Repertory Draft: The Aqueduct of Tears Thread

Aqueduct of Tears

Written and directed by: Chris Olson
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr. as Frank Taylor
Franka Potente as Abigail Becker
Robert Duvall as Marshall Taylor
Gael García Bernal as Aarón Salazar
Aishwarya Rai as Lexi Avital
Catherine Keener as Carolynn Wallace
Kurt Russell as Morgan Wallace

Career-minded, recently widowed architect Frank Taylor (Robert Downey, Jr.) receives a call from his estranged sister, Carolynn (Catherine Keener), who asks him to come to Africa. Initially, Frank refuses, but Carolynn persists, explaining that their father, Marshall (Robert Duvall), has apparently taken leave of his senses and is currently residing in a remote village in the middle of the Serengeti with a group of Christian missionaries. Carolynn needs Frank to come and help her convince Marshall to return home, as he won’t listen to her. Frank eventually agrees, takes a leave of absence from work, and hops on the first flight out. When he arrives at the airport, he is greeted by Carolynn and her husband, Morgan Wallace (Russell), a successful businessman. With them is one of the missionaries, a young man named Aarón Salazar (Gael García Bernal), and he has agreed to escort Frank, Carolynn, and Gerald out to the village.

When they arrive, they are greeted warmly by their father, who is delighted to see them, but he nonetheless refuses to leave and return to his old life. It turns out Marshall is there attempting to bring water to the village by building an irrigation system based on the Roman aqueducts. Frank and Morgan do their best to convince him that while they admire his reasoning, it’s little more than a foolish plan that is doomed to failure. Marshall laughs off their concerns, and instead takes them on a tour of the small village. Frank, Carolynn, and Morgan are moved by the tenacity of the villagers who persevere, despite living in squalor and being faced with adversity, but Frank and the others still feel that Marshall should abandon his foolish quest and come home. Marshall refuses and becomes somewhat angry this time, but he manages to quickly regain his composure and introduces his children to Lexi Avital (Aishwarya Rai), a beautiful young missionary with whom Marshall has become quite smitten. Even more shocking to Frank and Carolynn, though, the ethereally young woman also appears to harbor some feelings of her own for the much older man. Whether they are romantic or merely platonic is not clear, but there is definitely something going on there.

Finally, Marshall takes his family to meet the leader of the missionaries; a lovely, strong-willed, intensely spiritual woman by the name of Abigail Becker (Franka Potente). Almost immediately, Frank finds himself drawn to this woman, though she shows no interest in him whatsoever, her attention being more consumed by her faith and her mission work. She explains that she believes in Marshall’s plan, and that, God willing, it could work, thus saving the village from a long drought. Morgan and Frank try to appeal to her reason, and explain that the reality of the situation is that an aqueduct system is simply not feasible. Abigail refuses to listen to their protests, and even asks if they would be willing to stay and help them turn Marshall’s dream into a reality. Morgan and Carolynn refuse outright, but Frank, seeing something like desperation in his father’s eyes, agrees to stay on.

Over the next few weeks, Frank does his best to help the missionaries with their work, developing a strong friendship with Aarón in the process. In the evenings, Frank uses the majority of his free time getting to know Abigail, who eventually starts to open up and develop feelings for him as well. More importantly, though, Frank manages to reconnect with his father during this time, and starts to feel as though his broken soul may finally on the mend. Unfortunately, a rift still exists between the two men, as Frank refuses to acknowledge that Marshall’s aqueduct might really be the solution to the village's problems.

Frank and Marshall finally confront each another one evening, and all their repressed emotions boil up to the surface, with Frank chastising Marshall not only for embarking on a fool’s quest and getting involved with a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, but for all but abandoning him and Carolynn when they were just children. Eventually, Abigail attempts to calm both men down, explaining that if they just have faith in God, as Marshall does, then they can and will make the aqueduct work. This leads to yet another argument between her Frank, who does not share Abigail’s conviction of faith. Meanwhile, a fierce thunderstorm is moving in over the plains, heading for the village. As the argument reaches its apex, the dark clouds open up and unleash a torrent of rain on the village, leading to the climactic image of the film; Marshall, standing in the raining, shouting praise to the lord as Frank, Abigail, Aarón, and Lexi look on in wonder.

