2. EXT. NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE (CIRCA 1920)
We start out by seeing a radiant sunset on a fairly new
Statue of Liberty circa 1920.
JOHN (V.O.)
You know, New York’s not the worst
place to grow up.
John swings a wooden baseball bat swiftly at a man tied up
in a chair.
JOHN (V.O.) (CONT’D)
It has its ups and downs just like
any other city on Earth.
The man in the chair is wearing a white dress shirt and
brown slacks, accompanied by brown suspenders. The man’s
injured and bloody face raises up and stares at the camera
JOHN (V.O.) (CONT’D)
Just... In Brooklyn... There are
more downs.
The baseball bat quickly connects with the tied up man’s
temple. The force of the swing knocks the chair over, along
with the man bound to it.
EXT. ELLIS ISLAND - MID DAY (1905)
A large ship is docked at Ellis Island. Thousands of
immigrants of all cultures are being checked in by uniformed
police officers. (cut to) A family steps off of the boat.
The FATHER is tall, bearded, and holding a medium sized bag
filled with most of the family’s belongings. The son is
around the age of six and holding a suit case next to the
short, frail MOTHER. Next to the side of the boy is his
SISTER of the same age.
INT. SMALL TENEMENT ROOM
The two bedroom apartment is borderline filthy, yet quaint,
as if the Mother had tried her hardest at making squalor a
paradise. The children are in the lukewarm bathtub listening
to the ferocious arguing of a frightened Mother and a
drunken Father.
MOTHER
We can’t raise two children on a
railroad workers salary when it’s
being spent on whiskey every night.
3. 2.
The drunken Father slaps the sturdy, yet scared, mother.
Stumbling out the door, the father takes a shot of whiskey
out of the bottle and then slams the door. The mother checks
on the children in the rickety bathtub. The children are
un-phased by the incident.
EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS (1915)
A man is shouting in Yiddish as he chases FOUR TEENAGE BOYS
grinning teenage boys out of his store. The boys are running
as if they were being chased by rabid wolves.
JOHN (V.O.)
Eddie, Richard, Will, and me were
always getting into shit. Partially
because we had to, but mostly
because we liked to. If you’re
going to steal five dollars worth
of merchandise, you might as well
take the money out of the drawer,
too.
The four boys are seen smoking cigarettes in a dirty, damp
alley in mid-day, admiring the twenty five dollars they
robbed the immigrant shop keeper for.
JOHN (V.O.) (CONT’D)
We all grew up with the same
upbringing really. Eddie never knew
who his dad was and his mother was
a whore just trying to support her
four kids. Richard’s father was
always a good guy. Just a modest
tailor trying to make a living. His
wife ended up cheating on him when
Richard was eight, so it’s always
been just him and his dad. Will is
a run-of-the-mill Brooklyn hoodlum
wanting to raise hell. I’ve just
kind of... Well... just been here I
guess.
The four boys start moderatley strolling down the alley. The
boy on the left flicks his cigarette into a puddle as they
all continue walking.
EDDIE
So, what are gonna do today?
RICHARD
I haven’t the slightest idea. I’m
tired of stealing cigarettes and
soda from every vendor in town.
(CONTINUED)
4. CONTINUED: 3.
WILL
But... Since that’s all there is to
do...
The four boys take off sprinting down the road.
INT. BUTCHER SHOP IN BROOKLYN
As the four boys approach the Jewish-owned butcher, they
glare at the deli-cuts and fresh cut steaks presenting
themselves in the storefront, up for grabs. The boys walk
into the store to act as if they are browsing. While they
scan the aisles and walls, they catch a glimpse of three men
in the back; the portly, balding store owner, a stocky man
in a dark blue suit and tie, and a man with a black trench
coat and a black bowler hat on. The stocky man approaches
the seated store owner.
JOHN
What do you think is going on back
there?
EDDIE
A pair of guys in suits is never a
good thing...
WILL
I’m going to try to get closer!
Will starts to creep through the aisles, as if he were a
lion stalking prey. As he approaches the doorway into the
back room where the men are speaking, a THUD permeates from
the back.
RICHARD
Shit!
The four boys bolt from the butcher shop with nothing in
hand. While sprinting out of the store, John catches a
glimpse of the store owner who is now a corpse lying fare
down on a table. A bloody ice pick protrudes from the top of
his skull.
EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS
The Four Boys are winded with their hearts racing attempting
to catch their breaths a few blocks from the butcher shop.
WILL
What the fuck just happened back
there?
(CONTINUED)
5. CONTINUED: 4.
EDDIE
I don’t know and I really don’t
want to know. They had fucking
suits on!
JOHN
Maybe we should just leave it be...
