STILL BURNING

Written by Jonathan Yuen

HER STORY EXT. CITYSCAPE - NIGHT A beam of light is hitting the center of an island close to a bridge. Buildings are collapsing, winds are blowing everything to the ground, nothing is safe. EXT. JULIES HOUSE Julies house is a repurposed lighthouse from years past. It has a faded blue color, but is still quite beautiful. POV SHOT FROM JULIE JULIE, 17, views the beam of light with terror. Her hair is being blown behind her, and she is standing still from a balcony outside her room. SHOT FOCUSING ON LIGHT The beam of light contains a meteor of some kind, second glance reveals its true form as a giant creature. A large silhouette, larger than the Empire State Building, the alien being lies dormant while falling. Its is about to crash land, the damage around its would be landing point is increasing whenINT. JULIES ROOM Julie slowly wakes from her bed. ANGLE ON JULIES EYES Julie looks straight above, looking a bit disillusioned. Julie looks at a framed picture of her, her mother and her father. Her eyes linger. JULIE (V.O.) (Melancholic) I always have the same dream over and over again. The same meteor, the same bridge, the same balcony.

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JULIES MOM (O.S.) (playfully) Get up! Julie slowly gets up from her bed and gets dressed. CLOSE UP ON JULIES HANDS: Julie grasps for her glasses on her bedstand. She misses repeatedly. JULIE (V.O.) Im drowsy. Julie cleans her glasses and puts them on while walking towards her rooms door. She walks into her mirror. JULIE (CONTD) Im really drowsy. JULIES MOM What do you want for breakfast, eggs and ham or eggs and bacon? JULIE Idontcarejustgivemewhatever. (Yawns.) Julie walks past her mother and goes to the fridge. Julie grabs a carton of cranberry juice and is about to pour it into her cup when she realizes its not milk. She groans and retrieves her milk. FOCUS ON TABLE JULIE SITS AT Julie sits with her milk at a Round Table with three seats. Her eyes linger on one chair. EXT. OUTSIDE OF JULIES HOUSE Julie locks the door behind her and walks forward. She slaps her cheeks to wake herself up and struts. Her phone rings. She checks it and it says JOE BABICZ. JULIE (Tired) Hey Joe wassup?

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JOE (O.S.) Just wanted to see if you were up for the festivities tonight me and Matt are planning? JULIE I dont think I can make it tonight, I have a test tomorrow. JOE Aww cmon Julie, you can make it! The sky fades dark, clouds are moving to cover the sky. Thunder roars. JULIE Ill talk to you later, I need to hurry or its going to rain all over me. Julie briskly walks towards the train station, PAN OUT to reveal the straight road to her terminal. CUT TO: HIS STORY EXT. ROCKY MOUNTAINS - DAY Its noon over at the Rocky Mountains. The sky is being covered by clouds and a man, BRODY, 54, stands atop one of the peaks. BRODY stares at the sky with intent. BRODY (V.O.) Its coming again, almost time for me to go. Brody starts to smile as he takes off his backpack. He takes out his phone. He dials for a bit and puts it to his ear. BRODY Could I get a ticket to Panchester? CUT TO: INT. CLASSROOM - 1972 BRODY, 14, plays with his pencil at his desk while his teacher lectures about the values of grammar in literature. His friend, GRANT, 14, taps him on the shoulder.

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ZOOM IN ON BRODYS HANDS PLAYING WITH PENCIL GRANT (O.S.) So what are you going to do after school? BRODY I dont know, just head home I guess. Im pretty tired. GRANT Hows home anyway? Youd think our parents would be tired of moving us around all the time. BRODY Panchester aint so bad. GRANT (CONTD) Well, say hi to your mom for me. And save a piece of pie for me the next time I come ovGrant is interrupted by their teacher, MS. NAZ, 60. MS. NAZ (O.S.) Excuse me am I interrupting a conversation? GRANT No, Ms. Naz. Grant and Brody shut up and start taking notes again. CUT TO: EXT. KING STREET Grant and Brody are walking home while sipping on some soda. Frame shot side by side. BRODY Hey what do you want to be when you grow up? GRANT Nobody has time to think about stuff like that anymore man, the worlds gonna end any minute. BRODY I guess.

