out of the gatehouse and hands through the window Max's .38 revolver, cylinder opened. Max hands the Deputy his pass in exchange for the gun, says "thanks", then puts the .38 in his glovebox in front of Jackie. He drives on.

MAX AND JACKIE (MOVING)

A big neon sign of a cockatoo sits on op of a red brick inn.

CLOSEUP –AKNOBis pulled out.

Jackie picks up a pack of Mild Seven's cigarettes from the bottom of a cigarette machine. She crosses the bar to join Max, sitting at a small table waiting for her to return.

The Cockatoo Inn is just what Jackie was looking for. A dark and red cocktail lounge in Hawthorne off of Hawthorne Boulevard by the apartment where the stewardess lives (about ten minutes from LAX)

The clientele of the Cockatoo is an older, black crowd and an even older white crowd who'd been coming here years before it became a black bar.

AJUKEBOXplays soft, old-school R&B.

Jackie and Max sit side by side at a small table, lit by a bar candle in a red glass thing.

Max drinks Bushmills over crushed ice. Jackie drinks white wine. Jackie opens her Mild Sevens, offering one to Max.

As she lights her cigarette.

Jackie takes the talk in a different direction.

A moment of silence between them, they both take drinks.

Max gestures to an older black cocktail waitress namedROWENfor two more.

The Waitress comes with the drinks.

Rowen exits.

Max puts it together.

Jackie waits a moment before answering, weighs things in her mind and makes a decision.

Jackie gets exasperated.

Max looks at Jackie thinking about something.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

CLOSEUP: ORDELL

Sitting in his black Mercedes, parked across the street from Jackie's apartment building in Hawthorne. Johnny Cash is playing inside his car.

ORDELL'S POV

Through the windshield, he sees Max's powder-blue Cadillac Seville pull up to Jackie's apartment. She gets out, ten bends down and talks to him through the window of the passenger side door. Then makes a goobye gesture and turns, walking into her apartment complex. Max drives off.

ORDELL

While Johnny Cash continues crooning, Ordell puts on his gloves. Then opens up his glovebox, taking out a little Targa .22 pistol. He steps out of the car, slipping the pistol into his coat pocket. WeSTEDICAMin front of him as he walks across the street to Jackie's apartment. Once inside the complex, Ordell passes us andWE FOLLOW BEHIND HIM, up to Jackie's ground-floor apartment door.

He gives it a soft knock with one knuckle. He waits a moment, then Jackie opens the door.

Jackie holds the door open for him.

Ordell steps inside. He moves over by a halogen lamp in the living room.

Jackie still standing by the door. She doesn't look frightened.

Ordell turns the halogen lamp to dim.

Jackie moves into the kitchen area. Ordell follows her, hanging in the doorway, while she makes the drink. Jackie doesn't turn on the light.

Taking a glass from the cupboard.

Opening the freezer and filling a glass with ice cubes and taking out vodka.

Opens refrigerator, light cuts into the kitchen. She takes out orange juice, then closes the door.

Ordell has to stop and think.

Jackie makes screwdriver.

Jackie doesn't answer. She just walks up to Ordell handing him his yellow drink in the darkness. Ordell takes it, continues to look at Jackie.

Jackie says to his face;

Then she walks past him back to the living room. She goes over to the halogen lamp, turning the light up brighter, then moves by the door, still standing and looking at Ordell in the kitchen doorway.

Ordell by the halogen lamp. He turns it back to dim.

Ordell moves slowly towards Jackie.

Jackie slowly shakes her head "no."

Ordell directly in front of Jackie, he gently places his gloved hands on her shoulders.

Jackie shakes her head "no."

Ordell's gloved fingertips move up her collarbone to her throat, gently touching her skin. Jackie locks eyes with his, but still shows no fear.

At this moment the film becomes a:

SPLIT SCREEN

On theRIGHT-HAND SIDEis Ordell with his hands barely touching Jackie's throat. On the LEFT-HAND SIDEis Max driving home in his Seville.

MAX IN CAR

Max drives home, an almost moony romantic look no his face. He can't stop thinking about Jackie. During the night she'd have a gleam in her eyes, the look saying; "WE COULD HAVE FUN". Unless she was appraising kinda him with the look, making a judgment and what it said was; "I COULD USE YOU". Either way it was a turn-on.

Max pulls into the driveway of his small house in Torrance.

ORDELL AND JACKIE

Jackie shakes her head from side to side.

Ordell moves his thumbs from her collarbone to the middle of her throat.

Jackie shakes her head from side to side without her eyes leaving his. Reaches over the seat

With his hands on Jackie's throat, staring into the woman's eyes, fromBELOW FRAMEthen feels something hard the fuck against his crotch. Neither break eye contact.

Ordell hears a CLICK.

Can't believe it.

MAX IN CAR

Max takes his keys, then to the glove box...

THE GLOVE BOX

The gun is gone.

A CLOSEUP OF MAX'S GUN IN ORDELL ORDELL'S CROTCH

CLOSEUP GUN IN CROTCH

Ordell flashes his hustler's smile and lets go.

END OF SPLIT SCREEN

Jackie turns Ordell around, gun firmly in his back, and pushes him against the wall.

Jackie has Ordell against the wall and is frisking him the way a cop would. She finds the .22 pistol in his pocket

She shoves both guns in Ordell's back.

Ordell moves over to a chair across from the couch. Ordell still tries bullshit...

Ordell sits.

Ordell does...

Jackie turns the halogen lamp to light.

Jackie sits down on the couch, holding a gun in each hand, both pointed dead at Ordell.

A coffee table lays between them.

Ordell, hands behind his head, continues to mumble...

Ordell looks at her a moment and says;

Jackie shakes her head "no!"

Ordell, very interested.

Ordell just takes in what the woman said.

Ordell has to smile at the woman.

TIME CUT:

DOORWAY

Ordell goes throughFRAME, out the door, Jackie steps intoFRAME, and talks with him.

