HARD NOON
Original Feature Film Screenplay
By Paul Iorio
Original Feature Film Screenplay
By Paul Iorio
Copyright Paul Iorio (under original title “Single Room Occupancy”)
INT. SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY HOTEL HALLWAY BATHROOM – AFTERNOON
In a brief flash forward to a later part of the film, an unidentified man grabs the head of a wounded police officer by the hair and pulls it out of a blood-filled toilet bowl.
We see an extreme close-up of the cop’s face dripping with watery blood from a grisly exit wound as a guy with a southern drawl speaks.
We see an extreme close-up of the cop’s face dripping with watery blood from a grisly exit wound as a guy with a southern drawl speaks.
MAN WITH SOUTHERN DRAWL
Bad hair day?!
He then drops the cop’s head back into the bloody toilet bowl as blood floods to the floor. He flushes the toilet with the cop’s head in it and a red flood spills into the hall.
We hear the opening blast of Los Lobos’ anthem “Will the Wolf Survive?” accompanied by a low aerial shot of the Upper West Side of Manhattan (and the credits for “Hard Noon”).
The aerial panorama moves lower and lower toward the West Seventies -- as the song continues -- and gradually zooms to ground level at West 72nd Street.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWO
TITLE CARD: Manhattan, the fall of 1994.
INT. LOBBY OF THE RADON HOTEL, MANHATTAN – MORNING
We see JON STEFFENS -- a New Jersey grassroots political candidate in his early thirties, a ballsy but slightly diffident guy in the manner of, say, Roy Scheider’s character in “Jaws” -- trying to check into a fleabag hotel and carrying an over-night bag to the front desk.
Against a wall clock that reads 11:30 and a sign above it that says “Check out Time: Hard Noon,” Jon tries to get a room at the Radon.
We still hear “Will the Wolf Survive?” and the lyrics: “Forced to run, nowhere to hide/In a land where he once stood with pride.”
JON
One single room, please.
HOTEL CLERK (slight accent)
We are filled, sir. All the rooms are taken. For tomorrow nights, too. We are sorry.
JON
Is there a pay phone?
HOTEL CLERK
Yes, outsides, on the sidewalks.
EXT. SIDEWALK OUTSIDE THE RADON HOTEL – MORNING
Jon puts down his bag on the sidewalk outside the Radon. In the background is a sign: “Don’t even THINK of parking here: Not one minute, not at all!” Jon reaches into his pocket for change and goes to the public phone a few steps away.
Jon pulls out a quarter and makes a call.
HARD NOON – PAGE THREE
JON
Hello, Hotel Haytem? I’d like to reserve a room. [pause] Oh,
wrong number. OK, bye.
Jon hangs up the phone and tries to find another quarter.
On the sidewalk near him appears a blond beach-bum type dude, unshaven, annoyingly friendly for a stranger – in the manner of someone angling for spare change. Smiling, the dude stands by the booth as if looking to make conversation.
JON (frustrated)
Damn! Wrong number.
BEACH BUM GUY (chuckling)
[in a southern drawl] Tell me ‘bout it. My whole life’s
a wrong number.
JON (distant, short)
Yeah, right.
BEACH BUM GUY
People’re never ‘round when you need ‘em.
JON (distant, trying to find change in his pocket)
Uh huh.
BEACH BUM GUY
Y’know, I once –
HARD NOON – PAGE FOUR
JON (impatient)
Look, I don’t want to be unfriendly, but, uh, I just don’t want to
be bothered right now, okay?
BEACH BUM GUY
[good naturedly] I can dig it. I get that way sometimes, man.
Be cool. [Jon: “Yeah.”]
Jon sifts through his change, can’t find a quarter. [Jon: “Shit.”]
BEACH BUM GUY
I know how it is. No change. Hey, I can set you up
with a quarter.
JON
Well, might take you up on that. Hey, sorry if I was a little
unfriendly back there.
BEACH BUM GUY
Forget it, man. [sticks his hand out] Name’s Earle.
JON
Jon, Jon Steffens. Here, I’ll make it up to you.
I’ll pay you a dollar for the quarter.
EARLE
No, it’s cool. Only one favor I ask.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIVE
JON
What’s that?
EARLE
Just don’t go ignoring me! [smiles]
JON
Deal. [They shake hands.]
Jon tries another call but gets a busy signal. [Jon: “Damn! Busy!”]
EARLE
Bummer. Where ya bound?
JON
Hotel Haytem.
EARLE
Sounds like Hades! [chuckles] Hey, maybe we
could team up for a cab –
Earle is interrupted by a beautiful blonde-haired woman with a single suitcase who approaches Jon.
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE
Mind if I use the phone?
HARD NOON – PAGE SIX
JON
Be my guest.
By now, the narrow sidewalk looks a bit like a refugee camp, what with the luggage of Jon and Earle – and now of this young woman – cluttering the way. Annoyed pedestrians are stepping over the bags.
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE (now on payphone)
Honey, I just can’t have you abusing me anymore. I’m coming
back for my violin but that’s it. [silent pause] How many orders
of protection do I need, Russ? You can keep everything but
the violin. [pause] I have no idea where I’m going.
Jon and Earle listen to her uneasily from near the booth.
EARLE (to Jon)
And you think YOU’VE got problems!
JON
I know. Sad.
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE (on phone)
We are over with, Russ. Kaput. [pause] The last time I fell
for that line, you nearly broke my jaw. [pause] Yeah, well, you
go to hell, too.
She slams down the phone, then grabs her bag and smashes the phone booth with it. She sobs softly.
Jon walks over.
JON
You okay?
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVEN
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE
[sobbing] I’m fine.
JON
I – I couldn’t help but overhear your call. If you need help –
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE
No, don’t worry ‘bout me.
JON
You have a place to go?
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE
Not really. If I go home, my boyfriend’ll beat me.
Earle walks over to them.
EARLE
Can I join in here? Name’s Earle!
WOMAN WITH SUITCASE
Trisha, Trisha Sears.
JON
Jon Steffens.
A middle-aged couple with two small children try to walk by on the cluttered sidewalk.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHT
PEDESTRIAN (to the three of them)
[indignant] Do you mind?
A police car drives slowly by and briefly sounds its siren.
EARLE
Oh, man, the heat.
TRISHA
[ironically] Just what I need.
JON
Maybe we should split, huh?
EARLE
Why don’t we share a cab to the Haytem
and take it from there?
JON
Um, maybe.
TRISHA
I second that emotion.
Trish flirtatiously brushes Jon’s thigh with her hand.
JON
Sure, why not. Let’s grab a cab.
They hail a Checker, put their luggage in the trunk, and head downtown with Earle in the front, Jon in the back with Trish.
HARD NOON – PAGE NINE
INT. CAB (MOVING) – AFTERNOON
JON (to the driver)
Hotel Haytem, please. 1113 West 79th.
The car travels up Broadway through the west seventies.
EARLE
Hey, mind if I stop off at this deli for some cigs?
JON
No, go ahead.
EARLE (to the cabbie)
We want to make a quick stop at the Crunch Bar.
[to Jon and Trisha] You two want anything? [“No,” they say.]
[to driver] Could you pull over here?
The driver pulls to the curb and Earle gets out. We see Earle from the back seat (Jon’s POV) as Earle leans through the open car window and says to Trisha:
EARLE [to Trisha]
Why don’t you treat yourself to some ice cream over
there. [He points to a shop next door.] The Sugar Shack: best
in New York! [He slips her a five.] On me. I insist.
[Trisha: “Oh, no.”] I insist. [Trisha: “Well, OK.”] I’ll meet
you back here in a flash!
Trisha bounds out of the cab.
TRISHA (to Jon)
Want anything? [Jon: “No, thanks.”]
HARD NOON – PAGE TEN
Jon waits alone (with the driver) in the cab, reading his list of hotels. We see such entries as: “The Washington Hotel, convenient hallway restrooms”; Hotel Haytem, phones direct to some rooms (with security deposit).”
Trisha returns with a smile and an ice cream cone.
TRISHA
[licking the cone] I love ice cream. Wish it wouldn’t
melt, though.
JON
Same here. [pause] So, if you don’t mind me asking, what
was with that guy you were talking to on the phone? Sounded dodgey.
TRISHA
That was Russ. It’s over. Depressing.
JON
Well, cheer up. A woman like you shouldn’t have any
problem finding someone new.
Earle runs back to the cab, completely out of breath.
EARLE
Okay, let’s roll!
The cab takes off. Around a block later, they hear several loud police car sirens coming from the block they just left.
JON
Whoa! Wonder what happened back there?
Jon, Earle and Trisha all look out the back window. A short distance away, we see three New York City police cars -- lights flashing, sirens blaring -- race to the block where the three had just been. The cops, guns drawn, jump out of the squad car at the Crunch Bar.
HARD NOON – PAGE ELEVEN
EARLE
[looking out the back window] Looks like something
must’ve happened back there.
JON
Yeah, does. Looks like someone might’ve robbed the Crunch
after you were there, Earle. If we had waited a minute more at the
deli, we might’ve got caught up in that stuff back there.
Our timing is terrific.
EARLE [smiling slyly]
You bet it is.
Earle puts a cigarette in his mouth and lights the wrong end.
JON
Uh, Earle, wrong end.
EARLE
Oh. [laughs nervously and lights another.]
JON
OK, here’s the place.
We briefly flash on the view out the back window again, lots of flashing police lights in the distance. The cabbie stops in front of the Hotel Haytem and they pay the driver.
EXT. SIDEWALK OUTSIDE THE HOTEL HAYTEM – ALMOST NOON
The three bring their luggage in from the hotel lobby.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWELVE
INT. LOBBY OF THE HOTEL HAYTEM – ALMOST NOON
The desk clerk, a huge Puerto Rican woman with a slight mustache, is in an enclosure set off by protective glass. In the back of her are mailboxes and a handwritten sign: “All the Rent Paids in Cash.”
JON (to desk clerk)
Hey, there. [Desk clerk can’t hear him through
the thick glass.] Hello, there! [Jon waves his
arms to get her attention.]