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GRANT Oh Im sure the end of the world cant be that bad. Chicks always get half naked when the world ends right? BRODY Thats only in the movies, Grant. GRANT Oh. BRODY Do you ever worry about what our dads have to do? GRANT What, like protect the world from the evil Russians? Sure. BRODY Do you ever think that you could be one of them? A hero? GRANT ... Maybe. Maybe not. BRODY Maybe I could. I could try at least. You should tGRANT Are you saying youre better than me?! Grant grits his teeth. The sky is dark with clouds, and the sun is being covered by them. A rumbling is heard, an ancient rumbling. BRODY (panicking) What? No. What? GRANT What are you whating about? BRODY No, no, not this. GRANT Brody, whats happening?

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Brody runs back to his house instinctively and darts into his bedroom, over to his balcony. Grant reluctantly follows. BRODY No, no no no no! GRANT (panting) What...are...you...talking..about Grant wheezes and pats his chest a little. Hes not used to running so far and so fast. Brody stares out the window as a line of light appears to hit an island near a bridge. As the light envelops Brodys face, fade to white. CUT TO: THEIR STORY INT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA - CLOUDY OUTSIDE JOE, 18, and MATT, 18 are in the school cafeteria. Joe has just ended the call with Julie and sighs. MATT What she say? JOE She says she might not be able to go. MATT Well its not fun if its just you or me; wanna do something else? Joe sighs and shrugs at the same time. Matt takes out his camera. MATT (CONTD) Maybe we should get started on that project then. MATT (CONTD) (dramatic) The great Panchester mystery! What happened 40 years ago in Panchester? The mysterious disappearance of two young boys in a flash of light. The destruction of the Panchester bridge. WOoooooOOooo. JOE Right. What is it gonna focus on?

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MATT I dont remember what we decided on, to be honest. Thunder is heard outside and lightning cracks and strikes outside of the cafeteria, striking a student. The power blows out, and mayhem ensues. Kids are panicking. JOE Holy- what was that? MATT Someone got hit by lightning! JOE What?! Joe and Matt see a kid exit the cafeteria in a hurry and run towards the kid who was struck by lightning. More lightning strikes. The kid drags the other back into the cafeteria. JOE (CONTD) What about Julie?! Joe fumbles around his pockets for his phone and takes it out. ZOOM ON JOES PHONE. No signal. Matt checks his phone. MATT No signal... The cafeteria shakes and rumbles. Groaning of metal is heard, things fall everywhere. Sparks come from the former sources of light, and lightning continues to strike everywhere. The sky darkens even more. MATT (CONTD) (Scared) Maybe we should... head out. Try to find her. JOE (Panicked) How are we going to find her, Matt?! MATT You know where her house is, right?

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Joe hesitates. MATT (CONTD) (Uneasy confidence) Cmon, we can even use this for our project, right? Joe groans and gets up. Matt takes out his camera and starts recording. The two guys run out of the cafeteria. EXT. OUTSIDE OF CAFETERIA - DAY - CLOUDY Lightning strikes everywhere, winds blowing at 40 mph, no light except for the lightning. Thunder roaring with the wind, like a cruel contest. Joe and Matt are running alongside eachother, racing towards the city. MATT (Excited) Shouldve brought our bikes today, right? JOE If I die, I hope you do too. MATT (Playful) Aww, thats just mean. Matt adjusts his camera in the middle of his sprint. JOE Are you still recording?! Matt gives a sheepish grin to Joe, just as he tumbles and falls to the ground. Lightning strikes near the road next to them and a Car swerves close to them. Joe grabs Matt and jumps out of the way. Pause as Joe and Matt catch their breaths. Matt grins at Joe. MATT (Beat.) Should I stop? JOE (Gasping) You....are....crazy.... Matt gets up and helps Joe up.