The Four Boys continue to walk down the alley smoking
cigarettes, trying to grasp what they had just seen.
INT. JOHN AND HIS SISTERS BEDROOM - NIGHT
John tosses and turns as he listens to the muffled sounds of
arguing coming from the kitchen.
JOHN (V.O.)
That never bothered me... My Father
hitting my Mother like that. I
guess because I was used to it. I
know he loved her, we all have
problems though. After I saw that
dead guy, I started to get used to
that too.
EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS - WINTER
The unfinished New York streets are covered in a fresh
blanket of snow as John treks down the road in little more
than a pair of slacks, a brown button up shirt, a pair of
suspenders, and a brown tweed cap. As John walks down the
road, a black Rolls Royce steadily creeps by his side with a
sharp-looking older man in the back seat, clad in all black.
The man speaks with an odd dialect, but he speaks English
well nonetheless.
Z’EV
Going anywhere in particular?
John hesitantly raises his head to examine the
unrecognizable figure in the back seat. As his head raises,
he instantly makes out the figure in the back seat of the
car. It is the man, who months prior, ordered the killing of
the butcher shop owner.
JOHN
I’m not really certain, sir. Just
walking aimlessly I suppose.
(CONTINUED)
6. CONTINUED: 5.
Z’EV
You can get in the car, that is, if
you feel so inclined.
Remembering the atrocity the man had committed months
earlier, John feels hesitant to enter the car. As John
stares at the man for a few seconds, he feels drawn in to
the car and acts on his impulse.
INT. Z’EV’S ROLLS ROYCE
As John enters the car, he’s greeted by an eerie presence.
The driver of the automobile is dressed in a black suit with
a white dress shirt and black tie, accompanied by a black
driver’s cap and black driving gloves. The driver gently
steps on the gas peddle and smoothly accelerates down the
street.
Z’EV
Have you lived in Brooklyn your
whole life, son?
JOHN
Well, sir, since as long as I can
remember. My family moved here from
Poland when I was young. New York
is the only place I’ve ever
recalled living.
Z’EV
Do you enjoy this bustling city?
JOHN
For the most part...
Z’EV
Even in the company of a pathetic
mother, an alcoholic father?
John gives a puzzled, yet threatening, glance at Z’EV as the
older man takes a drag from a freshly lit cigarette. Z’EV
calmly gazes out out of the window while smoking his
cigarette.
Z’EV
You are wondering why I know you
and you do not know me. How you saw
my associate here (points to the
driver) have complete disregard for
another man’s life.
Z’EV slowly takes a drag from his cigarette.
(CONTINUED)
7. CONTINUED: 6.
Z’EV (CONT’D)
You are probably also wondering who
I am and why I am talking to you,
yes?
JOHN
I suppose.
Z’EV
John, I am the oil that makes this
machine known as Brooklyn operate
smoothly. I make it possible for
you and your friends to parade
around these streets without
getting your fucking balls smashed
by every WOP and drunken Irishman
this city. What you saw at that
butcher shop was not a vulgar
display of power, it was business.
That is how a Jew has to run his
business, for if he doesn’t, he’ll
be seen as just another number
stepping off of a boat. Do you
understand?
JOHN
I believe so, sir.
Z’EV
Much like any other expanding
venture, a savvy business owner
must be able to trust his
management. If need be, he must be
able to trust his management with
not only the company itself, but
the integrity of that company. Do
you understand?
JOHN
Yes, sir. But, what are you getting
at?
Z’EV
Honestly, John, I’ve been waiting
to have my accomplice here take a
hatchet and butcher you and your
family much like that dead
butcher’s line of work.
Fortunately, you or your friends
said nothing to the police,
therefore, your father lives to
drink another pint and your mother
lives to make another meal, and I
have a potential employee.
(CONTINUED)
8. CONTINUED: 7.
John starts to grow more frightened as the automobile
steadily moves through the snowy streets of Brooklyn.
JOHN
I don’t know if I can help you,
sir...
Z’EV
You really don’t have a choice,
John. What are you and your friends
going to do? Go home every night to
your dysfunctional parents who have
already failed at chasing the
American Dream? Or would you prefer
to stop chasing the dream and start
living the dream?
The Rolls Royce glides to the front of John’s small tenement
where his family resides. Z’ev is still smoking a cigarette
as John exits the car. As the Rolls Royce drives off, John
is standing outside of his tenement building, contemplating
his new business proposition.
EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS - DAYS LATER (NIGHT)
The Four Boys are seen walking down a snow-covered alley
smoking cigarettes. All of the boys are wearing minimal,
tattered winter clothing, almost forcing themselves to
become warm. Will finds a worn down metal trash can in the
alley and swiftly throws a sparked match in it. The trash
can bursts into flames, creating an makeshift fireplace.