The desk clerk perks up and opens a small window in the glass.
DESK CLERK
Didn’t hear you. Glass booth is – how you say? – the sound proof!
JON
Sound proof. Hmmm. Well, I need a single room
for myself. One night. And my friends here would like a room.
DESK CLERK
Well, you in lucks. The whole place – almost empty. Nobody
on third floor. You take your picks of rooms!
JON
Business not so good?
DESK CLERK
Plenty vacancies!
EARLE
I’d like one of them penthouse suites if you got one!
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTEEN
TRISHA
[Looking through her wallet.] I’m kind of light.
EARLE
Well, I got plenty. [He displays a big wad of cash and says
to Trisha] Maybe we could throw in together – just for the
night. I promise to behave!
TRISHA
Sure, I could go for a share.
EARLE
How ‘bout you, Jon?
JON
No, thanks, I’ll get a single. Nobody can stand livin’ with me! [laughs]
EARLE
Hey, I’m flush; I’ll cover both rooms!
JON
No need, I have the bucks.
EARLE
I insist. No strings attached.
JON
OK, if you insist. Thanks.
They exchange money and keys and words with the desk clerk.
HARD NOON – PAGE FOURTEEN
INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY OF HOTEL HAYTEM – ALMOST NOON
The three carry their luggage through a dirty hallway that has common bathrooms on the left and right.
JON
Getta load of this: bathrooms in the hall.
TRISHA
This better be for just one night.
They reach Jon’s room and he opens the door.
JON
[opening door to his room] OK, guys. Sayonara.
Time for me to get a nap! Nice meeting you two
EARLE
Mind if we take a look at your palace? Our room’s on five.
JON
Sure, come on in!
EARLE
Just for a few minutes.
Earle touches the flimsy wooden front door.
EARLE
I could probably put my fist through that. Least it’s got a peephole.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTEEN
INT. SINGLE ROOM – HOTEL HAYTEM – NEAR NOON
They lug their bags into the room and collapse on chairs with a collective sigh. Then they walk around the room.
EARLE
Check it out! Private bathroom! [swinging the
door open] Luxury!
Jon picks up the phone.
JON
[smiling] Direct dial. Well, all right!
Trisha lounges seductively on the bed, takes her shoes off.
TRISHA (eyeing Jon)
Hmm. I could get use to this bed!
Suddenly, there’s loud, aggressive knocking on the door.
TRISHA
Uh, oh. We being evicted already?
There is more loud knocking.
JON [to Trish]
Hope it’s not your Russ!
We hear more knocks on the door accompanied by talk and static from a police radio.
SOMEONE AT THE DOOR (o.s.)
Open up! It’s the police.
EARLE
NYPD! Shit!
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTEEN
From Earle’s POV (in back of Jon), we see Jon walk to open the door as Earle pulls out a pistol and points it at the back of Jon’s head.
EARLE (to Jon)
Hold it there, motherfucker!
Jon spins around and faces Earle’s gun.
JON
What the –
EARLE
[to Jon] Get away from the door. Now!
Jon gets away from the door.
TRISHA
What’re you doing, Earle?
Earle looks out the door’s security peephole and we see (from Earle’s POV) two New York City police officers standing at the door.
EARLE (to the officers and through the door)
What’s the problem, officers?
POLICEMAN ONE (seen through peephole)
Open up! We need to ask you some questions about a robbery.
EARLE [shouting through closed door)
We don’t know anything about no robbery.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTEEN
POLICEMAN ONE (seen through peephole)
Just wanna ask some questions. There was an armed robbery
of The Crunch Bar ten minutes ago. Someone saw your cab
speeding away from the scene. We need you to
open up immediately.
TRISH
Earle, you didn’t rob the Crunch Bar, did ya? You idiot.
EARLE
Shut up, Trish. [to the cops] We don’t know nothing ‘bout no robbery.
POLICEMAN ONE
We still need to talk to you. Open the door and have your hands where we can see ‘em.
JON
Let ‘em in, Earle.
EARLE
[through the door to cops] Listen close. I got
a .44 Smith & Wesson, OK? And I have two people with me
who will be shot dead if you try to enter, or if you radio for
back up, or move from the door. You got me?
JON
You lost your mind?! Open the damn door.
POLICEMAN ONE (through peephole)
We just want to ask some questions --
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTEEN
EARLE
I said, Do you understand me?!
POLICE OFFICER ONE ((through peephole)
Yeah, yeah, we understand. [Muttering to the second officer]
Looks like a hostage situation.
Through the peephole, we see one of the cops reach for his police radio.
EARLE (to cops)
Drop that motherfuckin’ radio now! You hear
me?! You think I’m fuckin’ around?! Listen to
this. [Earle cocks his .44.]
Know that sound? It’s a .44.
Police Officer One drops his radio to the floor.
POLICE OFFICER ONE
I dropped the radio. We’re doing as you said.
EARLE
Just remember, I’m watching you. And there
ain’t gonna be no warning next time.
Through the peephole, we see the two cops looking demoralized.
EARLE (to cops)
One of you radio in right now and tell your
boss that you checked us out, it was a false
alarm, no need for back-up. And don’t
get funny. [Police Officer One: “Will do.”]
HARD NOON – PAGE NINETEEN
POLICE OFFICER ONE
(on radio to supervisor)
Somoza to command. [Radio response: “Somoza, come in.”]
Uh, we checked out the single room occupancy on
West 79th. Uh, suspects unconnected to robbery.
No need for back-up. We’ll handle it
from here. [Radio response: “Okay, over.”]
EARLE (to cops)
You did good. Now just stand there and look perty
till I tell you different.
TRISHA
[irate but hushed] You robbed The Crunch Bar while we
were in the cab? How could you?
EARLE (still at the peephole)
Shut the fuck up!
TRISHA
Joey didn’t pay us to do that. This was supposed to be
a vice thing. He said no rough stuff.
JON
Joey? Pay you? I thought you two didn’t know each other?
EARLE (to Jon)
Well, surprise, fuckin’ surprise!
TRISHA (to Earle)
Joey wasn’t payin’ us to rob no one. This was just supposed
to be vice baitin’. You got us in too deep.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY
EARLE (to Trish)
Well, you’re in as deep. Here, you be the lookout. And
I’ll blow you up if you try anything.
Trisha goes to the peephole to watch the cops.
TRISHA
When Joey finds out about this, we’re dead.
You went too far, Earle.
JON
You two hired by someone? Why didn’t you tell me
you knew each other?
EARLE (to Jon)
This is the last time I’m telling you to shut your
motherfuckin’ mouth!
JON
[throws up hands] Okay, okay!
TRISHA
You really fucked up this time, Earle. You’re a loser.
Just like at Cornell.
EARLE
[really pissed about her last remark] You shut up about Cornell.
TRISHA
Just like at Cornell. ‘Cept this time, there ain’t no way out.
We either give up now or we give up dead.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-ONE
EARLE
Oh, there’s a way out. [He picks up the phone]
TRISHA
Who you callin’?
EARLE
Lunch. It’s about noon, right?
EARLE (flipping through a phone book)
[on phone] Yeah, hi. I want an individual whole
wheat pizza with pepperoni and a Pepsi just for
me here at 1113 West 79th Street,
Room 113. And please rush. [pause] Ten
minutes? Make it five.
I’ll tip big. [pause] Thank you.
Earle hangs up the phone.
TRISHA
What the fuck are you doing?
Earle dials again.
EARLE (on phone)
Hello, 911? Yes, like to report an emergency.
Some guy dressed as a pizza delivery guy is coming
up to 1113 West 79th Street
to gun down two of your officers who are here in
the hallway. [pause] Never mind who I am. [pause] Look,
I’m doing you a favor, OK. He’s the same guy who
set off that bomb on Stuyvesant last year. You can
take this warning seriously or let your boys die.
Ciao. [hangs up]
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-TWO
JON
What the fuck?
EARLE (smiling)
Here come the fireworks!
TRISHA
You just set those guys up.
EARLE
You’re catching on.
TRISHA
They’d have to be idiots to buy that.
EARLE
They’re cops, ain’t they? One thing I’ve
learned about pigs is they don’t check out rumors
very well. I mean, they really don’t.
And I’m gonna prove it to you right now in living
bloody color!
CUT TO:
INT. NYPD HEADQUARTERS – NOONISH
We see a tight room of television monitors and phone banks with a sign on the wall: “New York Police Department Dispatch Center.”
COMMANDING OFFICER
What do ya think? This pizza thing a prank or what?
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-THREE
DETECTIVE
Can’t take a chance. Radio the guys on 79th and tell ‘em.
Be on the safe side.
BACK TO:
INT. ROOM AT HOTEL HAYTEM – NOONISH
Now Earle is back at the peephole. We hear a police radio transmission through the door.
POLICE RADIO (through door)
Come in, Somoza! Possible urgent situation.
EARLE
(anticipating the radio transmission and
speaking through the door)
Go ahead. Pick up. But be careful.
COP ONE (into radio)
Somoza here.
RADIO TRANSMISSION (o.s.)
Some guy just phoned in a threat saying you two are
gonna be attacked by someone dressed as a pizza
delivery guy. Don’t know how serious it is. But better
safe than sorry on this one. Be on alert. Over.
COP ONE
Will do. Over.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
RADIO TRANSMISSION (o.s.)
Tell us if you need back-up. Over.
COP ONE
You got it. Over.
EXT. THE PIZZA JOINT – IN THE NOON HOUR
A young swarthy guy is about to leave work for the day when his boss calls out to him.
BOSS
Hey, Angel!
ANGEL (turns around)
Yo, boss.
BOSS
I know you gotta pick up your daughter, but we got one
more delivery for the day.
ANGEL
Awww. Where?
BOSS
79TH Street. Haytem Hotel. Won’t take long.
Angel heads back into the Pizza Joint.
BACK TO:
INT. ROOM AT HOTEL HAYTEM – NOON HOUR
Trisha is now at the peephole, keeping watch.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
Earle picks up the phone while looking at a decal on the wall that says: “Brinks Security Protects This Building with Armed Response: Call 212-555-5555.”