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JOE (CONTD) What are we doing anyway? Julie wouldnt be stupid enough to get in trouble. The sun is completely blocked, but a source of light appears from the sky. A line of light. ZOOM IN ON JOE AND MATT LOOKING AT THE LIGHT MATT What is that... Winds pick up, increasing their force, faster and faster. Structures start shaking as the Earth begins to rumble beneath them. JOE We should keep moving, I dont think its safe to be here. Lightning strikes around them. Joe and Matt continue on their path to the city. CUT TO: HER STORY EXT. KING STREET The road forward to the terminal is blocked by crashed cars. Julie is scared. A man screams for help while hes burning alive. ... ... He stops screaming. Julie runs back home, crying. JULIE (V.O.) (panicked) Oh my god whats happening, whats happening. Should I have called the police, I dont know what to do. Ill just go home right, homes where Im supposed to go when things go wrong right?

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BIRDS EYE VIEW, TRACKING SHOT OF JULIE SLOWLY MAKING HER WAY BACK HOME INT. JULIES HOUSE Julie stumbles through the locked door and crawls into her house quickly. She locks the door and JULIE Mom?! Mom?! No one replies, and Julie runs up to her room. She goes to her balcony. POV SHOT FROM JULIE A beam of light is hitting the center of an island close to a bridge. Buildings are collapsing, winds are blowing everything to the ground, nothing is safe. Julie views the beam of light with a mixture of terror and satisfaction. Her hair is being blown behind her, and she is standing still from a balcony outside her room. EXT. CITYSCAPE The beam of light contains a meteor of some kind, second glance reveals its true form as an giant, humongous thing. The alien lies dormant while falling. Its is about to crash land, the damage around its would be landing point is increasing whenIt lands. Fade to white. FADE IN: HIS STORY INT. PANCHESTER AIRPORT - DAY Brody stands inside of the airport and drinks some coffee. He makes small talk with a airport baggage clerk when he sees the sky. He drinks slowly, and now his gaze never leaves the sky. CLERK Some freaky weather were having, right?

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BRODY Yeah, probably nothing special though. CLERK I heard they were getting quakes in Kingston. Rumbles and quakes rock the airport. People fall, and so do the Clerk and Brody. Brody immediately gets up and runs out of the airport. EXT. CITY - DAY THE SHOT FOCUSES ON THE BEAM OF LIGHT It looks as if its night. The only source of light is the beam. BRODY (V.O.) It begins. Brody runs towards a cab. The cabs door is open. Brody gets in quickly, akin to a dive. The cabbie looks at Brody, jaws agape. BRODY What are you doing? Drive! Brody tosses some money at the driver, and the cab shakes from the violent acceleration. The doors still open, and Brody struggles to close the door. BRODY (CONTD) I need to get to King Street immediately! Brody doesnt even know if the driver is listening, or if hes just trying to get away from the quakes, but it doesnt matter. Any distance is closer to King Street. Destiny awaits. FADE TO: THEIR STORY EXT. CITY STREETS Matt and Joe are gasping for air as they reach the outskirts of the city.

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People are running towards them, away from the city. The quakes become more intense, and the sky is almost black. The lightning strikes. MATT We really shouldnt have come here, huh? JOE At this point I dont think we should turn baQuake. Joe falls through the street to a sewer below when Matt catches him. Matt pulls him up. MATT You sure? Joe makes a face at Matt and they continue running towards the closest train station. Lightning strikes all around them, and at people. Zoom out to Joe and Matt running contrasting with everyone running elsewhere. JOE You know this wouldve been a great time for us to be driving! MATT My moms using the car! Joe and Matt arrive at their destination, tired and sweaty. Matt pats Joe on the back as a loud, screeching, groan is heard behind them. POV SHOT FROM MATT A meteor is falling within the beam of light, and strikes the City. Debris is everywhere, Matt and Joe are knocked away from eachother by the shockwave, dust clouds cover our vision. CUT TO BLACK. CUT TO: HIS STORY EXT. VIEW FROM JULIE/BRODYS HOUSE - 1972 The monster stands tall, giant, towering above everything.