RICHARD
We need some money.
WILL
No shit we need some money. If we
didn’t we wouldn’t be using a trash
can as a fireplace!
EDDIE
A trash can that smells like shit
anyway.
Eddie peers down into the trash can. Amongst the burning
embers of old newspapers and a week’s worth of trash
accumulation is a thick black mass. While still peering into
the trash can, Eddie grabs a nearby metal pole and begins to
turn the fire. The black mass that Eddie saw previously is
finally turned to the top of the fire, revealing the remains
of a decaying feline. The boys continue to stay huddled next
to the fire, ignoring the animal that was rotated to the
top.
(CONTINUED)
9. CONTINUED: 8.
RICHARD
Why don’t we just get jobs? Lenny
Wozniak is hiring shoe shiners at
his tailor shop. Maybe he could
find something for us to do.
WILL
Do you really think Mr. Wozniak is
going to hire us to do anything?
Ever since Eddie pulled that stunt
at St. Michael’s, we won’t be able
to get jobs until we either move or
everybody that knows who we are
dies.
JOHN (V.O.)
Last summer, Eddie told father
O’Malley that he was converting and
becoming Catholic, but he wanted to
become an altar boy just to be
sure. O’Malley should have known
better. About two weeks after Eddie
was enrolled, he left during the
middle of Sunday mass with about
fifteen dollars in donation money
and a new lease on life... Until
the fifteen dollars were gone.
EDDIE
Yeah, yeah. At least I got away
with more than a pair of handcuffs
or a pack of Lucky Strikes.
WILL
Well, Fu...
JOHN
How bad do you fellas want to get
paid?
RICHARD
I’m confident that if I don’t get a
new pair of shoes, my goddamn toe
might fall off.
Richard points down to his hole-ridden boots. There is a
torn space between the soles and tops of his shoes,
revealing the black and decaying reminance of what used to
be Richard’s pinky toe.
JOHN
I’m not really sure what we have to
do, but I’m certain we’ll get a
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
10. CONTINUED: 9.
JOHN (cont’d)
good chunk of change. Just depends
on if you guys are willing.
WILL
You mean desperate enough.
JOHN
Same thing I guess.
Huddled around the fire, the Four Boys look at each other in
contemplation as they internally debate their next, and
possibly last, "business venture".
EDDIE
Fuck it!
Eddie gives the trash can a firm kick, and the barrel BANGS
to the ground, releasing an onslaught of hot coals into the
sea of snow onto the ground. The Four Boys give each other a
menacing glare and walk down the alley back to their homes,
taking Eddie’s actions as confirmation of their next unknown
endeavor.
INT. BROOKLYN PUB - THE NEXT DAY
John hesitantly walks into the local pub where most of the
town’s WORKERS migrate after endless hours of low paying,
grueling labor. As music emits from a record player in the
corner of the pub, John is welcomed by depressed, melancholy
glares from the WORKERS. As John scans the bar, he locks
eyes with the man he met days ago in the black Rolls Royce.
Z’ev, dressed in all black and accompanied by his driver,
motions John over to a table in the corner of the room. John
awkwardly makes his way to the table and is welcomed by an
eerie, yet calm, presence.
Z’EV
Sit down, John. Would you like a
drink?
JOHN
Please.
Z’ev grabs the BARTENDER’S attention and points to his
sipping glass of whiskey. The BARTENDER brings John a
sipping glass half full of whiskey and then silently leaves
the table’s presence. Z’ev pulls a pack of cigarettes from
his jacket pocket and slowly lights one. He then offers a
cigarette to John, which he accepts. Z’ev’s associate
removes a golden lighter from his jacket pocket and calmly
lights John’s cigarette.
(CONTINUED)
11. CONTINUED: 10.
Z’EV
I’m assuming that you are here to
accept the offer that I proposed to
you a few days ago?
JOHN
Yes sir. Just... I was curious
about the details of this endeavor
sir...
Z’EV
Endeavors.
JOHN
Pardon?
Z’EV
Endeavors, John. I can’t just hire
for one job and then let you be on
your way. I’m going to need your
full cooperation on multiple
inquiries.
John nervously takes a sip from his drinking glass, steadily
shaking as he handles the glass.
Z’EV (CONT’D)
When you promise to fulfill the
jobs I ask of you, you make a
promise to not only me and my
family, but to everybody that lives
in this shit hole.
JOHN
I know sir. I was just curious to
if my friends could help is all...
Z’ev takes a sip of his whiskey, pondering if he should
allow the four teenagers into his tight-knit circle of
fugitives and felons.
JOHN (V.O.)