EARLE
Now for the beauty part! [Earle talks into the phone.]
Hello, Brinks?! Wanna report an emergency at 1113
West 79th. Yes, the Haytem. Two thugs dressed as cops
are in the third floor hallway causing trouble. [pause]
Don’t think they’re armed, otherwise I’d call the NYPD.
[pause] I think they just ripped off a pizza delivery guy.
You should check it out ASAP. [pause] Yeah, room 316.
[pause] No need to worry the desk clerk when
you come up. Thanks.
Earle puts down the phone.
EARLE
Here come the fireworks!
Everyone starts talking in hushed urgent tones.
JON
Can’t stand the idea that you set that guy up.
EARLE
It’s them or us.
JON
I don’t wanna be a part of it.
On the wall in back of Earle is a large painting of an old west battle between cowboys and Native Americans.
EARLE
You ARE a part of it. You’re living off that robbery, just
like we are. How’d you get this room? Your hands are
as dirty as mine.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-SIX
JON
I didn’t rob any store.
EARLE
Yeah, but you’re livin’ off it.
JON
Someone might get hurt out there.
EARLE
That’s the idea. How else we gonna get out of
here? Eggs gotta be broken to
make an omelet –
JON
Yeah, but they’re not eggs.
EARLE
It’s them or me.
JON
They’ll be lenient if you give up now.
EARLE
Why would they show mercy now, when they didn’t
when I was eighteen and busted for pot? Two joints and
I got six months, expelled from Cornell, my life ruined
before it started. I’m not making the same mistake.
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY OF HOTEL HAYTEM – NOON HOUR
We see the empty hotel hallway from the POV of the two cops, filmed with a jittery hand-held camera as we hear nervous talk from the cops.
COP ONE
Getting’ a little spooked about this pizza thing.
I mean, what if –
COP TWO
It’s not.
COP ONE
But what if it is?
We hear footsteps coming from the stairwell and then down the hall.
COP ONE (putting his hand on his gun)
Someone’s coming. Watch it.
The footsteps grow louder and louder and then we see (from the cops’s POV) Angel the pizza deliverer carrying a large pizza box. The hand-held becomes progressively shaky in this scene.
COP ONE
Stop! Put your hands up!
ANGEL (sees cops)
Mister, I show you my ID. [Reaches in back pocket]
COP TWO
He’s reaching!
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT
COP ONE
Drop it!
Angel reaches forward with his wallet and he’s hit in the chest with gunfire from Cop One. Angel falls to the floor, unconscious and bleeding profusely.
COP TWO
Holy shit, man! What’d you do, man?!
COP ONE
You saw him reachin’, too!
COP TWO
Reachin’ for his wallet, probably.
COP ONE
Didn’t look like a wallet to me!
They walk over to him. Cop Two feels for a pulse.
COP TWO
He’s dead. [sarcastically] Good job, Somoza. See.
[He kicks Angel’s wallet across the floor a bit.] A wallet.
COP ONE
Maybe he had something on him.
COP TWO
Nothing. Not even a pulse.
COP ONE (becoming unhinged)
Hold on. Suppose he had a bomb? In the pizza box?
HARD NOON – PAGE TWENTY-NINE
COP TWO
You’re freakin’ out, Somoza.
COP ONE
Seriously. Stand back.
COP TWO
You’re losing it, Somoza.
Paranoid and anguished, Cop One approaches the delivery guy and very cautiously opens part of the pizza box to see what’s inside.
COP TWO
Anchovies and extra shrapnel, looks like.
Cop One peers cautiously into the pizza box, cringing as if expecting an explosion.
COP ONE
Not a bomb. [He starts trembling.] Goddammit! Why didn’t
he drop the wallet like I said! [Crying a bit.] Why didn’t
he do what I said?
The camera pulls back from Cop One and we see Angel sprawled and bloody amidst the scattered contents of his wallet (including his ID and family photos of Angel and his daughter).
COP ONE
This looks bad.
COP TWO
You bet. I told you to wait.
COP ONE
You told me nothing. Look, maybe if we put my
personal pistol on him –
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY
Cop One and Cop Two hear the loud trampling of footsteps up the stairs.
COP TWO
What’s that?
COP ONE
I’m not falling for anything this time. [He cocks his gun.]
Two Brinks Security guards arrive, out of breath and with guns drawn and adrenaline pumping.
FIRST BRINKS GUARD (to second Brinks Guard)
Just like he said – fake NYPD uniforms.
FIRST BRINKS GUY
[To the NYPD officers] Put down your guns immediately
and show identification.
COP ONE
[gun drawn] We’re NYPD, midtown north.
SECOND BRINKS GUY
Put down your gun and show ID now.
COP ONE
How ‘bout YOU guys show some ID?
SECOND BRINKS GUY
We’re licensed security guards, authorized to use deadly
force if necessary. Last time: drop your guns and show ID.
The security guards spot the pizza delivery guy on the ground.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-ONE
SECOND BRINKS GUY
Ohmygod, they fuckin’ wasted that delivery guy!
FIRST BRINKS GUY
[Shouting at the cops.] On the floor. Face down! Now!
COP ONE
Drop YOUR guns, dammit!
Cop One shoots first, hitting the First Brinks Guard in the shoulder.
There is a fusillade of fire. The Second Brinks Guard fires at Cop Two, who is hit in the leg and fires at Second Brinks Guard, whose facial tissue is seen flying off in a ball of bloody flesh.
Second Brinks Guard stands screaming without a face until Cop Two shoots him again, bouncing him up against the wall and splattering his blood. First Brinks Guard is shot by both Cop Two and Cop One, who are both shot (almost simultaneously) by the First Brinks Guard.
All fall to the floor dead, spilling gallons of blood, except for Cop One, who is merely wounded and bleeding, the only one still alive.
In the dust and smoke of the hallway, two police radios blare frantic messages and static. Cop One, wounded in the right thigh is bleeding profusely and slowly dragging himself on his belly to the stairs, leaving a smeary path of blood and groaning loudly at virtually regular five-second intervals.
BACK TO:
INT. ROOM 316 AT HOTEL HAYTEM – AROUND 1P.M. –
From Jon’s POV at mid-room, we see Earle at the peephole, popping M&M candy and clearly enjoying the carnage he’s caused, as if he’s watching a popcorn movie.
Through the door, we hear one officer groan and the cacophony of police radios.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-TWO
TRISHA
Place’s gonna be crawling with cops in five, you watch.
EARLE
No, it’s not. There’s no one around. And the desk clerk
is in his soundproof booth.
Earle guzzles the last of the M&Ms and opens the door a crack, as the dust and the noise of the groaning and the radios rush in. Through the slightly open door (Earle’s POV), we see the hallway walls splattered with bright red blood as if in some unfinished Jackson Pollock painting. The floor is littered with bodies, body parts, pizza, photos, police radios and other debris.
Earle opens the door and walks outside.
INT. HALLWAY OF HOTEL – AROUND ONE P.M.
This scene is scored to the chaotic urgent instrumental guitar section of The Faces’ “Miss Judy’s Farm.” Earle walks into the hallway with Trish.
EARLE (to Trish)
Strip the uniforms off the cop and the two guards.
Quick. We’re gonna need ‘em. I’ll be back in
a minute. And take these handcuffs and make sure our friend
Jon doesn’t go nowhere.
Earle walks through the hallway as we hear various radio messages such: “Answer signal,” and “Do you need back-up?” Earle picks up Cop Two’s radio and responds:
EARLE (into police radio)
This is Officer [he looks at the badge of the dead cop] Anatole
up on 79th. There was accidental discharge of firearm
here but no one’s hurt. Over.
RADIO
Why didn’t you respond earlier?
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-THREE
EARLE (into radio)
Sorry, you’re coming through pure static. Can’t hear anything
you’re saying. We’ll call later after mop up. Over.
Earle tosses the radio to the floor, walks over to Cop One, still alive but bleeding and crawling, and grabs his radio.
EARLE (into Cop One’s radio)
This is Somoza on 79th. Over.
RADIO
Somoza, we have back-up on the way. Over.
EARLE (into radio)
Cancel back-up. We just had an accidental discharge.
Nobody injured. We’re just mopping up. Over.
RADIO
OK, over.
Earle tosses the other radio down.
Mid-way up the hall is Cop One, still moaning in agony on his belly. Earle stands in front of him.
COP ONE (seeing Earle)
Water, please, water.
EARLE
Oh, we’ll have to get you some water.
Earle pulls Cop One by the hair toward the nearby common bathroom and drops the screaming cop at the toilet. We now see Earle from a low angle.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-FOUR
EARLE
So you wanna drink, huh?
Earle grabs the cop by the hair and puts his face in the toilet.
EARLE
[pulling the cop’s dripping face out of the toilet]
How ‘bout a chaser with that?
COP ONE
Stop! Stop! I won’t press charges, I promise!
[exhaling a spray of water]
EARLE
Charges?! I don’t think you’re in any position to fill
out paperwork! I think your charges days are over, pig! I think
you need more water! [He puts his face in toilet water again.]
Then he pulls his face out of the toilet.
EARLE
Now how ‘bout that chaser I promised?
Earle plunges the cop’s head back in the bowl, quickly pulls out his gun and shoots him in the back of the head. The water in the toilet turns red and the bowl overflows with blood.
Earle lifts the cop’s head by the hair from the bowl. We see an extreme close-up of the cop’s face from the front dripping with watery blood and a grisly exit wound as Earle says:
EARLE
Bad hair day?!
Earle drops the cop’s head back into the water as blood floods to the floor. He flushes the toilet with the cop’s head in it and a red flood spills into the hall.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-FIVE
Trisha walks by.
TRISHA (surveying the carnage)
Looks like a war zone. You’ve blown it for all time, Earle.
EARLE
You got those uniforms?
TRISHA
Yeah. I’m rinsing ‘em. They’re bloody, torn.
Let’s get out of here.
EARLE
We got a little time. I used their own radios to cancel back-up.
TRISH
You learned that from Joey, didn’t you?
BACK TO:
INT. ROOM 316 AT HOTEL HAYTEM – AFTERNOON
EARLE
Okay, let’s step. [to Trisha] Let’s get the uniforms.