Ordell leaves.

Jackie shuts the door, and leavesFRAME.

OVER BLACK

We hear a knock-knock on the door.

FADE UP ON:

SAME SHOT DORWAY

Except it's day. Jackie in a bathrobe steps into FRAME and opens the door. She says to the yet- unseen-by-camera visitor;

She leavesFRAME, and Max enters it, closing the door behind him. Max stands by the door, a little surprised and a touch pissed at the nonchalantness.

As he stands on the threshold to her living room, waiting for her to return with the gun, feeling foolish, he thinks about hauling her ass back to the stockade. That'll change her expression, he'd bet.

She returns from the bedroom, gun in hand, wearing a sort of sad smile.

Then, as quickly as the anger rose in Max, it dissipates completely, leaving only curiosity.

Jackie head to the kitchen, making the coffee. Max sits at the dining table off of the kitchen.

She puts a finger in the coffeemaker and starts scooping coffee in it.

Jackie goes to the sink, filling the coffee pot.

She turns off the water.

Pouring water into the coffee machine.

She turns on the coffeemaker.

Jackie leaves the kitchen.

Max's eyes follow her to the living room.

Jackie ends her knees and goes through a stack of records leaned up against the wall on the floor.

She finds a record, takes it out of the pile, removes the album from the sleeve, and places it on her stereo turntable.

The song starts; it's an old romantic soul music number from the early seventies.

Jackie picks up her cigarettes off the coffee table.

Jackie enters the kitchen door frame by Max. She lights a cigarette and stands.

Max listens to the soul song.

They listen for a moment.

Jackie goes back in the kitchen. Coffee's almost there, but not quite. She pulls down two mugs from a cabinet.

She pours the coffee.

Jackie walks to the table with the two coffee mugs and sits down.

Max watches her a moment

Jackie takes a drink of coffee.

Jackie smiles.

Jackie smiles into her coffee.

Max smiles.

Jackie's smile grows bigger.

A.T.F. man, Ray Nicolet, moves down the hallway of the big building... ten heads for the office of Mark Dargus.

He reaches the closed door... raps on it.

Nicolet opens the door, revealing Dargus and Jackie Brown sitting in the office talking.

Jackie waves.

Dargus stands up and says to Jackie;

The two detectives step outside and close the door on Jackie as she pulls out her cigarettes.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Inside Dargus' office, smoking a Mild Seven.

Dargus and Nicolet come back inside.

The two cops look at each other.

Nicolet looks at Jackie.

TITLE CARD:

"LOUIS GARA & MELANIE"

FADE UP ON ON TV

Helmut Berger slaps a woman in the face with a newspaper, proclaiming he's the "mad dog." The film is an Italian Policier from the seventies.

Melanie sits in a comfy chair long-ways, bare legs hanging over the arm. As she watches the TV, she picks up a big bong with it's own handle. He takes a hit. Melanie's dressed in her usual Melanie-uniform of shorts and a loose top.

The front door opens, and Ordell and Louis walk through it carrying shopping bags.

We notice that Louis is sportin' new duds. Louis' new "look" is a retro seventies-style bowling shirt and black jeans.

Melanie notices the change.

Ordell notices the bong in her hand and the smoke in the air.

Melanie smiles.

Louis sits on the couch. He smiles at the comeback.

Melanie and Louis laugh.

The phone rings.

He picks it up.

No, Jackie, I didn't get your message.

Ordell gives her a "silence" gesture and look.

Melanie trades a look with Louis like "I'm in trouble," all the while smiling like a shark.

Louis smiles to himself.

Melanie holds up the bong, offering him a hit.

Ordell's on the phone.

Louis has the bong in front of him.

Melanie stays in her chair long-ways.

Louis takes it.

Ordell's on the phone.

Jackie sits at the bar talking on their phone. We see both sides.

Louis exhales his smoke, does an older man cough.

Ordell hangs up the phone.

Louis with a smile.

Melanie laughs.

Ordell takes the remote control and turns the station till he finds a channel with cartoons.

Melanie climbs out of the chair and walks Ordell to the door,

Ordell says to her in the doorway;

Melanie gives him a sarcastic, "Oh, you're so funny" look.

Ordell kisses her quick on the mouth, then says past her;

Ordell leaves and Melanie closes the door. She turns around and looks at Louis.

She crosses to the kitchen.

She goes into the kitchen and starts making her Metrix shake.

He looks around and spots something interesting.

TWO SMALL PHOTOGRAPHS

In a clear, plastic frame. Melanie, circa 1976, at about sixteen wearing roller-disco skates. Melanie, in a green setting, about five years ago, wearing a pretty Oriental-style dress, with a "smile for the camera" look on her face. The photo was obviously a picture of Melanie with somebody else that's been cut in half. Somebody's disembodied arm still rests on her shoulder.

Louis picks up the photo frame.

She looks and sees what he's talking about.

Louis walks over.

She hits Whip on her blender. It makes an infernal noise till she hits Stop!

Carrying the blender full of Metrix, she walks over and looks at the picture.

Melanie drinks her Metrix.

Melanie looks up at Louis.

OVER BLACK

SUBTITLE:

"THREE MINUTES LATER"

FADE UP:

LOUIS

Lies on the couch on his back and Melanie sits on top of him. They're going at it like a couple of fuck monkeys. Almost on the fade up, Louis cums.

She hops off andOUT OF FRAME.

CLOSEUPa rack of CDs all beginning with "D" are flipped through, till it stops on one CD, "The Best of the DELFONICS."

Max is standing in he soul music section o a music store. He lifts out the CD and turns it over.

It has the song Jackie played this morning.

He smiles and takes the CD up to the register.

CLOSEUPtheCOCKATOO INNneon sign, unlit during the day.

Ordell walks into the dark red cocktail lounge in the middle of the day and sees Jackie sitting at the bar drinking a white wine. Old-school soul plays on the jukebox. He sits next to her.