Everybody in Brooklyn at the time
knew who Z’ev was and what he did,
any immigrant from eastern Europe
anyway. If you wanted to make a
quick dollar, and didn’t mind doing
it illegally, you worked for Z’ev.
Everybody wanted what he had, and
what he could offer.
After a moment of thought, Z’ev pulls another cigarette out
of the pack in his jacket. his accomplice reveals the gold
lighter again and lights his boss’s cigarette.
(CONTINUED)
12. CONTINUED: 11.
Z’EV
Alright. However, John, you and I
both know I’m not a fan of being
fucked with. We also both know what
will happen if you and your friends
were to devulge any information to
the police. In case you don’t know,
you and your families will be
eloquently introduced to my
business partners. Remember, these
are men with nothing to lose.
JOHN
I understand sir. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Z’EV
I remain completely anonymous
though. Your friends will have no
idea that I am the channel through
which you are receiving this money.
Z’ev motions to his accomplice for a black leather billfold
tucked neatly away in the driver’s jacket pocket. Z’ev
calmly extracts four twenty dollar bills from the wallet and
sets them on the table in front of John.
Z’EV
I appreciate the help, John.
EXT. HARBOR - THE NEXT DAY (MID-DAY)
The four teenagers are seen sitting on the docks at the
freight-covered harbor. Will is impatiently pacing back and
forth, trying not to let stress or boredom influence him.
Richard and Eddie are sitting near the water with their feet
hanging over the edge of the dock, skipping rocks as they
fall further into boredom. John is gazing upon the Statue of
Liberty, reminiscing on what he can remember of the
monumental day his family moved from Eastern Europe to
America, what then seemed like a land of opportunity and
enjoyment, but now is evidently the opposite.
JOHN
I found us some jobs.
Will stops pacing as a glimmer of hope starts to irradiate
from his vissage. Richard and Eddie instantly stop skipping
rocks and glance over at John.
(CONTINUED)
13. CONTINUED: 12.
WILL
If you’re fuckin’ with me I’m gonna
drown you...
John slowly removes the four twenty dollar bills he received
from Z’ev out of his pocket.
RICHARD
Where the hell did you get that!
John walks over to his three companions and hands them each
a twenty dollar bill. All four of the boys glow with
excitement, until Will’s happiness suddenly turns to
disdain.
WILL
Uh, where did you get this much
money?
EDDIE
And how the hell did you get it?
RICHARD
And where can we get more?
JOHN
What is this? Some sort of fucking
police interrigation? Do you want
to know what hand I use to jerk off
with too?
WILL
We appreciate it John, really, but
where did this come from?
JOHN
Alright.
John nervously rubs the back of his neck. Three friends are
anxious to hear John’s response, but repress the urge to
pressure him. After a few seconds of silence, John finally
gains the courage to inform his friends of the fiasco they
have entered.
JOHN (CONT’D)
I can’t tell you who its from, but
I can tell you that whatever we
have to do, its not legal.
RICHARD
No shit. Shoe shiners don’t get
paid in twenty dollar bills.
(CONTINUED)
14. CONTINUED: 13.
JOHN
With that being said, I need to
know if you guys want to be
involved, and most importantly,
want to get some more of this
money.
EDDIE
I’m in. No question.
RICHARD
Yeah.
John, Richard, and Eddie all glance at Will, who possesses a
look of worry and uncertainty on his face.
WILL
I have to think about it...
JOHN
There is no thinking about it,
Will. Either you’re in or out. Rich
or back to being fucking broke
again. That twenty dollars won’t
last you but two weeks.
Will continues to ponder his situation. After a minute of
thought, Will expells a SIGH.
WILL
Alright. I’ll do it, I guess. This
better not be fucked up John...
INT. JOHN AND HIS SISTERS BEDROOM - NIGHT
Lying in his bed, with a streak of moonlight penetrating his
window onto his face, John contemplates the situation him
and his friends have just come upon. He glances over at his
sister, who is soundly sleeping in the bed next to him. The
commotion from his parents’ arguing just recently died down,
and he can hear the sound of his mother cleaning up broken
glass. John looks around his room, contemplating if he would
even miss his family and the way he was living. After the
sound of his mother’s cleaning has subsided, John slowly
gets to his feet, trying not to wake his sister.
JOHN’S SISTER
John?
JOHN
Its just me. Go back to bed.
(CONTINUED)
15. CONTINUED: 14.
JOHNS SISTER
What are you doing?
JOHN
Nothing. I’m getting up to get some
water.
With no questions of his integrity, John’s sister closes her
eyes, silently going back to bed. John then quietly puts his
trousers and jacket on. Looking at his sister with one last
silent goodbye, he hastily makes his way out of the tenemant
building.