The next day, apologies are made, and relationships are either re-forged or strengthened. Marshall finally agrees to abandon the aqueduct idea and return home, but Frank convinces him there is still work to be done in the village, and maybe he shouldn’t make such a hasty retreat just yet. Meanwhile, Abigail explains to Frank that she does have feelings for him, but right now her work is more important to her. Frank says he can wait, and that for the time being, he’s happy to simply have a friend like her. So while his issues may not be entirely resolved, Frank feels that it is time to move on, and finally allow the healing to begin.

Those pesky sasquatches are invading the aqueduct! Only 12 men can stop them.

Aqueduct of Tears

Starring:
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Robert Bishop
Maria Bello as Michele Hudson
Cirian Hinds as Daniel Hudson
David Strathairn as Captain Shane Dallas
Chris Evans as Johnny Hudson
Carla Gugino as Veronica Bishop
Nathan Fillion as Charly Kane


Michele Hudson is in her 30's, she led a very normal and happy life. She was born and raised in a small town and today is the happiest day of her life. She is getting married to his high school sweetheart Charly.
Charly works with Michele's father Daniel in a steel factory. He's a very simple yet determined man. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on Michele that he was going to marry her.

Mr. Daniel Hudson has been one of the community leathers almost all his life. His steel factory provides jobs for half the town. He is overflowing with joy for her daughter. He made all the arrangements so that she could get married at his house. Even his younger son Johnny is coming home from his Iraq tour just in time to attend the wedding.

The guest list includes almost all of the town, the house is big and the service is top notch. Suddenly a small confusion generates at the entrance when 2 uninvited guests who nobody recognizes arrive. They are Robert Bishop and his wife Veronica. Robert is an African American man in his late thirties. Daniel goes quickly to the door to try to resolve the situation. He confronts Robert asking him what was his business at the wedding. Robert replies "I just came looking for my father. Are you Daniel Hudson?".

Daniel is at a loss for words. Feeling a little dizzy he missteps and falls to the ground. Johnny picks him up and gets rather physical with Robert to get him to leave. Daniel stops him with a severe tone. He doesn't quite understand what's happening and promptly asks Robert and his wife to come inside to his Study so that they could speak privately. Johnny is asked to go check on Michele so that nothing would disturb her on her special day. Daniel actually wanted to be alone with Robert.

He pours them a drink, and asks him to tell him how he got there...
A flashback begins.
We see Robert as a young kid living in a poor neighborhood with his mother. Robert narrates the story how he had to work since he was 10 years old to help her mother pay the bills. And it all became worse when she was diagnosed with Cancer. He tells Robert how his mother never mentioned who his father was, until she was dying. She told him that a rich kid from a nearby town came one night and asked her out. She went out with this man and had a lot of fun. She was impressed with his charm, manners and the places he was taken her. One night, he got drunk and started pushing her towards him. He wanted to be with her but she didn't agree. She tried to struggle but he overpowered her, threw her to the ground and raped her. After raping her, he told her that if she ever told anyone about this, he would use all of his family's power to make her life impossible. - We can sense Robert's voice changing while he tells this part of the story, he is building up some anger and tension-.
Daniel doesn't speak for a while. He just takes small zips of his scotch and tries to avoid eye contact. He finally breaks silence and asks Robert what did he want. If we was looking for some money. Daniel offers to write him a check if He would leave right away. Robert is completely offended by this, turns to his wife and says "We shouldn't have come in the first place, lets go". She turns to Daniel with tears on her eyes saying that he was just looking for some answers. Since his mother died, he had no one else. He had roamed the streets for years. Doing whatever he could to survive, even committing some small crimes to do so. At age 19 he joined the Army to try and find some purpose to his life.
-Flashback to Robert in the army. It's 1990 - Robert's appointed in an American military base at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The base is run by Captain Shane Dallas. A grizzled Nam veteran who looked like he had the wisdom of a thousand scholars and the courage of 300 Spartans. He ran the base like a tight unit. He was very demanding, but ultimately you would find, that he was kind. Captain Dallas quickly notices Robert as a fierce man. Robert was the first to volunteer on any dangerous mission. Almost if he had a death wish. Captain Dallas inquires about Robert's past and family. He learns that Robert is all alone. He is taken by this. We get a montage of months passing by where we see Captain Dallas being some kind of Mentor to Robert. One of the first authority figures he respects and looks up to. A role model of a father.