A black bartender namedFLOYDapproaches Ordell.

Jackie smiles.

Floyd makes Ordell's drink.

Floyd comes back with Ordell's screwdriver.

Ordell digs in his pocket and gives Floyd a five.

Floyd leaves.

Ordell freaks.

Jackie smiles.

Ordell smiles.

They both slap palms.

CLOSEUP –Louis taking a hit off Melanie's bong.

Louis and Melanie are back in the living room, kicking back, taking bong hits.

As Louis gets his hit, Melanie talks;

Louis finishes his hit and slides the bong back across the coffee table to Melanie.

Referring to the bong.

She starts preparing a bowl.

Melanie still preparing her bowl.

She takes a major bong hit... holds in the smoke... then while holding in the smoke, says;

Melanie lets out her stream of smoke and flashes her shark smile.

Melanie lets out a sarcastic laugh.

Jackie explaining the plan to Ordell.

They clink their glasses together.

CLOSEUP DIGITAL CLOCK

It flips to 11:00 P.M.

It's now getting late at night. Jackie comes home. She's dressed differently than she was at the Cockatoo. In fact, she looks like she's coming home from a date.

She walks into her bedroom... kicks off her shoes... takes her earring off, putting them on the night-stand by the bed... she sees that her answering machine is flashing. She hits play.

We begin aSLOW ZOOMinto the answering machine. Never seeing Jackie again.

The machine voice says;

Max's voice comes out of the machine.

FADE UP ON:

We se the huge Del Amo Mall from the parking area.

ASUBTITLEreads:

"DEL AMO MALL TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA LARGEST INDOOR MALL IN THE WORLD"

The Del Amo Mall on a lazy midday in the middle of the week. A few people, mostly black, mill around, but it's not like it is on the weekend.

The international food court, where fast-food versions of international cuisine are available to all the hungry Del Amo Mall shoppers.

Jackie and Ordell sit at a table in the food court. She drinks an iced tea from Teriyaki Donut. A collection of Broadway shopping bags sit on the table.

We join in mid-conversation.

We're outside the Del Amo UA Cinemas, a six-screen theater that's been in the Del Amo Mall since the early seventies. A small afternoon crowd is exiting the cinema, having just watched their matinee. Max Cherry is among them. He exits the theater, and strolls through the mall.

BACK TO JACKIE AND ORDELL

In the food court.

Ordell rises from the table.

Jackie moves a Broadway bag towards him.

He takes it.

We follow with Ordell out of the food court, when he stops...

... He see Max Cherry strolling through the mall.

Ordell almost steps into a store to get out of view. "What the fuck is Max Cherry doing here?"

As Ordell watches, he sees Max head towards the food court.

Max turns and sees Jackie siting there drinking her iced tea, smoking her Mild Seven, and smiling up at him.

Max smiles back.

He approaches her table.

BACK TO ORDELL

Watching Max sit down and make himself comfortable at Jackie's table.

BACK TO MAX AND JACKIE

With a smile on her face;

Max smiles.

Gesturing to the Broadway bags on the table.

Jackie nods her head "yes."

She shakes her head "no."

Jackie looks at him, "wow, that was a statement," but she doesn't say anything.

Max continues.

FLASH ON:

A RELEASE FORM

With a date on it. Jackie's hand is signing her name. WeWHIP UPand se her face, just as Max Cherry approaches her, handing her his business card.

BACK TO MAX AND JACKIE

FLASH ON

Max is dropping off Jackie at her apartment and saying goodbye.

Max finding no gun in his glove box.

Max in his office, taking another pistol from his drawer, and a stun gun.

BACK TO MAX AND JACKIE

Jackie takes a pause before saying;

Jackie smiles at him behind cigarette smoke.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Hold for a few beats, then...

TITLE CARD:

"MONEY EXCHANGE 10,000"

Over this card, we hear an airplane landing.

FADE UP:

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Back at work, standing at the exit of her plane. All the passengers are filtering out. She says goodbye.

Jackie, wearing her stewardess uniform, walks into the LAX parking structure, pulling her bad on wheels behind her.

Nicolet and Dargus are waiting for her.

Jackie smiles. They all fall in step towards Jackie's Honda.

The two cops and the black woman sit parked in her Honda. She, behind the wheel, Nicolet next to her in the passenger seat, Dargus in the backseat. Nicolet has the flight bag in his lap. He's taking out the manila envelope with the ten thousand inside. Their demeanor is very different from the first time they met. The three now almost act like friends.

Pointing to a small mike on his lapel.

He opens it and takes out the ten thousand dollars.

Nicolet finishes counting, then hushes them up.

She holds it up.

The huge Del Amo Mall.

The Del Amo Mall on another lazy midday in the middle of the week.

Max rides up an escalator in the mall. He casually strolls through the mall, goes into a cappuccino bar called "BUSTA CAP" across from the food court. Walking up to the counter;

Max checks his watch: 4:30. He looks over at the food court and spots Jackie sitting at a table by herself.

FLASH ON:

Jackie on the phone with Max, dressed for bed (long t-shirt and panties).

Max in his office on the phone.

BACK TO MAX AT THE MALL

He ponders his words as he watches her from a distance.

Jackie sits at a table by herself, eating Japanese food from Teriyaki Donut and drinking an iced tea. As she eats she hears;

Jackie looks up and sees a skinnyYOUNG GIRL, black, quite pretty, no older than twenty.

She holds a tray filled with tacos, enchiladas, rice and beans and a giant-sized Coke. She also has a Broadway shopping bag hanging from her arm.

The Young Girl does.

Jackie looks at her tray of food.

It would seem our Young Girl's from the South.

The Young Girl who hasn't looked right at Jackie since sitting down, bends sideways to glance under the table.

She looks up...

... then back down at her tray.

Sheronda starts eating, head down, hunching close to the tray.