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A sleek, hunched, massive gargantuan. Two legs and two arms; coated in water, covered in steam. Little dots of light line its body. Its transluscent skin only has color because of the light around it. Its standing over an island, surrounded by water. Fog and steam obscures its vision of the things below it. A bridge next to it is collapsed. Grant looks in awe as he realizes that Brody has collapsed onto the floor. GRANT (Panicked) Brody? Brody?! Are you okay? Grant shakes Brodys body in panic. GRANT (CONTD) Brody, wake up! Grant looks at the abomination. The thing looks back at him. Its eyes indicate its confusion. The towering giant looks at its hands. Its mouth opens with a groan, and it seems as if the giant is beginning to say somethingSirens blare in the distance, choppers are heard. CUT TO BLACK A terrifying groan is heard. INT. MILITARY BASE - NIGHT Grant sits in an office. The desk is dishevelled, with papers and stamps everywhere. Notices of authorization, and a telephone are scrambled. A picture of the general and Grant is stuck underneath a name plate. The name plate says GENERAL GERALD MCHUGH. A conversation is heard between two men who are in the hallway. MAN 1 (O.S.) I dont see how you can deal with this problem effectively without asking your son, McHugh. GENERAL MCHUGH (O.S.) You cant talk that way to me, Lieutenant General Novak. And I do plan on telling and asking my son.

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NOVAK (O.S.) Im sorry for talking out of turn, Im just worried about... GENERAL MCHUGH I know, John, I know. Well get him back in his body. Somehow. In the meantime, DR. MOSCOWICZ says that the alien displays immense potential for destruction. NOVAK How much are we talking about? GENERAL MCHUGH Enough power to wipe a city off the map in half an hour. Hes doing tests on your boys body right now. NOVAK What?! Struggling is heard. GENERAL MCHUGH Dont worry, no harm is going to be done to Brody. I promise. Grant makes a fist. He shakes venomously. GENERAL MCHUGH (CONTD) Weve also established contact, he knows who we are and more importantly, who he is. Grant grits his teeth. GENERAL MCHUGH (CONTD) POTUS wants to see if we can use him as a valuable asset. NOVAK An asset?! Novak tackles the General into his own office, and Grant runs out, leaving a trail of tears on the floor behind him. He ignores the struggle and fight between the Lieutenant General and his father. GRANT Stupid Brody always getting the attention. Always getting what he wants. Stupid Brody.

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EXT. MILITARY BASE HANGAR Grant stumbles upon the hangar entrance. In it, he sees the Alien. The Giant, sitting in down, clutching its head with its hands, seemingly worried. Grant turns ZOOM IN ON BODY And sees Brodys body on a table. Doctors are around him taking results and doing tests. A doctor prepares a small syringe filled with red liquid. Grant runs towards the body. DOCTOR MOSCOWICZ Hey what are you doing hereGrant pushes him and the Doctor trips. The other doctors rush to help Moscowicz up, and one tries to restrain Grant. GRANT (Furious) Let me go! I have to take it! Its mine! Why cant it be mine?! Tears fall down Grants face. GRANT (CONTD) Why is it always Brody... Grant seemingly calms down, and the doctor lets him go. Grant stumbles to touch Brodys body, and Grant collapses. CUT TO BLACK THEIR STORY EXT. PANCHESTER CITY - DAY - RUINS OF A BUILDING The dust clears. Debris is everywhere. People are screaming. Fires are rising. Joe gets up, just scraped by the debris. His face is filled with dust. He blows and furiously wipes his face clean. ISOLATION SHOT OF JOE JOE Matt? Where are you? Joe looks around.