On February 25 the largest attack on the Us Army of the Gulf war happens. An Iraqi missile hits the base killing 28 officers. The attack finds our soldiers sleeping, Robert wakes up falling from his bed and noticing fire, smoke and screams everywhere. He's hurt, but not badly. He sprints through the base helping people as he finds them under rubble until he finds a recognizable face under pieces of the ceiling. It's captain Dallas. The person that came closest to a father figure was lying before him, dead.
We get to see his funeral, after which Robert closes in to the grave and promises Captain Dallas that he will try to be the best man he could, return home and create a family of his own.

We come back to Daniel's studio where he is taken by his story. We can see in his eyes that he's sorry. At this point, Michele and Johnny enter the room. She comes in asking where his father was, that the ceremony was about to begin. He sees Robert here an asks his father who that man was. "Your brother" he replies looking like the weight of the world came off his shoulder.

We get a sequence of looks from everyone, trying to take the news and understand it. Daniel's got a lot to explain to his children. And Robert's got a lot to take in. Johnny can't quite handle the situation and runs off the studio. Charly volunteers to go get him while Robert, Michele and Daniel get a chance to speak. He'll also tend to the guests. Daniel confesses what he did to Michele and apologizes to both of them. "I never knew she was pregnant...you must believe this. I would have stepped up" Daniel tells Robert. We see them speak for a while.
Cut to the shed. Johnny is sitting in some wood pile looking at his old army stuff. Robert walks in and asks Johnny if he had seen real action. They start sharing war stories and nightmares, a slow healing and bonding process begins.

They all come back to the study where we see Michele speaking with her father. She communicates her disappointment with a single look, turns and asks Robert and Veronica to join them at the ceremony. She insists.

The final shot is a tracking shot, we get to see the full garden where the ceremony is taking place, we start with the reverend, then the bride and groom. She looks happy, he looks like he's there to support her. Then we get to see Daniel, he's smile is fake. He's devastated in the inside but has to put on a smile for the crowd. Johnny is a step behind his father, he looks anxious, turns back every couple of seconds. The camera takes us all the way to the back, where we get to see a couple of extra chairs pulled up at the back, Robert and Veronica sitting there looking like a thousand different emotions, ready to take on what's coming.

The End.

Aqueduct of Tears

Written by John Logan

Starring:
Edward Norton -- Componus Secundus
Tilda Swinton -- Boudicca of the Iceni
Gwyneth Paltrow -- Isolda
Eric Bana -- Celsus Militis
Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Gravis Edificius
Brian Cox -- Gaius Seutonius Paulinus
Michael Hogan -- Prasutagus

The year is 60 AD, in the midst of the Roman conquest of Britain. A Roman architect, Gravis Edificius, is in the midst of constructing an aqueduct through the eastern portion of the country, an area long held by a tribe known as the Iceni. Gaius Seutonius Paulinus, the Roman governor of Britain, has just completed negotiations with Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, who binds himself as an ally to Rome to prevent the slaughter he fears will come should his people resist the Roman legions. As a show of good faith, Prasutagus names the Emperor Nero as co-heir to his throne, along with his two daughters, Isolda and Siora, with the understanding his daughters will rule in Nero's name. Gaius accepts, and for a time there is peace. Prasutagus' queen Boudicca distrusts Gaius, but Prasutagus assures he that he did what was best for the tribe.