WIPE TO:
Earle is now dressed in a NYPD uniform, while Jon and Trisha are in Brinks security guard uniforms.
JON
(in discomfort) Uhhh, it’s drenched.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-SIX
TRISH
Mine’s still a little bloody. And long.
We see Trish in a uniform that’s absurdly long.
EARLE (to Trish)
Well, roll up the sleeves and legs.
Trish does so.
Jon fingers some bullet holes in the chest of his jacket.
JON
How’m I gonna explain away these holes?
TRISHA
Budget cuts. Scuffle. I dunno.
EARLE (to Jon)
You’re not gonna splain nothin’ to no one out there.
[He moves menacingly toward Jon.] And if you try to tip
off anyone when we’re on the street, I’ll take you out on the spot,
I don’t care who sees. I’d get rid of you right now if I didn’t
need you for cover. Now, move.
Title card: One month earlier, Hoboken, New Jersey
.
EXT. MAIN STREET IN HOBOKEN – MORNING
From a third floor level POV, we see the length of Main Street in Hoboken, a compact town of three-and-four story apartment houses that look like a painting by Edward Hopper.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-SEVEN
The grand opening chords of John Mellencamp’s “Small Town" ring out and the song plays as we see the morning bustle of white collar people in suits and dresses walking among blue collar folks with brown bag lunch bags on their way to work.
The camera angle lowers as it follows (from the front) a couple walking in the crowd. One of them is Jon Steffens. The other is DIANE MILANO, his twentysomething campaign manager and political Svengali.
JON
Is this, like, the right time for me to run for mayor?
I mean, my first time out.
DIANE
Now is always the time for everything. Life’s short –
JON
No, it’s not. Everyone says that, but it’s not.
DIANE
Oh, yes, it is. If life were one long day, we’d
be belching our final lunch around now. It’d be
high noonish. Life’s short.
JON
No, if anything, life’s too long. It needs a tailor –
DIANE
Aw, c’mon –
JON
Life needs an editor. Like sleep, for example. Who thought
that one up? We’d be better off with just the good parts.
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
Jon and Diane walk by a group of three dapper middle-aged men. One calls out to Diane.
FIRST MAN
Hey, you’re Diana Milano!
DIANE
Diane Milano, yes.
We hear soft mandolin music from some place nearby.
FIRST MAN
Hardly recognize ya. You’se back from college! Hey, guys,
she’s back from college. [to Diane] ‘member me?
Nick, from Sal’s Bakery?
DIANE
Oh, yeah, Nick. How’s Sal?
NICK
He’s good. [To his friends:] Hey, I made her first Genoa salami
hero. When she was ten. Virgin basil and a touch of
garlic. [to Diane:] ‘member? Hey, don’t act too good for us
now you’se a college grad. [Diane: [graciously] “Oh, no.”]
Hey, stop by Sal’s sometimes. I’ll make you the
checkerboard special!
DIANE
Thanks, Nick. Oh, by the way, you voting for mayor?
NICK
DiCapitano, all the way!
HARD NOON – PAGE THIRTY-NINE
NICK’S TWO FRIENDS (in a chorus)
DiCapitano!
JON
Can I change your minds? [puts out his hand] Jonathan
Steffens – I’m running for mayor!
NICK
Look, I don’t wanna cast no aspersions, but, uh, ain’t nobody
stand no chance against DiCapitano.
NICK’S FIRST FRIEND
He got the machine, the juice. Ya don’t cross ‘im.
NICK’S SECOND FRIEND
Uh, Jon, we know who you is. We reads your column in the paper.
Stick to ya knittin’. DiCap can’t be beat!
NICK’S FIRST FRIEND
Even if you get more votes!
They all break up laughing.
JON
Well, in case you change your mind, here [hands Nick a leaflet].
NICK
Okay. And Diane: stop by Sal’s, okay?
DIANE
I’ll try. Bye. [Jon: “Bye.”]
Jon and Diane walk on toward City Hall.
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY
JON
The hometown girl.
DIANE
Part of me really likes it. But the other part…
JON
Aw, you love it. Small town life. [singing] Where
everybody knows your name!
DIANE
That’s what I’m afraid of, sometimes. I wish they didn’t.
JON
C’mon, they love ya.
DIANE
They love who I was when I was eight. I’m 25.
JON
You gonna stop by Sal’s?
DIANE
Part of me wants to. The part that grew up with Sal the baker
bouncing me on his knee. But my adult part now knows
Sal breaks the elbows of vendors who don’t pay what he wants.
JON
He’s old Hoboken. Fading.
DIANE
We can change this place – if we win!
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-ONE
JON
A big “if.” I mean, look at me: a politician who
hates the spotlight.
DIANE
Yeah, but you always wind up in it. Even when you were
a dishwasher in college, you wound up in the spotlight
because of that strike.
JON
One thing’s for sure…
Jon points to row after row of apartment and storefront windows plastered with DiCapitano campaign signs.
JON
…DiCapitano sure ain’t shy.
DIANE
Look at all the signs. Wonder what he had to do to get everyone –
JON
Yeah, every window. Yet nobody seems to like him much.
They stop at a light on the corner. We see crossed street signs showing the corner of Sinatra Drive and Sinatra Street.
Across the street is a small billboard reading: Hoboken – Birthplace of Francis Albert Sinatra.” Next to the sign, some burly guy repeatedly pushes a smaller man in a bullying way.
They cross the street. Steffens stops at a newsstand and puts down a quarter for The Hoboken Tribune with a headline: “Mayor’s People are ‘Stormtroopers,’ Says Foe.”
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-TWO
DIANE
Hey, you made the papers!
JON (looking at paper)
DiCap’s gonna hate this.
DIANE
Yeah?
JON
Y’see, DiCap’s dad fought FOR Mussolini before his
family came to America. [Diane: “Ohh.”] So he’s real sensitive
about being called a Nazi.
DIANE
You realize he’s a breathtakingly violent guy.
JON
Well aware. Anyway, gotta staple some of these posters
around City Hall, the laundromat, etc. We’ll meet up later.
DIANE
Yep, later.
EXT. LAUNDERED THINGS LAUNDROMAT SIGN – MORNING
INT. LAUNDERED THINGS LAUNDROMAT – MORNING
Jon is stapling a campaign sign to a bulletin board in the laundromat, empty except for the manager, when he sees two angry-looking men walk in.
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-THREE
One is Mayor TONY DICAPITANO, fiftyish and in an expensive silk suit with a bright green tie. The other is fortyish city councilman BOB RIZZO, more casually-dressed and a California transplant with a deep tan, a pinkie ring and one of those mustaches shaved clean below the nostrils.
Rizzo goes over to the laundromat’s manager, small and old, who’s under a hat that seems to dwarf him, and hands him a wad of cash.
RIZZO (to manager)
Go take a walk, get some air, old man. Ten minutes.
[He hands him cash.]
MANAGER (nervous)
Okay, okay.
RIZZO
Lock the door behind you and put up the closed sign.
MANAGER
[Eyes are big while staring at the money.] Okay, okay.
The manager puts up an “Out to lunch” sign, locks the door and leaves.
Jon continues to staple signs to the board. DiCapitano and Rizzo approach him.
JON (stapling signs)
I thought you didn’t want to debate, Mr. Mayor.
DICAPITANO
[holding up The Hoboken Tribune headline in which Jon calls
him a Nazi] Apologize, asshole!
JON
For what? Describes you to a T.
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-FOUR
DICAPITANO
Saying I come from “SS blood.” What’s that?!
JON
What’s that? Accurate.
DICAPITANO
Why dontcha go back to New York City? Hang out
with your Jew friends.
JON
Why don’t you go back to the Third Reich?
DICAPITANO
Hey, I was born here –
JON
Yeah, but you don’t appreciate this town. You wanna
make a buck by ruining the waterfront –
DICAPITANO
Fuck you!
JON
You wanna wreck everything, put buildings in
parks as payoffs –
DICAPTIANO
I wanna make money for the city.
JON
You’ve sold off the waterfront so people can’t even stroll –
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-FIVE
DICAPITANO
It’s their property.
JON
The Hudson belongs to the people.
DICAPITANO
It belongs to who pays the money.
JON
Y’know, you old-timers been sittin’ on land for generations and
now it’s worth something only because of the newcomers –
DICAPITANO
Bullshit!
JON
You wanna turn Hoboken into some crappy town like
Union City and you’re using your cops as your own private
Gestapo to do it. Just like your dad’s pal, Mussolini.
DICAPITANO (dangerously quiet)
What’d you say?
JON
I said, just like your dad’s pal.
Jon and DiCapitano scuffle a bit until Rizzo pulls them apart.
DICAPITANO
[shouting] You’re all wet, motherfucker! [Jon: “Fuck you.”]
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-SIX
RIZZO
[Pointing to one of the jumbo dryers.]
Maybe we oughta dry him off, boss.
DICAPITANO
Huh?
RIZZO
[Tapping on the large dryer.] Let’s dry off the wetback.
He swam all the way here from New York City, after all.
DICAPITANO (smiling)
Yeah, the poor boy’s all wet.
They all look over at the jumbo dryer, which fills the screen. Jon tries to bolt, but Rizzo holds his arms in back of him.
DICAPITANO
[sadistic chuckle as he feels Jon’s shirt.]
It’s wet, all right.
They both grab Jon, who tries to get away.
JON
[Struggling with them as they try to push him into the dryer.]
Get the fuck off, goddamn it! Help!
The two overpower Jon and force him into the dryer, which they shut and lock. Rizzo takes out a quarter, puts it in the slot and says:
RIZZO
This one’s on us!
The frame is filled with a set of buttons indicating heat level. Rizzo pushes the one marked “High Heat.”
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-SEVEN
The frame is filled with the dryer window . Jon spins around inside, frantically banging on the window and becoming increasingly sweaty. Jon’s shirt starts to rip, his eyes bulge in panic, his face turns very red as he pounds on the locked door.After a time, Rizzo puts the dryer on pause.