Without raising her head, she shakes it from side to side.

Jackie takes out a pack of Davidoffs and lights one up with her yellow Bic. As she does this she observes Sheronda eating.

Without raising her head.

Sheronda hesitates, then says without raising her head.

Sheronda looks up at her...

... She looks back down.

Jackie picks up Sheronda's bag and leaves.

Max drinking his cafè mocha sans whipped cream, watches Jackie leave the Young Girl and with Broadway bag in hand, walk out of the food court.

Max watches her walk down the mall when two young men in sport coats, jeans, and cowboy boots step out of a B. Dalton bookstore, stop her and begin talking. Knowing they must be Nicolet and Dargus, he watches one of them take the Broadway bag from Jackie and look inside. They talk for a minute – it would seem about nothing too serious. Jackie nods her head, listens to the two cops, nods her head again, and then walks off.

As he watches her walk away from the cops...

FLASH ON:

JACKIE AND MAX ON PHONE

BACK TO MAX AT MALL

Max watches the two cops turn their attention to the young girl eating in the food court.

Max watches her, too. The Young Girl continues to work her way through her Mexican food, when she turns her head to anOLDER BLACK WOMANsitting at the next table. The older woman says something, and the younger woman hands her the ashtray Jackie was using.

Max watches the Young Girl finish her food and get up from the table. She stoops down to get the Broadway shopping bag and walks out of the food court.

Max watches Nicolet and Dargus let the Young Girl get a little ahead, then follow after her. They're gone.

Max turns back on the older woman all alone.

She finishes the coffee she was drinking and stands up, carrying – how about that? – A Broadway shopping bag. The woman heads out of the mall.

Max follows her.

The older woman walks past us. She heads straight for the exit.

Max follows the woman outside.

She walks down a line of cars, then gets in a big, tan Mercury sedan. She drives of...

... but not before Max writes down her license plate number.

FLASH ON:

MAX AND JACKIE ON PHONE

Max climbs into his Seville, starts her up, and drives out of the parking lot.

CLOSEUP MAX

Driving down the street, lost in thought.

He hits 'play' on the dash CD player. The Delfonics fill the cab of the Caddy.

A garage door is lifted open, revealing Ordell and Louis.

Ordell and Louis are at Mr. Robbie's storage facility. AVANis backed up nect to the opening. The facility is pitch black. Ordell ahs a big flashlight in his hand.

He turns on the flashlight.

He shines the beam into darkness. We see the facility is filled to the gills with machine guns, shotguns, uzis, a rocket launcher, and handguns of many types.

Ordell opens the back doors of the van. They start unloading machine guns and boxes of ammo.

They both laugh together.

Ordell stops unloading.

Ordell looks at him.

Louis starts unloading.

EXTREME CLOSEUP –Jackie's finger presses a small black button next to the handwritten name, "M. RALSTON."

EXTREME CLOSEUP SPEAKER BOX

JACKIE

Bends down to talk in the speaker.

Jackie walks down the hallway and finds the door.

She rings the doorbell.

The door opens, she sees Melanie (for the first time) on the other side. Melanie, dressed in a t- shirt, cut offs, doesn't say a word – just turns around and walks away.

Once Melanie leaves, she sees Ordell standing inside the apartment, screwdriver in hand, yelling after Melanie;

He turns his attention to Jackie.

Jackie steps inside.

She sees Louis (for the first time) sitting on the couch.

Ordell says to Louis, but loud enough for Melanie in the other room to hear;

Melanie comes out of the bedroom with her sunglasses, sandals, bag strung across her shoulders and her keys in her hand. She makes a bee-line towards the door without saying nothin' to nobody.

The doorSLAMSbehind her.

Ordell looks to Jackie, raises his screwdriver and says;

Ordell and Jackie on the balcony.

Ordell tries to stop the hostile back and forth.

Ordell opens the sliding glass and says to Louis in the living room;

Louis gets up to make the call.

Ordell turns back to Jackie and smiles, holding up his screwdriver.

Ordell and Jackie sit on stools around the kitchen counter/bar. Louis sits with them on the phone, silent.

Louis shakes his head.

Louis hangs up the phone and joins the debriefing.

Jackie's pager goes off. She looks at it.

Ordell walks Jackie to the elevator.

They reach the elevator. She presses the button.

The elevator arrives. Jackie steps in.

... the elevator shuts... As it shuts Ordell yells;...

... the door shuts.

CLOSEUP ORDELL

He doesn't like the last piece of new information.

The Strand is the hip surfer street in downtown Hermosa Beach. Jackie leaves the apartment building. She walks to her car when she spots a funky little beach bar called, "Sally Leroy's."

Sally Leroy's is a beach bar with surfboards, different beer signs, and pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, James Dean, Ann Margaret, and surfers riding monster waves all over the place.

TheJUKEBOXplays a loud seventies rock number.

BEGINNING OF SHOT

The camera picks Jackie up through the window, walking into the place and going up to the bar...

A female bartender in her mid-twenties, wearing a plaid workshirt, namedWANDA, goes to Jackie.

... We follow with her to the back of the bar... theMUSICisLOUD... the phone booth is occupied by a fat olderGUYwearing surf clothes and sporting a mustache like a walrus. Jackie waits for him to finish his call... As she waits, theCAMERA MOVES BACK... until a blonde head of hair comes into the f.g....

TheCAMERA MOVESaround to aCLOSEUP ON MELANIE, sucking on a beer, moving her head to the music, and watching Jackie. She smiles and stepsOUT OF FRAME.

END OF SHOT

Jackie hears behind her;

Jackie turns and sees Melanie holding a beer, standing behind her.

Jackie turns to leave.

Jackie looks at her a moment.

Wanda approaches.

Wanda goes away. Jackie and Melanie sit at the bar. TheMUSICisLOUD, and they have to talk over it. Melanie moves her head to it during the conversation.

Jackie nods "yes."

Melanie makes a face to show pain.