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Matt comes out of the shadows, sporting a headband ripped from his clothes. Theres a faint stain of blood. SHOT OF JOE AND MATT SIDE BY SIDE JOE (CONTD) You okay? MATT Yeah Ill be fine, just stopping the bleeding. Joe looks worried. MATT (CONTD) (decisively) Ill be fine. (smiles) Matt and Joe look around for bearings. They hear a groaning of metal. Matt looks and sees something near the bridge. POV SHOT A silhouette of a huge, gigantic, alien, covered in smoke or steam. Matt stares in awe, and Joe continues looking around. JOE Matt are you- ohgoJoe realizes what Matt is looking at and stares at it as well. EXT. PANCHESTER BRIDGE - DAY The giant flails around wildly, and roars. Heat emanates from its body and it smashes the bridge in front of it, sending vehicles into the water. The alien roars again. It wails. It wails. It wails. It lurches forward, step by step. The ground quakes with each step. Matt and Joe watch. The alien smashes the ground below the water and still sends shockwaves through the Earth. More steam comes out of the ocean.

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Matt falls to his knees, trying to register what hes seeing. But for now, all he can do is watch. A huge quake. The buildings shake. A tall one begins to crumble. The alien has leapt out of the steam, its form is revealed. Its identical to the one from 1972, its huge, its sleek. Its almost biomechanical. A barely humanoid, wiry monster on all fours. Legs like a raptors. Silence from all of the city. MATT (quiet) Joe, we have to get out of here. Joe is still dazed. MATT (CONTD) Joe, we have to get to Julie. Both sort of stumble, and exit the building through a gaping hole in the wall. Matt and Joe begin running towards the station. The alien pushes a building down with ease. Its terrifying. People start screaming again. Matt and Joe keep running, Matt doesnt look back. Joe does. He falls down after tripping on a crack. NOTE: REFRAIN FROM FRAMING SHOTS AROUND ALIEN TOO MUCH MAKING IT A DRIVING FORCE, NOT A PLOT POINT. Joe looks at the abomination. The abomination doesnt notice him. Hes too tiny. The monster digs its fingers into buildings and tosses them into the air. Joe barely sees the people flying into the sky. SHOT - FOCUS ON MATT MATT (CONTD) Joe what are you doing?! Get up! Joe scrambles to get up to his feet while the ground quakes. The streets begin to crack even more. Joe slips more, but makes his way up. People are running alongside Matt and Joe, screaming for their lives.

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The colossus steps slowly into the city. Each step sends people to the ground. It roars. Its voice is so deep it raises the bass level everywhere; the ground trembles in fear, and the noise makes ears bleed. SHOT FOCUSING ON THE PEOPLE RUNNING The asphalt rises and dips on its own accord, cars fall on the people unlucky to be on the receiving end. Joe and Matt continue on until a shadow appears near them. A gargantuan shadow. MATT (CONTD) Get in the car! Matt and Joe dive into a nearby cars passenger seats. Joe closes the door, and the car shields them from dust and debris. Blood is spattered across the cement, and people are screaming and wailing in pain. Matt and Joe are trembling, in shock. Joe clutches Matts hand and squeezes. JOE (Whisper while trembling) We gotta be strong, we gotta be strong. Joe opens the door and starts running again. Matt follows. They follow along the crowd, jumping over fallen cars, dead bodies, ruins of buildings. The leviathan pounded the ground. Boom. Boom. Boom. Each pound sent people into the air. Joe landed on a car, and Matt landed on a dead body. Matt struggles to get up, his leg is bleeding. Joe runs over to him and rips off a piece of clothing from Matts pants and ties it around the wound. Matt smiles, and Joe motions for them to run. The alien creature roars again. Joe and Matt fall to the ground, screaming. Both are bleeding profusely from their ears. Joe begins to crawl forward. Matt does as well. MATT (NOT AUDIBLE) We gotta be strong, we gotta be strong.

