lassiter2022 Levine

The author of twenty-three novels, Paul Levine won the John D. MacDonald fiction award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, Shamus, and James Thurber prizes. A former trial lawyer, he also wrote twenty episodes of the CBS military drama JAG and co-created the Supreme Court drama First Monday starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. The international bestseller, To Speak for the Dead, was his first novel and introduced readers to linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Solomon & Lord series of legal capers. His latest book is Cheater’s Game, which digs deep into the American college admissions scandal. For more information, visit his website at www.paul-levine.com.

Award Category
Screenplay Award Category
Captain Ben Brickman and his B-29 crew are the last Americans captured by the Japanese and the first to witness the ruins of Hiroshima. Their encounters with Japanese citizens test the bounds of humanity over hatred and forgiveness over revenge.
Midnight Dawn
My Submission

FIRST TEN PAGES COPIED FROM .PDF FILE, SOME FORMATTING PROBLEMS:

Midnight Dawn

Paul Levine

"Life is a candle before the wind." - Japanese proverb

FADE IN

SUPER: BASED ON A TRUE STORY

EXT. JAPANESE FISHING VILLAGE - DAY

VILLAGERS armed with spears, knives and scythes push SIX AMERICAN AIRMEN (sunburned, shackled)
along a dirt path.

EXT. VILLAGE SQUARE - DAY
They enter a dusty square where more VILLAGERS hurl stones at the captured Americans and whack them
with sticks.

A SHINY SAMURAI SWORD

...slides into a scabbard.

TOGASHI, 30, bare-chested militia leader, wears the scabbard at his waist. TEN MILITIAMEN fan out
behind him, as the Americans are shoved into the square, villagers SCREAMING for blood.

TOGASHI
Com-mand-ing Of-fi-cer?

CAPT. BENJAMIN BRICKMAN, 28, pilot of a downed B-29 Superfortress, bloodied face, steps forward.

TOGASHI
More?

BEN

More what?

Togashi pulls the sword and holds the blade beneath Ben’s chin.

TOGASHI
More bombs! Like Hiroshima.

BEN
Damned if I know.

Togashi slices off Ben’s dogtags and Mezuzah, pries open the
Mezuzah, and unfolds the paper with its Hebrew inscription.

TOGASHI

Code?

BEN

Prayers.

Suspicious, Togashi slips the paper into his pocket.

2.
CONTINUED:

TOGASHI
Where bomb next?

BEN
(shrugs)
We just fly the planes.

TOGASHI
So you know nothing?

BEN
Nothing worth knowing.

TOGASHI
Then we lose nothing by killing you.(to villagers, in Japanese)
We will have divine retribution in the name of the Emperor!

Villagers YELL. An OLD WOMAN places baskets in front of each man.

TOGASHI

We will send their heads to
Washington and feed their bodies to the sharks.

Togashi shoves Ben to his knees. With Ben’s head poised over the basket, Togashi raises the sword
high over his head.

TOGASHI

We start with you.

Togashi waves the sword and emits a blood-curdling SCREAM. OFF THE SWORD GLISTENING IN THE SUN

MATCH CUT TO:

THE BLINDING SUN GLISTENS OFF A PIECE OF METAL
PULL BACK TO REVEAL:

A FLAGPOLE, the American flag crackling in the breeze.

SUPER: FIVE MONTHS EARLIER, HONOLULU, HAWAII

EXT. BRICKMAN BUNGALOW, HONOLULU - DAY

The flagpole is in the front yard of a modest bungalow.

3.

INT. BUNGALOW - DAY

Ben and his wife, IRENE BRICKMAN, 25, a vivacious beauty, are on their backs in bed, a sheet
covering their naked bodies.

IRENE
What’s that, soldier?

The sheet is steepled in the vicinity of Ben’s groin.

BEN
Regulation pop-up tent, General. Ready for inspection.

Irene peels back the sheet, peeks underneath.

IRENE
Sturdy pole, Private. Gonna have to promote you to Corporal.

She slithers up his naked body. They kiss passionately, roll over, tangle in the sheet, kiss some
more, roll some more.

BEN

Again?

IRENE
Relax and enjoy it, soldier.