Wanda brings the drinks.

Melanie digs in her purse for the money.

Melanie takes her Jaeger shot, lets it go down, then continues.

Jackie nods 'yes', as she sips her beer.

Jackie smiles.

Jackie leaves.

CLOSEUP MELANIE

Watches her go.

Jackie and Nicolet sit at a steakhouse eating a steak dinner. Nicolet drinks beer, Jackie drinks white wine.

FLASH ON:

NICOLET AND DARGUS

In a car, parked, on surveillance.

COPS POV

Louis with the van, at the storage facility.

MUG SHOT SIMONE

The older woman in the mall.

BACK TO BAR

Max sits on the couch in Jackie's apartment drinking white wine.

Jackie paces in front of him, white wine in one hand, Davidoff in the other, going over the details of tomorrow. One could notice a slight change in Jackie.

There's a bit of an edge to Miss Brown that's bubbling underneath her cool surface. It's understandable. After all, she's been the architect of this half-a-million dollars switcheroo. She's moved heaven and earth to make all the pieces fall into place, and all the players thnk what she wants them to think.

As she talks to Max she knows tomorrow all her hard work will either fail or succeed. But don't take this difference the wrong way. This edge I'm referring to is not one born out of fear (Jackie's nervous, but she's not afraid). It's more the edge an athlete might feel before an all- important competition.

BACK TO JACKIE WITH NICOLET

MEDIUM JACKIE

BACK TO JACKIE AND MAX

The phone rings.

EXTREME CLOSEUP –Ordell on the phone

Melanie is lying on the couch, sprawled out like a cat. Louis sits at the other end of the couch. They're watching "Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry" on TV.

ON TV

Peter Fonda and Susan George make jokes as they're pursued by police cars.

They can hear Ordell on the phone. Melanie smiling at Louis, flirtatiously and conspiratorially lifts her bare foot and rubs his arm with it. Louis turns to her and gives her a look that says: "I'm not on your side, bitch. So knock it of."

Melanie sees this and takes her foot away.

Louis turns back to the television.

CLOSEUP MELANIE

Looks at Louis for a moment, then sighs, saying under her breath;

TITLE CARD:

"MONEY EXCHANGE 550,000"

FADE UP:

A GRAPHIC MAP

With Mexico and California on it. On the Mexico side we see "CABO SAN LUCAS" with a big circle around it. On the California side we see "LAX" in a similar circle. The tiny figure of a blackAIRPLANEappears in the Cabo circle. With appropriateSOUND EFFECTSit takes off from Cabo, flying towards LAX, leaving a dotted line behind it. TheCAMERAmoves into a CLOSEUPof the little black airplane.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Looking down...

Rearranging her bag. The five hundred thousand inside takes up half the space. She tucks lingerie around the edges, covers the money with blouses, shoes, and skirts and ties I all down tight. Then places a fat envelope with fifty thousand right on top.

Jackie steps out of the bathroom, walks down the aisle, and is stopped by aPASSENGER.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME: 3:00"

Jackie steps into the LAX parking structure, pulling her bag on wheels behind her.

Waiting for her is Ray Nicolet.

They fall into step towards her car.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

This information stops Jackie in her tracks.

JACKIE'S POV

Nicolet, who kept walking when Jackie stopped, looks back at Jackie.

Jackie starts walking again

Jackie and Nicolet in the parked car. Ray has the flight bag in his lap.

He unzips it.

He sees the clothes with the envelope on top.

Jackie watches all of this.

He puts the envelope back in the bag and feels through the folds of a skirt.

Jackie, cool.

Nicolet's fingers move to a pair of black heels wedged into the side... they touch the shoes... then move over to the envelope, opens the clasp and takes out five rubber-banded bond packets of loot.

Max Cherry sits behind his desk.WINSTON POWELL, the big black guy from the photo, is at the other desk on the phone. Max looks at his watch.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME: 3:30"

Max stands up, takes the sport coat from the back of his chair, putsit on, and walks over to Winston's desk. Winston, still on the phone, looks up.

Winston goes back to the phone.

Max walks out of the office.

Sam's Hoffin Braur (German for beer garden) is a strip joint bar in downtown L.A.

Ordell's on the pay phone. ASTRIPPERstrips in the b.g.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME: 3:47"

Louis stands in the empty living room, talking to Ordell on the phone. Kate Bush plays in the b.g.

Ordell snaps at Louis, not so harsh Louis is forced to retaliate, but enough to express his loss of patience.

He hangs up on Louis.

Louis, pissed at being hung up on and talked to like that, hangs up the phone and turns his frustration where it rightly belongs – Melanie.

Louis stomps towards the bedroom where the music's playing.

MONTAGE

We see a montage of the individual characters in route to the mall.

JACKIE

In her Honda, smoking a cigarette, looking cool as usual, driving to the mall. Her car plays seventies soul.

MAX

In his Cadillac Seville, cruising down Hawthorne Boulevard to the mall. He plays hid Delfonics CD.

LOUIS AND MELANIE

In Melanie's Toyota drive towards the mall. Melanie drives singing along with Kate Bush on her car stereo.

Jackie's car pulls up to a lined parking space in the parking lot.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME 3:52"

Jackie gets out of the Honda with her flight bag. She goes to her hatchback, takes a Robinson's/May bag, lines the first half of the bag with old paperbacks.

Then takes out of the flight bag the envelope with the fifty-thousand marked dollars, takes one packet of ten thousand, and puts it in her pocket. She lines the envelope with forty thousand across the books, then fills the rest of the bag with beach towels.

Then with her flight bag slung over her shoulder, carrying the Robinson's/May bag and with all the confidence of a world champion prize fighter going into the ring, she strides toward the hugs mall.

Jackie enters the mall. She looks at the people buzzing around. Any one of them could be surveillance.

She calmly walks down the mall, then turns into the Roinson's/May store.