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Joe and Matt leap into a run and sprint. They run with a confidence, even with Matts injury. The monster is still smashing buildings, but they dont care anymore. They just want to get away from here. They follow the flood into the train station. Then- Heat. Immense heat. Like a fire burning right next to them. Then, a quake. A huge quake. A giant, long, finger impales itself into the stairway, narrowly missing them, but piercing an unlucky middle aged man, who drops his even more unlucky child. They keep running, a train is there, a train that leaves the city. Matt and Joe are about to reach the next train, and another finger wedges itself into the station, killing everyone behind Matt. Matts face drains of all color. Hes terrified. Joe rips Matt from his fear, and into the train. They stumble onto the ground. JOE Youre (pant) getting (pant) blood (pant) on the floor. Matt takes a while to compose himself and tries to make a smile. MATT We gotta be strong right? CUT TO BLACK HIS STORY INT. WHITE SPACE - 1972 Grant and Brody stand amidst clouds. The sky isnt blue, but a strange violet color. It pulses bright ever so often. BRODY Grant? What are you doing here? (smiles) Grant doesnt smile back. He slowly steps towards Brody. ZOOM IN BRODYS FACE - TRANSITION TO TERROR Brody cocks his head and steps back, making a suspicious face.

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BRODY (CONTD) (suspicious) Grant? What are you doing here? SHOT WITH GRANT RUNNING AT BRODY Grant runs towards Brody, Brody panics and falls. The sky flushes with a bright red color. The clouds fly at supersonic speeds and go away. Its just Grant and Brody. SIDE SHOT - FRAME GRANT AND BRODY Grant has his hands on Brodys neck, and squeezes. Brody tries to remove the hands desperately, but he cant, Grant has won. Grant roars while he does it. Grant stops squeezing. His arms fall down to his sides. The sky turns black. Brody is dead. Tears fall on Brodys body. ZOOM IN ON GRANTS FACE EXT. WHAT USED TO BE THE HANGAR ZOOM IN ON GRANTS FACE ANGLE ON GRANT ALONE IN A RUIN The body is gone, and all thats left is Grant and Brody. Whats left of Brody. Everything looks decimated, burned to ash, all the aircraft and people, gone. The doctors are nowhere to be seen. There are still fires raging around Grant. Grant stands up. He wipes his face of tears, and his face is one of stone now. He drags his former friends body to a fire. ZOOM IN ON GRANTS FACE LIT BY FIRE He throws Brody in it. CUT TO BLACK Burning is heard.

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HER STORY INT. WHITE SPACE JULIE ISO SHOT - SLOMO Julie stands alone. She looks around, its just clouds, and the skies are clear and almost gray. She blinks. EXT. STREET - NIGHT - 2005 Julie and her DAD, 37, are having some ice cream while walking home. Julie holds his hand very tightly and smiles while licking her vanilla ice cream. Her father smiles too, eating an italian ice cone. JULIE Daddy can we get more ice cream? JULIES DAD No sweety, were going home now. Besides, youve had enough ice cream for one day. (smile) Julie fake pouts, and smiles, but hits a bump in the curb. She drops her ice cream cone. JULIE Oops. JULIES DAD Now I have to get another one for you. What am I gonna do with you? Julies dad picks up the ice cream cone with a napkin and walks to a nearby trashcan. A car veers past another. Horns go off very loudly near the two. More cars twist and turn out of their lanes. A cars brake malfunctions and it smashes into Julies dad in front of her eyes at 50 mph. Julie begins crying. Her form flickers between her as a child and her in the present. She continues to cry. She wails, and hits the floor, sprinting to her fathers dead body.

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His glasses have fallen to the ground, shattered and covered with blood and oil. The ice cream cone and his Italian ice are on the asphalt. She pushes away a nearby napkin, and grabs the cones. She cries and furiously tosses them into the air. Julie makes her way to the body. She cries loudest this time. She hits the ground in front of her three times. She drags her fingers into the ground and cries. Julies body changes form again. She blinks. INT. WHITE SPACE Julie stands alone. She looks around, its just clouds, and the skies are clear and almost gray. She blinks. EXT. STREET - NIGHT - 2005 Julie and her DAD, 37, are having some ice cream while walking home.