They make loud and lusty love.

INT. BUNGALOW - NIGHT

Day has turned to night. Irene moves to the edge of the bed, slips into her panties. Ben watches
her...enthralled.

IRENE
You know what I did every time you flew a mission?

BEN
Cried? Prayed? Rolled bandages at the hospital?

IRENE
Sang. Danced. Flirted at the Officers’ Club.

BEN

You hussey.

IRENE
I held my breath ‘til I thought my lungs would burst.

4.
CONTINUED:

Ben moves to her, nuzzles her breasts.

BEN
You have great lungs, darlin’.

IRENE

Thank God you’re done, Ben.

Ben starts to say something...doesn’t. Irene stands, gathers her bra and slip, grabs a Chesterfield
from a pack and lights up.

IRENE (cont’d)
Daddy says officers’ housing in Wichita is brand-spanking new.

BEN

Great.

IRENE
Flight instructors get first choice of units.

Ben stands, pours them each a slug of Vat 69 Scotch from a bottle but doesn’t respond. Buying time,
he takes a swig.

IRENE (cont’d)
Can you believe it? Some of the houses have two bathrooms.

BEN
(blurts it out)
I’m going back to Tinian.

IRENE

No.

(stunned)

You didn’t!

BEN
We need experienced pilots.
Gotta hit ’em hard now, soften ‘em up for the invasion.

Irene angrily stubs out the cigarette in an ashtray.

IRENE
Dammit, Ben! Is this how it’s gonna be? You make all the decisions?

BEN
I’ll be fine. You’re my lucky lady.

Ben moves to hug her, but Irene turns away, eyes tearing.

5.
CONTINUED: (2)

IRENE
Marsha’s husband went down over Fukushima.

BEN

I know.

IRENE
They haven’t even told Christine and Linda where their husband were shot down...
(bitterly)
One more widow, we can all play bridge.

EXT. HICKAM FIELD - NIGHT

The sprawling war-time military base. Palm trees, runways, aircraft, hangars, and barracks.

SUPER: HICKAM FIELD, HONOLULU

EXT. OFFICERS’ CLUB - NIGHT

Officers party here. We hear JAZZY MUSIC from inside. INT. OFFICERS’ CLUB - NIGHT
The band kicks up Benny Goodman’s “Let’s Dance.” Irene sits at a table with her mother, DOROTHY
HAWTHORNE, 52. Officers and their gals jitterbug through a haze of cigarette smoke.

DOROTHY HAWTHORNE
You can’t tell a man what to do.

IRENE
You’re so medieval, Mother.

DOROTHY HAWTHORNE
Push too hard, they resent you.

IRENE
I have news, Mother. We’re emancipated. We can vote, own property. Enjoy sex.

DOROTHY HAWTHORNE

Hush.

(looks around, embarrassed)

You’re an officer’s wife.

A WAITER approaches the table.

6.
CONTINUED:

WAITER
Another cocktail, ladies?

DOROTHY HAWTHORNE
Grasshopper. Not too frothy.

IRENE
Scotch, straight up.
Dorothy shoots her daughter a look of displeasure.

IRENE (cont’d) Make it a double.

WAITER
You got it, Ma’am.

The waiter heads off.

IRENE
Ben’s so damn stubborn.

DOROTHY HAWTHORNE

And they say opposites attract.

IRENE
I hope Daddy can talk sense to him.

EXT. OFFICERS’ CLUB VERANDA - NIGHT

GENERAL ARTHUR HAWTHORNE, 57, stands on the porch with Ben. We hear the music, see the dancers
through the window.

BEN
I thought Air Force policy encouraged re-upping.

GENERAL HAWTHORNE
There’s Air Force policy. And there’s son-in-law policy.

The General lights Ben’s cigar, then his own.

GENERAL HAWTHORNE
Think about Irene.

BEN
I do, Sir. Every minute.

GENERAL HAWTHORNE
Then let someone else put his balls on the line. You’ve done your
thirty-five missions.

7.
CONTINUED:

BEN
But I’ve got crew members who haven’t. I can’t abandon them.

GENERAL HAWTHORNE
Believe it or not, Ben, we can win this war without you.