Jackie, in her Cabo Air uniform, walks up to a young Asian saleswoman named Amy in the Robinson's/May designer clothing area.

The saleswoman smiles when she sees Jackie.

Jackie steps out of the fitting room wearing a real sharp, badass, black suit with a white blouse.

Jackie moves over to the mirror, and checks herself out.

Jackie studies her reflection.

Jackie walks into the fitting room.

She walks down the fitting room hallway with changing cubicles on her right, enters the last one.

She closes the door and sits down on the bench in between her flight bag full of money and the Robinson's/May bag.

A full-length mirror is straight I front of her. She looks at herself... when someone comes into the stall next to her.

Melanie's voice comes from the other side of the wall.

A Robinson's/May bag, like Jackie's, filled with towels, comes sliding underneath the stall.

Jackie picks up her Robinson's/May bag, filled with books, towels and the marked forty- thousand dollars.

She takes the loose packet of ten-thousand marked dollars and lies it on top of the bag.

As she does all this Melanie continues talking.

Jackie slides the Robinson's/May bag with money under the stall.

Melanie sees the money on top and stops talking.

We hear theSOUNDof Melanie leaving.

Jackie then transfers the half of a million dollars out of her flight bag into Melanie's Robinson's/May bag. She sticks her uniform in the flight bag.

Then takes the towels and puts them on top of the money. She grabs her flight bag and leaves, leaving behind the Robinson's/May bag filled with half of a million dollars.

Jackie, looking sharp in her new suit but acting a touch frantic and anxious, walks rapidly toward the sales counter where Amy waits for her.

As Jackie and the salesgirl complete their transaction theCAMERA CIRCLESthem, SLOWLYat first, but moreRAPIDLYeach go-around. They complete the transaction and as Jackie starts to leave, she stops and says to Amy;

She leaves. We follow her...

... Jackie walks out of Robinson's/May hurriedly into the main mall. The calm, cool stride we're used to with Jackie is completely gone.

She stops, looks around, head darting from one direction to another. She looks in a panic. The CAMERAbegins to twirl around her. She seems to be looking for something she doesn't see. She looks helpless and on the verge of tears.

As the twirlingCAMERAcircles her, she screams;

TheCAMERAstops twirling.

Nicolet, Dargus, and two other plainclothes cops, come running out of a store towards Jackie. As they reach her, a frantic Jackie yells;

Louis and Melanie pull up to a lined parking space in Melanie's Toyota.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME: 4:12"

Louis is the first out of the car.

WeSTEDICAMin front of them, Louis the rapid pacesetter, pulling Melanie behind him by the hand. Melanie carries the Robinson's/May switch bag.

They go inside Robinson's/May...

... WeSTEDICAMinto Robison's/May with them. We lose them for a moment behind racks of dresses and mannequins, but end up landing on Jackie in her black suit, looking in a mirror and talking to Amy on the Designer Clothes floor.

WePANaway and find Louis and Melanie by a dress rack, watching Jackie.

Louis' hand immediately goes to his forehead and touches dampness.

Louis shoots Melanie a hard convict look.

Melanie smiles at him, feeling the stare, but too much of a natural-born smart ass to change.

Louis looks over at the fitting room. Jackie is going inside it, and the saleswoman is walking away towards him.

He watches the saleswoman walk by him, then looks back in time to see Melanie enter the fitting room.

He decides he's watching the fitting room entrance too much, so he starts throwing his look around when he sees something that stops him cold.

MAX CHERRY

Max is looking at dresses, paying no attention to the fitting room.

He thinks, 'what the fuck is Max Cherry doing here?'

Max, doing what he's doing, looks up and sees Louis staring at him across the floor. Max smiles and gives Louis a wave before turning his back to him and continues to do what he was doing.

He quickly looks around the store to see anything else; any more surprise guests, possible police surveillance. Everything looks normal. The saleswoman is behind the register ringing up Jackie's purchase. The few customers there are doing customer stuff.

Then he sees Melanie come out with a Robinson's/May bag and head down a different aisle.

He hurries down his aisle and cuts her off. Their whole fight is said tense and low.

She tries to push past him, and he catches her by her arm and pulls her around.

Melanie realizes Louis ain't fuckin' kiddin'. Not only that, this old guy looks close to buggin'. She lets go of the bag.

He takes it. They start walking. WeSTEDICAMin front of them.

Louis has had enough of her slang and says tensely through gritted teeth;

In mid-walk, Melanie asks him;

Louis stops dead. He looks around, confused.

Pissed, he leavesFRAME. Melanie, wearing her Melanie smirk, follows behind.

Louis, clutching the shopping bag close to his chest, walks rapidly down an aisle of parked cars.

Melanie follows close behind.

WeSTEDICAMalongside. We walk for awhile, Louis changes direction to another aisle. WE'RENOW IN FRONTof him. We see he has a searching look on his face.

Louis doesn't answer.

Melanie laughs.

Louis could kill her right now. Just take his gun out of his pants and shoot her in her snickering face. But instead of doing what he wants, he does what he should. He doesn't answer of look back. (If he looked back and saw that Melanie-smirk, he couldn't e responsible for what happens.)He changes directions, cuts down another aisle and hopes for both their sakes she shuts the fuck up.

But our Melanie just keeps on being Melanie.

They walk it; it's not it.

Louis changes direction and cuts between some cars to the next one.

In between two cars, Louis spins on her.

Melanie was surprised by the spin, but is about to say something anyway when Louis put his hand up and says;

That did it!

Louis whips out the Beretta Ordell gave him, shoots her... BAM... in the belly.

She bouncesOFFone of the cars and goes down.

BAM... Louis shoots her again on the ground.

One; to make sure. Two; cause it felt good.

Then he hurries of for his car.WE FOLLOW IN FRONT OF HIM. He looks around, then yells out;

He hops in the car, and throws it into reverse.