RIZZO
Hey, hot dog. Gonna apologize?
JON
[gasping for breath] Let me out!
DICAPITANO
Aww, wetback wants out. OK, you’re out. Just say,
“Please forgive me Mr. DiCapitano.” Say the words and you’re out.
JON
OK, open the door and let me out and I’ll say it.
He opens the dryer door and Jon, thoroughly disheveled and gasping for air, gets out.
DICAPITANO
On your knees, wetback.
JON
Okay, Mr. DiCapitano –
RIZZO
Speak up!
JON
Mr. DiCapitano, I just want to say….I’m so sorry that you were born
with Gestapo blood in your veins!
Jon then kicks away Rizzo and runs to the door, unlocks it and escapes from the laundromat before the two have a chance to catch him.
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-EIGHT
CUT TO:
INT. JON’S APARTMENT – AFTERNOON
Jon and Diane are on the couch and Jon’s lawyer, bearded Elliott Sovern, is on a chair, discussing the assault at the laundromat. Discussion is in progress.
JON
Barely escaped with my life. Those two should be in
jail, not at city hall.
ELLIOTT SOVERN
I agree, but it’s your word against the two of ‘em. YOU’D be lucky
not to be charged.
JON
But we can’t let them get away with it.
ELLIOTT
Hate to say it, but…Forget it, Jake. It’s Hoboken.
JON
Well, I should at least tell the story to the papers.
ELLIOTT
You could try. But they’d need corroborative. Reporters can’t
just take your word for it. And the laundromat manager says
he saw you throw the first punch.
JON
They paid him to say that and you know it.
HARD NOON – PAGE FORTY-NINE
ELLIOTT
I know. But, absent security camera footage, you don’t
have much of a case. Next time, have your tape recorder running.
JON
I’ll tell ya, that Rizzo’s almost worse than DiCap.
ELLIOTT
Yeah, Rizzo. Quite a piece of work. Fired from his previous
housing job in Pico Rivera for rounding up Mexican migrants
and bringing them to an animal shelter.
JON
You’re kidding?
ELLIOTT
No, kidding. A real bigot. He got juiced into the Health spot here
and then appointed by DiCap to fill a council vacancy.
JON
Here, it’s not Democrats versus Republicans. More like corrupt
versus honest, machine versus everyone else.
CUT TO:
EXT. TOWN SQUARE, HOBOKEN -- MORNING
Jon hands a bunch of leaflets to campaign worker SHANE MALONE for him to distribute to commuters heading to the PATH station.
Malone starts handing out the flyers when a cop with a K-9 dog approaches. Jon is several yards away shaking hands and talking to people.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY
HOBOKEN COP (to Malone)
Sir, I have to ask you to stop your activity and move along.
MALONE
This is public space. I’m allowed to leaflet.
HOBOKEN COP
Sir, I have to ask you to leave the premises.
MALONE
As I said, this is public space. This is legally OK.
HOBOKEN COP
I’m going to have to cite you for disorderly conduct.
MALONE
You must be joking. [yells over to Jon.] Hey, Jon!
The cop lets loose the leash for the K-9, which lunges at Malone and starts biting his boot. Malone screams in terror and Jon rushes to his side. A crowd, aghast at what they’re seeing, starts to gather.
JON (looking on in horror)
Officer, for crissakes, get your dog off my
friend!
The cop, seeing the crowd gather, whistles for the dog to stop biting Malone.
JON
You OK?
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-ONE
MALONE
I think so. Think he just got the boot. [We see a torn
trouser leg and bite marks on his boot.]
JON (to cop)
What the hell was that about?
HOBOKEN COP (to Malone)
I’m gonna have to cite you for disorderly conduct.
Could you please get in the squad car?
PERSON IN CROWD (angry)
Disorderly?!
ANOTHER PERSON IN CROWD
What the fuck?!
There are angry shouts from the crowd.
HOBOKEN COP (to Malone)
Sir, you’re under arrest for disorderly conduct. Come
with me to the car.
JON (to the cop)
This is outrageous! You won’t get away with this.
[He looks at the cop’s badge, its name covered up.]
Badge number covered. Gee, I wonder why.
The crowd is yelling angrily at the cop as he puts Malone in the back of the cruiser and then tries to drive away.
Jon stands in front of the police car and puts out his arm and palm in a “halt” gesture. The squad car tries to turn to the right of Jon, but Jon also moves to the right, his arm outstretched, blocking the police car.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-TWO
The cop sounds the car siren, flashes a red light and guns the engine. Again, Jon moves in front of the car, his hand outstretched. The angry crowd, now much larger, starts rocking the cruiser from side to side, chanting, “Let him go, let him go!”
From the crowd’s POV, we see the frightened cop in the driver’s seat, talking frantically into a police radio and then into a bullhorn (“You must disperse immediately or you will be arrested”).
The mob continues to rock the car. The cop opens the window a bit and tosses out a tear gas canister; the frame fills with the sight of smoke.
CUT TO:
INT. HELICOPTER FLYING ABOVE HOBOKEN – AFTERNOON
The tear gas smoke from the previous scene matches the clouds that the helicopter initially flies through in this dream sequence.
Diane Milano is flying with Jon, in the passenger seat. The camera is in the back seat and we see aerial Hoboken from their POV. Diane is treating him to a brutally honest tour of the town.
The helicopter moves south toward City Hall from the town’s northern fringes.
This scene is done in slightly fast motion.
DIANE
Let me show you the real Hoboken. The old-timers say
they hate New York, but how come they live so close?
The camera angle swings briefly to the Manhattan skyline, then back to Hoboken.
DIANE
Everyone on the west side wishes they lived on the east.
And everyone on the east side aspires to Upper Montclair.
And, of course, no blacks allowed, by order of the mafia.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-THREE
JON
There’s City Hall!
DIANE
Let’s swoop closer. [She lowers altitude dramatically.]
JON
Too close.
DIANE
City Hall can’t bite from here.
JON
Watch the wires. [Electrical wires loom below]
DIANE [panic in her voice]
Can’t pull away. Something’s pulling us down.
City Hall is frighteningly close.
Suddenly, a huge burst of red blood splatters unexpectedly and inexplicably on the helicopter’s front windshield.
JON
Shit! What was that?!
DIANE
What the fuck?!
The frame is completely bright red from the windshield blood, though we can see bits of downtown Hoboken coming closer and closer through spots in the blood as the ‘copter sputters out of control and hurtles to a crash.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-FOUR
CUT TO:
INT. JON’S APARTMENT – EARLY MORNING
Jon wakes from the helicopter dream out of breath and sweating; he looks at the digital clock radio that reads 5:00 a.m. “Whew!,” he sighs, relieved. We hear the clock radio:
CLOCK RADIO
Top of the news at five. A near-riot at Erie Lackawanna Plaza
in Hoboken yesterday morning after an angry crowd objected
to the rough treatment and arrest of a local campaign
worker. The campaigner, Shane Malone, was attacked
by a police K-9 before being arrested for disorderly conduct.
Police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. Malone
was not seriously injured. Local activists are calling
for an investigation into police misconduct, which has
split the small community into two very polarized camps
in recent years. In other news….
FADE
CUT TO:
There is a split screen. On one side is a Jon Steffens for mayor rally at the Fillmore Restaurant (with a caption: “Steffens for Mayor Rally, Fillmore Restaurant.”). On the other side is a DiCapitano Rally at the Elks Club (with a caption, “DiCapitano Rally, Elks Club”).
Visually we see the contrast between the two sides, between the reformers and counter-culture types at the Steffens gathering in contrast to the pot-bellied cigar-smokers at the DiCap rally.
We then inter-cut between the two rallies, in single screen sequences.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-FIVE
INT. THE ELKS CLUB OF HOBOKEN – NIGHT
TITLE CARD: The Elks Club of Hoboken.
TITLE CARD: Campaign Rally for Mayor DiCapitano.
The Elks Club is packed with a much more traditional and conservative crowd than the one across town at the Fillmore Restaurant for Jon. Lots of middle-aged people with cigars and pot bellies. Clothing is garish, tawdry and expensive in the manner of people with limited taste who have just come into big money. The men have prominent noses that seem to have been shaped by a series of fistfights. The younger guys seem bitter beyond their years. Older guys are somewhat wharfish, sporting gold chain necklaces and obvious toupees. Most of the younger women have overstated waterfall hair reminiscent of Farrah Fawcett in the 1970s.
With a stuffed elks head in the background, Mayor DiCapitano, in a black shirt and white tie, is seated at a center table with Bob Rizzo, sporting a leisure tan and a big white smile.
The camera slowly zooms in on DiCapitano’s table, showing Rizzo to the left and EARLE and TRISHA (characters we met in the first part of the film) to his right.
DICAPITANO (to Earle)
Did you take care of that thing? That butthead reporter
who wrote that thing --
EARLE
Yep. One and done! Loosened his license plate.
Fell off on the Hudson. Politto stops him.
No license plate, no pic ID.
DICAPITANO (smiling)
Lemme pour ya a cold one, Earle! [He pours Earle some
beer from a pitcher on the table.]
EARLE
I hear he’s got a roommate in lock-up tonight. They
stuck ‘im with Mickey the Monster.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-SIX
DICAPITANO
Mickey the Monster? [Not smiling now.] A bit extreme. I just
wanted them to put a scare in him.
EARLE
Well, he’s getting more than a scare tonight.
DICAPITANO
Yeah, but Mickey the Monster – that’s a smoking cell.
[Gulps a glass of beer, which gives him a foam mustache.]
He gonna get poked.
EARLE
Well, you told me to take care of ‘im. He’s dun taken care of.
Meanwhile, I’ve got my spies out at the Fillmore. They have a big
Steffens rally going on at this hour.
DICAPITANO
Shut it down, Earle. Get Fire to cite ‘em. Presto pronto.
EARLE
Good as done, Mr. Mayor.
DICAPITANO
How you get all this inside info?
EARLE
My cuz Diana, Jon’s better half. Little does she know who
I’m with. Wouldn’t get any Christmas cards if she knew.
TRISHA
But I give you all the cards you need, Earle.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-SEVEN
Earle and Trish kiss and they excuse themselves from the table.