We hear a slower tune from inside, “There, I’ve Said It Again.”

IRENE (V.O. singing)
I love you. There's nothing to hide...

BEN
Let’s go in, Sir.

INT. OFFICERS’ CLUB - NIGHT
Irene is on the bandstand. Couples dance cheek-to-cheek.

IRENE
It's heaven, and burning inside...

Ben and General Hawthorne join Dorothy at the table. Irene spots Ben, sings directly to him, her
voice filled with longing.

IRENE (cont’d)
I love you, no use to pretend. There, I've said it again.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RUNWAY - DAY

SUPER: NORTH FIELD, TINIAN, MARIANAS ISLANDS, MARCH 9, 1945

EXT. LUCKY LADY - DAY

An empty B-29 awaits its crew. The nose-art: A drawing of Irene rolling a seven with dice. And the
name: “LUCKY LADY.” Stenciled below the pilot’s window: “CAPT. B. BRICKMAN, CMDR.”

COLONEL RAMSEY (PRE-LAP)
Gentlemen, open your flimsies.

INT. BRIEFING ROOM - DAY

FIFTY PILOTS at desks watch COLONEL RAY RAMSEY, 38, aim a pointer at a map of Japan. Ben, in
flightsuit, opens a folder. In the front row is GENERAL CURTIS LeMAY, 38, chomping a cold cigar.

COLONEL RAMSEY
The target tonight is Tokyo.

8.
CONTINUED:

MURMURS from the pilots. Col Ramsey points to a large red square drawn over the center of Tokyo on
the map.

COLONEL RAMSEY (cont’d)
The Pathfinders will each drop six tons of incendiaries to illuminate the drop zone here.

BEN
Colonel, that doesn’t look like an industrial area.

COLONEL RAMSEY
Civilians have workshops in their homes, all dedicated to the war effort. So let us worry about the
targets, Captain.

BEN

Yes, Sir.

COLONEL RAMSEY
Except for the tail gunner, we’re taking all the weapons out to save weight and increase bomb
tonnage.

The MURMURS grow louder. General LeMay gets to his feet.

GENERAL LEMAY
Men, no country has ever won a war without a land invasion. Until now!

The general jabs his unlit cigar at the pilots.

GENERAL LEMAY (cont’d)
Some whiz kids at Harvard have come up with a new incendiary, a jellied gasoline called napalm. It
starts fires that can’t be put out.

The pilots exchange looks. Ben appears troubled.

GENERAL LEMAY (cont’d)
Tonight, each of you will carry more destruction and carry it higher, faster, and farther than any
war machine in the history of mankind. Your job, gentlemen, is to burn Tokyo to the ground.
(aims cigar at Ben)

Captain...?

BEN
Brickman, Sir.

9.
CONTINUED: (2)

GENERAL LEMAY
Captain Brickman, you don’t like killing women and children, do you?

BEN
Of course not, Sir.

GENERAL LEMAY
Well, neither do I! If we have to invade Japan, we’ll kill half a million civilians and lose just
as many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. You got that, Captain?

BEN
Yes, Sir. The arithmetic of war.

GENERAL LEMAY
You’re goddamned right it is.

(to the group)
If you men do your jobs, Hirohito will be waving the white flag by Monday morning, and you can go
home to your wives and mothers and say good riddance to powdered eggs and crotch rot.

LeMay’s pugnacious look dares any man to disagree. No one does.

EXT. NORTH FIELD, TINIAN - DAY

Trucks carry flight crews to the waiting B-29’s. They pass a tent with an ominous sign:
“BENEFICIARY CARDS FOR CREWS HERE.”

EXT. LUCKY LADY - DAY
Copilot LT. JACK WOLFE, 25, does the pre-flight walk-around. Nearby, newscaster LOWELL THOMAS, 48,
and his MOVIETONE NEWS CAMERAMAN stand with Ben, Thomas holding a microphone.

LOWELL THOMAS
Captain Brickman, how do you like your shiny new SuperFortress, loaded to the gills with bombs?

BEN
She’s a helluva...heckuva ship, Sir.

LOWELL THOMAS
And how do you feel about tonight’s mission?