We can se Melanie's bare legs sticking out from a row of cars. Louis stops the Toyota alongside the dead Melanie, and yells through the passenger window;

He drives away.

Max Cherry's Cadillac Seville pulls up to a lined space in the parking lot.

SUBTITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TIME: 4:04"

Max gets out of his car and casually strolls towards the Del Amo Mall.

Max, hands in pocket, strolls unhurriedly through the Robinson's/May store.

He walks around the store, keeping one eye peeled toward the Designer Clothes section. He walks up to a jewelry counter and begins looking at he pieces in the display case, when a pretty, youngSALESGIRLcomes up to him.

She goes off.

He looks towards Designer Clothes and sees Jackie walking out of the fitting room wearing the cool black suit.

Jackie moves over to the mirror and checks herself out.

Max looks back to the jewelry display case, saying under his breath;

Jackie looks at her reflection in the mirror. Then she lifts her eyes, meeting Max's across the room. Max gives her a nod of his head to show he approves. Jackie smiles and breaks contact, turning to Amy. We hear her say from a distance. "This looks pretty good on me."

Max hears a commotion behind him and turns to see Louis and Melanie hurriedly making their way towards Designer Clothes.

He turns his attention back to browsing through dresses on a rack.

He sees Louis and Melanie squabbling.

He sees Jackie disappear into the fitting room.

He sees Amy leaving the fitting room entrance.

He watches Melanie, by herself, watch Amy leave. Melanie watches the fitting room for a few moments. Gathering her courage, then makes her move, entering the fitting room.

Max smiles to himself, "so far so good" he thinks. He throws a look towards Louis, only to see Louis staring dead at him with an unhappy look on his face. Max returns the look with a smile and a wave then turns his back on his before he can see a reaction.

Max continues his fake browsing.

He sees Melanie come out of the fitting room carrying a Robinson's/May bag close to her chest.

She and Louis disappear.

He sees Jackie come out of the fitting room, go over to Amy and buy the dress. Jackie goes into her act, acting agitated and distracted as she talks to Amy, pays with cash, then leaves stopping to say;

She's gone.

Amy is left alone by the cashier counter.

It's Max's turn.

As Max looks at Amy, then at the fitting room entrance, he says to himself;

Max takes a few moments...

... then walks over to Amy.

Max walks toward the fitting room, enters it, walks down the length of stalls, and stops in front of the last one.

He opens the door to the stall. Sitting in the corner is the Robinson's/May bag. He walks over to it, lifts out the towels, and sees all that money. He replaces the towels, picks up the bag and leaves. HE walks across the Designer Clothes, passes by Amy, says;

Max walks unhurriedly toward the door that leads to the parking lot.

He's outside; nobody's stopped him. He keeps walking towards his blue Seville. He keeps walking unhurriedly, never looking back. He gets to his car, uses opening the car door as an excuse to look back at the mall.

It's normal. Nobody's after him, nobody's watching him. He made it. It worked.

Max allows himself a smile, gets into his Cadillac with his half-a-million bucks and drives away.

Ordell sits at the bar in Sam's drinking a screwdriver and watching a stripper strip.

The bartender hands him the phone.

Ordell takes the receiver.

A stressed Louis drives the Toyota, calling Ordell on Ordell's tiny cellular.

LOUIS

I haven't even looked at it yet, it's still in the shopping bag.

Louis hears the phone disconnect.

The Toyota pulls up to the back of the bar. Ordell hops in, the car takes off.

Oredell in the passenger seat, bends over to the backseat, grabs the shopping bag, and brings it to his lap. He looks like a kid at Christmas.

Ordell just looks at him.

Ordell still doesn't say anything... then says;

Ordell shrugs it off, and digs into the shopping bag. He pulls out the towels and sees forty- thousand dollars on top of a bunch of paperbacks. His stomach drops. He just looks inside the bag for the longest time.

Louis drives, oblivious to Ordell's dilemma.

Louis looks at Ordell;

Louis pulls it over, and stops on Ninth.

Ordell opens the glove box and takes out the Beretta. He smells the end of the barrel. He releases the magazine.

Ordell looks at him. Louis didn't burn him.

CLOSEUP ORDELL

He thinks.

CLOSEUP JACKIE

Holding a bunch of money, looking into the camera, and saying with a smile;

CLOSEUP ORDELL

Jackie's gonna die. He slaps the magazine back into the Beretta.

It gets real quiet in the car, as Louis remembers something.

Ordell has to look away from Louis, takes a beat, then looks back.

Louis gets mad.

Louis turns into the hard convict on the yard, and tells Ordell;

We hear a BAM.

Louis jerks.

Ordell shot him.

Louis falls back against the car door, eyes wide open, staring at Ordell.

Ordell takes the pistol, works the barrel up higher on Louis' side, right under him arm, and shoots him again.

This time Louis' headBANGSagainst the car door window. He slumps over – his life gone.

Ordell looks at him.

Ordell takes the bag and gets out of the car, leaving Louis' dead body there.

MEDIUM NICOLET

Jackie, still dressed in her cool black suit, sits in a chair in Nicolet's office. Davidoff between the fingers of one hand, she holds a small, white styrofoam cup of coffee in he other.

Ray stands.

Nicolet looks at Jackie for a moment.

A YOUNG WOMAN A.T.F SURVEILLANCE AGENT

Pretends to shop. She watches Louis grab Melanie.

BACK TO OFFICE

Dargus comes to the doorway...

They both leave, leaving Jackie all by herself in the room, smoking.

They both come back in.

Nicolet continues, Dargus takes a seat in the corner saying nothing.

Jackie listens.

CLOSEUP ORDELL

On the phone.

Ordell turn to a glassy-eyed black female junkie nodding on the couch namedRAYNELLE. The filthy apartment we're in belongs to her.

He dials another number.

Winston behind his desk, on the phone.

A YOUNG BLACK COMEDIAN ON TV

Def Comedy Jam plays on TV, a black comedian does a nasty stand-up routine.