DICAPITANO (to Rizzo)
Earle gets it done. But I only use him when I have to.
He tends to get carried away.
RIZZO
Yeah, carried away. Like the time he was supposed to just scare
that tree-hugger and he used a chain saw instead.
Pure luck they didn’t trace it back.
DICAP
Reckless but effective. What would we do without him?
RIZZO
Imagine if darling Di knew her cousin was workin’ for the other side.
DICAP
She’d stop going to Sal’s, that’s for sure!
They laugh and drink their beer.
A DiCapitano supporter approaches the table.
SUPPORTER
So, Tone, should I talk to your cousin about that thing?
DICAP
No, my cousin’s with Zoning. Talk to my brother-in-law; he’s with
Housing. He works with my uncle. They have master keys for the place.
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-EIGHT
SUPPORTER
Can we get your aunt at the courthouse to help on this?
DICAP
Better to deal with my nephew at Health; but first call my sister-in-law.
She knows the landlord.
SUPPORTER
Did you hear: Steffens has that girl working for him,
that Diana Milano.
DICAP
Oh, we know. Traitor. A good hometown girl like that working for
an an outta-towner. Jeez.
RIZZO (joining the conversation)
Ruined by that college, she was. Studied the movies and
now she’s in politics. Don’t make no sense. Not that I got
nothin’ against the movies.
SUPPORTER
Me neither. Like the other night I rented your “Citizen Crain” –
RIZZO
Wasn’t that with Tony Danza?
DICAPITANO (derisively)
Orson Beane, you idiot!
RIZZO
Right – Orson Beane!
HARD NOON – PAGE FIFTY-NINE
As Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking” comes on the jukebox, a couple from Atlantic City do a showy cornball dance, a kind of cat’s prowl toward each other, heads slightly lowered, hands low and outstretched with palms parallel to the floor.
RIZZO
Frankie’s kid sings this one.
DICAPITANO
Oh, yeah.
RIZZO
I’ll tell ya, Nancy really passed the torch, huh?
DICAPITANO (defensively)
Torch? I never heard no proof of arson in her
background. Per se.
The jukebox then plays Sinatra’s version of “My Way.”
DICAPITANO
Can’t hear this without going misty. [rubs his eyes.]
RIZZO
You said it.
As “My Way” plays, people get somber and sentimental.
Medium close-up of DiCapitano singing along emotionally to the “My Way” lyrics “I did what I had to do and saw it through without exception.”
As Sinatra sings, “The record shows, I took the blows and did it my way,” we see a medium close-up of DiCap and Rizzo and others singing along passionately. A boisterous crowd gathers around them like fans at a pep rally, as DiCap loudly sings the climax, pounding the center of the table with his glass at the final “my way.”
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY
CUT TO:
INT. FILLMORE RESTAURANT IN HOBOKEN – NIGHT
TITLE CARD: The Fillmore Restaurant, Hoboken.
TITLE CARD: Campaign Rally for Jon Steffens.
In the intimate club, we hear the opening notes of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” on the jukebox. Couples slow dance.
There is a medium close-up of Jon Steffens and Diane Milano dancing closely. A few nearby dancers are singing along to the lyrics: “No, I won’t be afraid, no, I won’t be afraid, Just as long a you stand, stand by me…”
The frame is filled with Jon and Diane as they dance, Jon dancing a bit awkwardly, Diane more gracefully.
JON (dancing with Diane)
How long do I have to keep this up?
DIANE
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other,
somewhat rhythmically.
[She waves to nearby dancer: “Hi, Monica!”]
JON (dancing)
I’m just not an overly public guy.
DIANE (dancing)
[sarcastically] Boy, are you in the right profession!
Get used to it, candidate. You also have to kiss
babies and pet dogs.
JON (dancing)
You know, tongues are wagging about us.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-ONE
Cut to the reactions of people sitting at tables along the perimeter of the dance floor.
MALE SUPPORTER (watching Jon and Diane dance)
So, are they an item?
FEMALE SUPPORTER
He’s not in her league.
MALE SUPPORTER
Yeah, but she can’t touch him intellectually.
FEMALE SUPPORTER
But she’s a way better dancer.
There is mild laughter from people at the table. We see Jon stepping on Diane’s foot as they dance.
At another table, we see Elliott Sovern talking with his wife Claire, a political activist. On the table is a copy of Newsweek magazine with the headline: “Amateurs are HOT in politics!”
CLAIRE SOVERN
(watching Jon and Diane dance)
You know, my theory is Jon’s too awkward and shy for politics.
ELLIOTT
His shyness is an asset. Makes him real. Like the
leaning of the Leaning Tower.
CLAIRE
Yeah, but the Leaning Tower might actually fall one day.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-TWO
ELLIOTT
He’s still our best bet. He’s brave, he’ll take on the thugs.
Plus, he brings in contributions from the entertainment industry
because they know him from his days as a reporter.
As the song ends, Jon is approached by a female supporter:
FEMALE SUPPORTER
Jon, just want to say we all really appreciate what
you did at the Plaza, blocking the police car and all.
MALE SUPPORTER
Real balls.
JON
I was just one of many –
FEMALE SUPPORTER
No, you really risked it.
JON
(slightly awkward when complimented)
Well, thanks. Thanks. And be sure to vote.
Blondie’s “Sunday Girl” comes over the speakers and people are seen dancing with joy and abandon.
The music fades. Elliott Sovern, scratching his beard and carrying papers, approaches the microphone on a low stage and makes an announcement.
The music fades. Elliott Sovern, scratching his beard and carrying papers, approaches the microphone on a low stage and makes an announcement.
ELLIOTT SOVERN
[at the microphone]
Hey, people, we have fresh poll numbers right out of Rutgers!
The crowd cheers.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-THREE
SOVERN
And I think you’re gonna like what you hear!
More crowd cheers.
SOVERN
Numbers are bitchin’! Get this: 37% Steffens; 25 % DiCap;
20% Drinan in the Rutgers poll released just two hours
ago! [wild cheers from the crowd] Which means we’ve gone from
dark horse to frontrunner in the space of six months! [
cheering] Momentum stats are with us. [cheers]
Tracking stats are with us. [cheers] Jon, you’re proving that
no experience is necessary in politics if you have common
sense and balls. So, without further ado, here’s the
next mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, Jonathan Steffens!
[lots of applause and cheers]
Jon is mobbed as he heads to the podium; he’s shaking hands and his head is slightly down as he walks.
Before he reaches the stage, there’s commotion at the restaurant’s entrance. We hear fire engine sirens outside the place and all heads turn toward the noise. The restaurant owner, Bob Fillmore, bounds to the front door where he’s met by several uniformed fire department people.
FILLMORE
I’m the owner. What’s the problem?
FIRE MARSHALL
I’m sorry, sir, but you’re in violation of Fire Code 752,
failure to provide adequate egress. We need your back-exit
accessible immediately or you’ll have to evacuate the restaurant.
FILLMORE
Exit’s blocked?! What are you talking ‘bout?! [To an associate:]
Sam, go check the back door. [Sam: “Sure.”
Sam runs to check the exit.]
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-FOUR
FIRE MARSHALL
One of our firefighters witnessed it hisself; your back
exit’s blocked by a dumpster.
Sam runs back from the exit, out of breath.
SAM (huffing)
They’re right, Bob. There’s a huge blue dumpster
parked right outside the door. And it’s not on wheels.
FILLMORE
What the fuck? That’s not even our dumpster!
Someone parked it there. We didn’t.
FIRE MARSHALL
Whether it’s yours or someone else’s, we have to ask you to
immediately remove it from the doorway. Otherwise,
you’ll have to remove everyone from the premises
until the exit’s unblocked.
FILLMORE
On what authority?
FIRE MARSHALL
The municipal fire code of the City of Hoboken.
FILLMORE
I didn’t park it there, pal.
FIRE MARSHALL
It’s the responsibility of the owner to provide –
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-FIVE
FILLMORE
Look, we’re in the middle of a political rally here.
When it’s over, I’ll gladly –
FIRE MARSHALL
No, gotta be done now. We can’t allow this gathering to
continue while you’re in violation.
FILLMORE
If you wait twenty minutes --
FIRE MARSHALL
We can’t wait five. You either deal with it, or we will.
FILLMORE
All right, all right! Lemme call a tow truck.
FIRE MARSHALL
Good, but the place still has to be cleared of occupants
immediately. We’ll give you five minutes to
disperse this gathering –
FILLMORE
You have no right –
FIRE MARSHALL (to his firemen)
Men, we have to enter –
FILLMORE
[waves his hands dismissively] Okay, okay. But you’re
answering for this, buddy. [He pulls out a
pen and pad.] What’s your name?
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-SIX
FIRE MARSHALL
Tom Rizzo.
FILLMORE
[stops taking notes] As in Councilman Rizzo?
FIRE MARSHALL
My brother. Mister, either you vacate the premises
immediately or we’re comin’ in.
FILLMORE
I’m clearing it. But you’ll hear from my attorney tomorrow.
FIRE MARSHALL
My number’s 420-5555.
The firefighters turn and leave.
SAM (to Fillmore)
Whatcha gonna do?
FILLMORE
No, choice, Sam. Everyone’s gotta go.
Fillmore walks to the podium and whispers something to Steffens, who has been getting ready to speak. We see but don’t hear them talking. Steffens gestures angrily and Fillmore throws his hands up in the air.
Steffens walks over to Sovern as Fillmore goes to the microphone.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-SEVEN
FILLMORE (at the mike, to the crowd)
Can I have your attention, please? Uh, the wonderful
Hoboken machine has seen fit to shut us down for the
night. [boos from the crowd] Someone – I wonder who? – decided
to park a wheel-less dumpster at the back entrance and
councilman Rizzo’s brother just happened to notice it.
[more boos.] Look, I hate it, too, but we’ve all gotta use
the exits and leave. [“Awww,” goes the crowd.]
Otherwise, I might be put out of business. So, everybody carefully
file out the front door, please. And let this be a reminder
as to why we need to elect Steffens for mayor!