Ordell and Raynelle sit on the couch watching Def Comedy Jam; neither one is laughing. Raynelle's too stoned. Ordell's too tense. The phone rings, he jumps on it

Max on the other end behind his desk. Winston sitting on the edge of the desk listening.

Ordell's up and off the couch pacing.

Ordell doesn't say anything.

Ordell doesn't say anything.

Ordell hangs up. Back in control. He looks to the TV. One of the COMEDIANS cracks a joke. Ordell laughs.

Max looks at Winston.

A low-rent motel. We hear a phone ring inside one of the rooms.

Jackie lies on a hotel bed, wearing a long t-shirt and panties, watching TV that's chained to the wall.

She answers the phone.

Max on the phone in his office, alone.

This gets her attention. She picks up the remote to the TV set and zaps the sound.

Jackie gets off the bed.

Jackie lights up a Davidoff.

Phone in one hand, smoke in the other, Jackie begins pacing back and forth.

Jackie takes a drag.

Max at the front door or Raynelle's apartment. He pounds on the door.

Ordell throws open the door.

He looks past Max.

Max enters, Ordell slams the door.

As Ordell turns away from the door, Maxis reaching into his coat. Ordell brings his Beretta up at Max.

Max freezes, his hand in his coat pocket.

He takes his hand out, it's holding stack of bills wrapped in a rubber band. He tosses it to Ordell, who catches it with his free hand.

Max does this, Ordell pats him down.

Max does.

Jackie on the phone with Ordell, sitting behind Max's desk.

She hangs up the phone. Then starts dialing again...

ASTEDICAMglides through the apartment, it falls on a beeper "beeping", a gun, a wallet and car keys on a dresser drawer... it leaves that and lands on a TV screen: Tom Snyder is interviewing a guest on his show ... it leaves that and falls on two empty and one quarter-filled beer bottles... it leaves that and falls on a sleeping Ray Nicolet passed out in his reclining chair. The sound of Tom Snyder and the faint beeping are heard offscreen.

They leave the apartment walking to Max's car.

Max hands him the keys. They climb in.

Jackie sitting behind the desk. She opens the drawer to her right, Max's .38 sits there. She closes the drawer.

Ordell behind the wheel, Max the passenger. Ordell plays the radio, he likes the song and turns it up.

BACK TO JACKIE

Sitting alone in the office, she gets up and turns off the lights. The office goes dark. No music.

BACK TO ORDELL AND MAX

The song playsLOUD. Ordell moves his head to the music slightly. Mak sits silently in the passenger seat, sneaking a look at Ordell every once in a while.

BACK TO JACKIE

Sitting behind Max's desk in the dark. She takes out her Davidoffs and lights one up with her Bic. Her face is illuminated for a moment – then it's out. She exhales a drag. No music.

BACK TO ORDELL

CLOSEUP ORDELL

His face is ice, the music is LOUD.

BACK TO JACKIE

CLOSEUP JACKIE

She's cool as a breeze, smoking her brand. No music.

BACK TO ORDELL AND MAX

Music isLOUD. Ordell's driving. Max says;

BACK TO JACKIE

Sitting behind Max's desk. Headlights shine in the window. She is lit by them. She puts out her Davidoff and sits back in the chair. The light source cuts off.

BACK TO ORDELL AND MAX

Sitting in the parked Cadillac. Ordell has just turned off the lights and turns to Max, Beretta in hand.

They both get out of the Cadillac. Ordell sticks his gun in his pants.

Max steps in front of him, puts his keys in the lock and opens the door.

Max does.

Max sees; Jackie sitting at his desk in the dark.

Ordell sees this, too and moves past Max.

Max sees; Ordell moves past him... then he sees the bathroom door on the left side of the desk open, throwing light into the room, onto Jackie and the figure who steps out of the bathroom... Mark Dargus.

Max sees; Ordell looks to Dargus, then back to Jackie. Then Jackie says;

Max sees; Ordell almost jumps, his arm goes to the Beretta in his pants...

... just as Dargus raises his gun andSHOOTShim three times in the chest...

... Ordell drops o the ground like a sack of potatoes, he lands at Max's feet.

Max looks down and sees Ordell's head by his shoes, look of panic still on his face, dead as fried chicken.

Max sees Dargus come over, bending on one nee next to Ordell's body.

Max looks over at Jackie, still behind the desk. She looks eyes with Max for a moment, then stands and walks over to the body.

Then Max seesONE SHERIFF DEPUTYstep out of the dark holding a shogun ... then another... then Winston step out of the bathroom.

Dargus looks up at Max;

Max still shaken;

Dargus reaches in and pulls out the envelope containing the forty-thousand marked dollars.

Max looks at Jackie.

She looks down at the dead Ordell with no expression, just light up another Davidoff.

Dargus looks up at Max;

Dargus looks down at he man he just killed.

Dargus looks up and nods his head.

She takes a drag on her Davidoff.

As opposed to the last scene late at night, it's early morning. Max sits at his desk, filling out a report.

A SUB-TITLE APPEARS BELOW:

"TEN DAYS LATER"

Max hears someone go;

Max looks up and sees Jackie Brown, standing in the doorway. She smiles at him.

MAX FLASHES ONJackie behind the desk.

Dargus shoots Ordell, Ordell drops.

BACK TO OFFICE

Max smiles back.

Jackie walks toward him.

She sits in the chair in front of his desk.

Pause between them.

Max hesitates.

He smiles and gets up from the desk.

As she stands, Jackie says;

They walk outside and Max sees Ordell's black Mercedes convertible.

She walks around to the other side of the car, and looks at him across the black Mercedes.

He shakes his head 'no.'

Jackie smiles.

He shakes his head 'no.'

Max doesn't say anything.

Max smiles and holds up two fingers, close to each other.

Jackie smiles back.

Max does.

They give each other a long, tender kiss.

She breaks it.