[huge cheer from the crowd as people file out.]
The crowd is outraged and disappointed as they leave the restaurant, shouting things like “fuck ‘em” and “they can’t do that.”
CUT TO:
INT. DIANE MILANO’S VOLVO (MOVING) – NIGHT
Diane is driving Jon home from Fillmore’s.
JON
Bummer. Didn’t even get to speak. And you know who
shut us down? Rizzo’s bro.
DIANE
I know. But you should be happy about the polls.
JON
I am, but this sucks.
DIANE
Real thugs in this town.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-EIGHT
JON
And you actually grew up here! From birth! I sometimes wonder
how you managed to avoid becoming a victim.
DIANE
I’d love to say something Gandhi-esque, but truth be told,
my survival secret is…I’ve carried a pistol for years.
JON
You? Never saw you as a gun slinger!
DIANE
Oh, yeah. I’ve had training. Pretty good shot, too.
Permit to carry, too. Comes in handy in tight spots
and – at family gatherings! [laughs]
JON
Good to know we’re protected, since the police aren’t
on our side. [pause]
DIANE
Cheer up. I’ve got some great Chianti at my place.
Wanna stop by?
JON
Sure, that’d be fun.
DIANE
And if you wanna sleep over, my fold out
couch is available.
JON
Cool. I need company tonight. Let’s stop at my place
first so I can grab an overnight bag.
HARD NOON – PAGE SIXTY-NINE
DIANE
Sure.
JON
Hey, I had a dream about you last night.
[Diane: Yeah?”] Yeah, we were in a helicopter that crashed
into City Hall after blood hit the windshield.
DIANE
Did your life flash before your eyes?
[Jon: “No.”] I once had a near-death thing. Almost
drowned. Except instead of my life flashing in front me,
my future flashed in front of me.
JON
Your future flashed in front of your eyes. Ha.
That’s a new one.
DIANE
Yeah, my future flashed: the boyfriends I’d probably have, the
weddings I’d attend, the jobs I’d have.
JON
What was the close call?
DIANE
I was eight and an undertow carried me off the Jersey shore.
I was goin’ under and yelled for help and my cousin Earle really
saved the day. Jumped in, rescued me. But in the
process, he smacked his head on some rocks.
Earle was never the same after that. He started
getting into trouble fairly frequently and I lost track of him.
Too bad. He went to Cornell and all.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY
JON
So when the future flashed in front of your eyes, was I there?
DIANE
Oh, stop.
JON
You know what I mean.
DIANE
I’ll tell you the truth: I’ve had really shitty luck with men.
JON
I’ve always thought we’d work out.
DIANE
It never works out.
JON
It might. It might this time.
DIANE
I’m no good at relationships.
JON
Hey, as they say, love’s for amateurs.
DIANE
Yeah, but it’s not for incompetents. I’m much better at politics.
Let’s just see what happens.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-ONE
CUT TO:
INT. DIANE’ APARTMENT IN HOBOKEN – THE NEXT MORNING
Diane and Jon are seated at the table eating breakfast and drinking coffee in Diane’s apartment, where John spent the night. They hear a knock on the door.
DIANE
Who could that be? At 8?
JON
One way to find out.
Diane opens the door. and there stands Elliott Sovern, looking sweaty and very worried.
ELLIOTT (at the door)
Hi, Diane. [Diane: “Hi.”] [He spots Jon.]
Thought I’d find you here.
Jon gets up, goes to the door.
JON
[sipping a cup of steaming coffee) Yeah, spent
the night here. Diane had this great Chianti –
SOVERN
Well, sit down. Serious news. Your place was
burglarized last night.
JON
Wha? [Diane: “Nooo!”]
SOVERN
Burglars got away – how convenient -- but the marvelous
Hoboken cops managed to find the stolen stuff they left behind.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-TWO
JON
Oh, shit!
SOVERN
There’s more. Sources tell me cops confiscated what they stole.
Among the electronics, vids -- a stack of pro-jihadist pamphlets.
Makes it look like you’re a closet bin Laden.
JON
[laughs] Oh, c’mon, Elliott. Everyone knows my record.
I’m way on the other side.
DIANE
Wayyy on the other side.
JON
Obviously, that stuff got planted there.
SOVERN
I know that, but the JTTF doesn’t. And I hear DiCap’s cops
have forwarded the material to the F.B.I. ‘s terror unit. My guess
is you’ll be getting a call from the Feds soon.
JON
Yeah, but it’s easily explained. Let me just go down there –
SOVERN
No, don’t go back home. You’re officially on vacation for a
couple days. Where – no one knows. Let me handle it.
DIANE
Huh?
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-THREE
JON
You sure, because –
SOVERN
I have better connections in D.C. than in Hoboken.
I can blow this out through back channels in a day or two.
But I need a day or two. And you need to stay out of sight.
JON
Where to?
SOVERN
Out of town.
JON
Is my place sealed up, secure?
SOVERN
Don’t worry. Landlord locked it.
JON
You sure I shouldn’t just hold a press conference –
ELLIOTT
Jon, this is political sabotage, Segretti-style. Don’t get
entangled. Let me call my guy at JTTF first.
JON
I could release a statement: burglars broke in
and planted stuff –
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-FOUR
SOVERN
Nobody’d believe you. Sounds like you’re spinning. And
jihad is the third rail. No, let me get my sources to
investigate. Then, in a couple days, you come back from your
“vacation” and condemn the dirty tricksters.
JON
Okay, I’ll defer to you on this.
SOVERN
I’ll tell everyone you’re on a sailboat for a few days,
incommunicado. Don’t use your credit cards or your real
name, check into some anonymous fleabag hotel.
JON
Aww, can’t we spring for a Marriott?
SOVERN
They’d be expecting that. Get some SRO room across the river,
Manhattan. Where they wouldn’t expect you. And let’s
hope DiCap doesn’t leak this before I have a
chance to get the truth out.
CUT TO:
Title Card: Meanwhile, back at the Haytem Hotel in Manhattan…
INT. HAYTEM HOTEL HALLWAY – AFTERNOON
Earle, Trisha and Jon – wearing cop and security guard uniforms – walk through the blood-stained hallway full of dead bodies and debris. They walk down the stairs.
EARLE
There’s a back exit. Let’s avoid the lobby.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-FIVE
They go out the back exit into the daylight of a cul de sac off of West 79th. They walk briskly down the street.
TRISHA
I say let’s hitch to Toronto!
EARLE
Without a passport? Let’s stay put in NYC.
TRISHA
With what money? You already burned through
the Crunch Bar dough.
EARLE
We’ll find some.
Earle sees some apparently able-bodied guy park his car in a handicapped zone.
EARLE (to the guy with the car)
Hey, pal, you’re parked in a handicapped space.
You have a permit?
GUY WITH CAR
No, officer. Didn’t see the handicapped sign.
EARLE
Didn’t see the sign? Tell it to the judge.
GUY WITH CAR
Look, I’m leaving. No harm, no foul, okay?
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-SIX
EARLE
I’ll tell you what. I’ll let you off easy this time.
No formal ticket. I’ll let you pay right here.
Seventy-five bucks.
GUY WITH CAR
That’s outrageous. I’ve never heard of –
EARLE
Or we could do this downtown where it’ll cost you another
three hundred plus towing costs. Your choice.
GUY WITH CAR
[Pulls out his wallet and gives him four twenty dollar bills]
Here, keep the change. I don’t want trouble.
EARLE
Who does? Just don’t let it happen again.
GUY WITH CAR
No, sir, I won’t.
The three walk on.
EARLE (smiling)
You know, I think I missed my calling. Should’ve gone to
police academy. I kinda enjoy this. [He spots The Last
Pharmacy on 79th and Amsterdam.] Let’s stop here.
TRISHA
Don’t you dare.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-SEVEN
EARLE
No, no, no! We’re cops. We don’t have to steal anymore.
INT. THE LAST PHARMACY – LATE AFTERNOON
They go inside The Last Pharmacy and approach the cashier, a fortyish Korean woman, at the back pharmacy counter.
EARLE (to cashier)
How ya doin’?
CASHIER
Hello to you.
EARLE
Do you have any, like, Lysol in – [looks up at the ceiling and
feigns shock]. Whoa! That ceiling looks mighty unstable.
When was your last inspection?
CASHIER
Inspection? Last year some time.
EARLE
You’re way late, m’am. Building code requires quarterly
inspections. It might cost ya, uh, two hundred in penalties.
CASHIER
Two hundred dollar?! But I cannot.
EARLE
Calm down, m’am. I’ll save you the trouble of having to go
all the way downtown to pay and all. You give me the
two hundred and I’ll take it down to the housing department.
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-EIGHT
Her husband, a Korean man wearing a “Manager” tag, comes out from the back.
MANAGER
We never heard of nothing like that.
I’ve been here seven years.
EARLE
Here, you take my badge number.
Tell Housing you paid Office Anatole.
The Korean couple look skeptical, scared.
MANAGER
This does not sound okay –
EARLE
Unless you wanna go downtown. You wanna come
with us? Huh? Gonna be a hard case? Okay,
both of you step from behind the counter with
your hands raised –
The cashier springs open the cash register.
CASHIER
Here. Take one hundred, two hundred. Here. [She hands
him two one-hundred dollar bills.]
EARLE
Thank you, m’am. We’ll see your debt is paid in full.
As the three leave, they hear the man and wife arguing angrily in Korean.
EXT. WEST 79TH STREET – OUTSIDE THE PHARMACY – LATE AFT.
EARLE (flashing the $200)
Hey, we’ve gone legit!
HARD NOON – PAGE SEVENTY-NINE
TRISH
No more SRO!
They stop in front of an appliance store with a window full of display TV sets tuned into a news program. The TV audio blares onto the sidewalk.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
One of the three suspects is Jonathan Steffens, disgraced
former candidate for mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey.
Friends reacted this afternoon:
BOB RIZZO (on TV)
I didn’t know him good, but hope he comes out of this and
gets the psychiatric help he needs.
JON
He’s a political rival, not a friend!
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
The woman is Trisha Sears, a former actress and
partner of suspected ringleader Earle Milano. Milano
is said to be involved in sabotage on behalf of corrupt
politicians in New Orleans and Hudson County, New Jersey.
We see the reactions of all three.
JON
Hudson County? Hoboken?
EARLE
Questions may be hazardous to your
health, dude.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY
JON
Milano’s your last name?
EARLE
I said, don’t ask me no more questions.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
Milano is seen here robbing The Crunch Bar
on Manhattan’s Upper West Side earlier today. [VO as we see
security camera footage of Earle holding a gun on the cashier.]
Friends say Milano’s problems began when he was
expelled several years ago from Cornell University in his
freshman year after being caught with a bag of marijuana.
Expelled with him was his partner in crime
Patricia Sears. A Cornell professor spoke with us about
his former student:
PROFESSOR (on TV)
I’ll be frank: Milano was a brilliant political science
student, with a terrific grasp of practical strategy, but
was derailed by a marijuana bust in his first year.
They sort of trashed a genius.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
And this just in: two New York City police officers
and two Brinks security guards are dead, presumed
murdered, at the Hotel Haytem in Manhattan.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending
notification of loved ones. Detectives are trying to
determine whether the murders are related to the trio
who robbed the Crunch Bar.
EARLE
They haven’t shown pictures of us yet.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-ONE
TRISHA
Better get a room while we can.
EARLE
Seeing as we’ve earned our dough – earning being a
relative term, after all -- we can check into the Marriott.
Come morning we’ll all shave our heads and pretend
we’re Hare Krishnas. Jon and I’ll get the room and you
sneak upstairs later. [“Okay,” says Trisha.]
Get tricky, Jon, and you’re dead on the spot.
They walk to a Marriott near midtown. .
CUT TO:
INT. DIANE MILANO’S APARTMENT – TWILIGHT
Diane and Elliott Sovern are watching the newscast.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
…Earle Milano is seen here on The Crunch Bar’s security
camera footage. [VO as we see Earle hold a gun on
a cashier.] Friends say…
We see a medium close-up of Diane, looking shocked.
DIANE
That’s Earle! That’s my cousin!
ELLIOTT
Come again?
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-TWO
DIANE
The robber’s my cousin.
ELLIOTT
You sre?
DIANE
Oh, yeah. Uncle Joey’s son.
[She hears the continuing news report.] Yeah,
expelled from Cornell for pot – that’s him!
And saved my life when I was eight, by the way.
Looks like he’s [in disbelief] with Jon! He’s with Jon!
ELLIOTT
Can’t be. I told Jon to blow off for a
couple days but –
DIANE
You don’t think?
ELLIOTT
Could be a hostage thing.
DIANE (picks up phone and dials)
New York Police Department , please. Yes, this is an
emergency. [pause] Hello, yes, I’ve just seen the news
about the robbery in Manhattan. I know the person
involved, my cousin. [pause] Yes, he’s my cousin.
And I think that the other guy is being held against
his will. [pause] If you can locate my cousin – his name is
Earle -- I might be able to help. I think I can talk him
down, end this thing peacefully. [pause] OK. It’s
Diane Milano, M-I-L-
FADES
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-THREE
CUT TO:
INT. FRONT DESK LOBBY OF THE MARRIOTT – TWLIGHT
From a slight distance, we see Earle, Jon at his side, paying cash for a room at the front desk. The clerk eyes them slightly suspiciously but books them a room. Earle and Jon get their room key and walk away.
Medium close-up of clerk picking up the phone and saying, “Hello, 911. You might want to check out the two guys who just checked into the Marriott in midtown….” [fades away]
INT. ROOM AT THE MARRIOTT – TWILIGHT
All three collapse from exhaustion on the beds.TRISHA
I need a major shower.
JON
Same here. Uniform’s still damp.
EARLE
Afterwards, we’re all shaving our heads.
TRISHA
Awww.
EARLE
Yes, we are. We’re gonna be Hare Krishnas
starting tonight. In fact, Trish: go on downstairs and get some
shears and shavers at the lobby shop. I’ll keep watch
on ol’ Jon here.
TRISHA
OK. Gonna need some bucks.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-FOUR
EARLE
[pulls out his wallet and hands her a hundred dollar bill]
Shaving cream, scissors, shears. [Trisha: “OK.”]
We see Trisha head out the door and then hear loud voices in the hallway:
VOICES IN THE HALLWAY
Hold it right there. Do not move. New York Police!
Earle hears the commotion and immediately puts his gun to Jon’s head.
The cops grab Trisha and rush in through the open door into the hotel room.
EARLE (holding a gun to Jon’s head)
Put down your guns or I’ll shoot my
hostage. Put down your guns.
NYPD OFFICER
Drop the gun. Drop it now!
Through the door walks Diane Milano, who arranged to accompany the cops.
DIANE (to the cops)
Let me try to talk with him, OK?
COP (To Diane)
Go ahead. But be careful.
JON
Diane! What’re you doing here?
DIANE
Long story, Jon. I love you.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-FIVE
JON
I love you, too.
DIANE
That guy you’re with is my cousin Earle.
I think DiCap hired him.
EARLE (to Diane)
Well, well. Isn’t this a family reunion.
DIANE
Earle, give it up. There’s no way out. Hotel’s surrounded.
Just give up peacefully. Just put down the gun.
EARLE
Here’s my counter-offer, cuz: I’ll give you Trisha.
And Jon gets to live if I get to leave.
DIANE
Oh, Earle give up before you end up dead.
And let Jon go.
Diane draws her revolver and points it at Earle.
We hear NYPD officers (o.s.) shouting to her, saying, “Let us handle this, Diane. Don’t you try.”
EARLE
You gonna kill your own cousin?
DIANE
If I have to.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-SIX
EARLE
I shoulda let you drown when I coulda .
DIANE
Drop the gun, Earle. Last chance..
EARLE
You shoot and you might hit Jon instead.
Don’t try it, cuz.
Diane’s hand starts shaking and her pistol accidentally goes off, hitting John in the shoulder. Jon falls to the ground unconscious, bleeding profusely.
DIANE
Ohmygod! Jon! I didn’t mean to shoot.
I love you, Jon.
EARLE
Bitch, you just killed the man you love. [chuckles]
And now it’s time to say, bye cuz. This one’s from Uncle Joey.
Earle takes dead aim at Diane.
Diane shoots Earle dead in the head and then rushes to Jon, lying in a pool of blood. She falls to her knees sobbing.
DIANE
[crying, inconsolable] Jon! Please don’t
die, Jon!
A cop rushes over to Jon and feels his pulse.
NYPD OFFICER
I’m not feeling a pulse.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-SEVEN
DIANE
Oh, no! [crying]
Diane, on her knees in the blood, gets her pistol and puts it in her own mouth, closes her eyes and pulls the trigger. The gun goes “click” because she’s out of bullets.
The scene goes black.
CUT TO:
Title Card: One Month Later…
INT. AN OFFICE AT HOBOKEN CITY HALL -- MORNING
Jon, his right shoulder bandaged, his right arm in a sling, is in his campaign office at the City Hall building in Hoboken. He’s watching a newscast on TV, his feet up on the desk, his Doberman parked peacefully in a corner. Behind him is a “Steffens for Mayor” sign.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
Jury selection begins today in the conspiracy and
murder trial of associates of former Hoboken mayor
Anthony DiCapitano, forced to resign after being
arrested for his role in the plot. DiCapitano, indicted
separately, is being charged with paying two political
saboteurs – Trisha Sears and Earle Milano -- to ruin the
reputation of candidate Jon Steffens in a dirty trick gone
murderously awry. Earle Milano was killed in a shoot-out last
month; Sears has survived and will face charges
that include murder.
The only winner in this sordid affair may well be Steffens, the
odds-on favorite to become mayor in coming weeks. Steffens’
friends have noted that, since his abduction, the usually
reticent candidate has gained a much harder edge, And he’s
even bought a Doberman for security purposes.
The phone rings and Jon picks it up.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-EIGHT
JON (into phone)
Yeah, Steffens here. [pause] Tell ‘em to pack up and
leave. Shut ‘em down. [pause] No, a boycott isn’t enough.
We’ll shut it down, sit in front of Rizzo’s restaurant until
he agrees to stop harassing customers who are
Jewish, or black, or gay. [pause] Sure it’ll put some
guys out of work. You gotta break a few eggs to make
an omelet. [pause] No, I’m not putting it up to a vote.
I’m the candidate and that’s my final decision.
[His Doberman barks a bit in the background.] OK, bye.
Jon hangs up the phone.
There’s a knock on the door. Jon’s Doberman bares his teeth and growls low.
JON (to dog)
Heel, Dobie. It’s all right.
The Doberman calms down.
JON (to the person at the door)
Come in.
Diane Milano walks in.
JON
Hey, Di.
DIANE
Hi, Mayor-to-be. [She sits at the edge of his desk.]
Watching the news, eh?
JON
Good news. The fall of DiCap.
HARD NOON – PAGE EIGHTY-NINE
DIANE
Hey, how’s the shoulder?
JON
Comin’ along. Doctor says I’ll be out of the sling
in two weeks.
DIANE
Damn, I feel so guilty.
JON
Wat for? You saved my life, Di. Earle would’ve
blown my head off in the next round, no doubt.
DIANE
Still can’t get my head around the fact I killed
my own cousin. What’s that called: cousin-icide?
JON
It’s called justice. Come sit here.
[He motions toward his lap.]
Diane sits on his lap.
DIANE
So it looks like you’re really gonna make it this time.
JON
Yeah, but am I gonna make it with you?
DIANE
You sound like a movie.
HARD NOON – PAGE NINETY
JON
The question stands.
DIANE
Let me ask you: when I shot you, did your future flash
in front of your eyes? The way we talked about.
JON
No, truth be told, the future didn’t flash in front of my
eyes then. I just went unconscious. But the future’s sort of
flashing right now, if you know what I mean.
DIANE
Yep, it’s right in front of you.
Jon and Diane kiss passionately.
FADE TO:
The credit sequence played over Iris Dement’s song “Our Town.”
THE END