Meanwhile, Gravis and Componus Secundus his assistant, are wrestling with the difficulties of undertaking such an enormous project in such an inhospitable land. Some of the Iceni resent Prasutagus' peace with the Romans, and do their best to sabotage the construction. Gravis, obsessed with completing the aqueduct and returning to Rome, cares little for the political climate -- he wants to leave behind a great feat of architecture so that his name will live on forever. Componus, however, has his doubts, especially after he spies Isola in the woods as he scouts the planned route for the next span of the aqueduct. He is instantly smitten, and continues to seek her out whenever he can. Soon they speak, and while Isola does not return his affections, she confesses that she never thought she would enjoy speaking to a Roman. They continue their secret meetings.

The mundane efforts of the architects are looked on with derision by the troops of the legion assigned to protect it, led by Celsus Militis, a war-weary commander who finds the thrill of battle fading from him. In his youth he pillaged and plundered with the worst of them, but now he lives with regret over the innocent lives he's taken, the non-soldiers who never raised a weapon against him yet felt his blade in return. He sees the Iceni as no real threat, and is loathe to engage them in combat. He says as much to Gaius, who tells Celsus that he'll soon conquer the Iceni without a single army taking the field.

Gaius dispatches Caedo to kill Prasutagus, and the assassin takes to the task with relish, using a subtle poison to make the death look natural. Amidst the mourning of the Iceni, Gaius arrives to claim the throne in the name of Nero, disregarding the claim of Isolda and Siora. Boudicca protests vehemently, cursing the Romans as liars. Ignoring Celsus' protests, Gaius orders the three women bound and whipped, and then turns them over to his soldiers to do with as they wish. While her daughters weep and beg for mercy, Boudicca fixes her stare on Gaius, nothing but hatred in her eyes.

When Componus hears of the brutal treatment of the women, he pleads with Gravis to intervene, but Gravis absently asks what could he possibly do to overturn the will of a Roman governor. He is simply there to build an aqueduct. Componus suggests deliberately slowing down the construction to nudge Gaius out of favor with the Emperor, and Gravis strikes him, dismissing Compnus from his service, wondering how he could dare to suggest that Gravis harm his own creation. He tells Componus he knows of his illicit visits to Isola, and accuses him of conspiring with the Iceni to sabotage his work. Componus flees into the night as Gravis rages.

Later that evening, as the army sleeps, worn from its debauchery, Celsus frees Boudicca and her daughters. Boudicca tells him that this act will not save him from her sword should they meet again, as no Roman will be safe from her wrath. Celsus tells her he's been dead for years, so there wouldn't be much left for her to kill. He watches the three women depart, then returns to his tent, to lay sleepless in his bedroll.

The three women encounter Componus as they stagger back to their tribe. Boudicca lunges at him, his Roman clothing driving her into a rage. Componus sees Isolda and pleads with her to say something, to remember the happy times they'd spent together. At first Isolda is too shattered by what has happened to her to recognize him, and cowers away from him. This only incites Boudicca further, and Componus, no fighter at all, is helpless against her fury. Finally, Isolda recognizes him and shouts for her mother to stop. Boudicca does, shocked that her daughter would plead for the life of a Roman after what they've been through. Isolda says his blood will not heal their wounds, and his death would only drive the Romans to further action. Boudicca sees this point, and agrees to bring Componus back to the tribe as a prisoner.

Days pass, and the what had been frequent raids by Iceni warriors on the contruction site have come to a stop. Gaius, unaware of Celsus' role in the escape of the women, assumes that his actions of cowed the Iceni into retreat. However, Boudicca has been calling the Iceni to her banner, preparing to strike against the Romans using information from the captive Componus. Her forces stage daring raids on several Roman colonies, striking quickly and withdrawing before the Romans can respond in force. Finally, Boudicca, flushed with confidence, decides to attack the most visible symbol of the hated Romans -- the aqueduct.

The two armies meet beneath the towering aqueduct. A distaught Gravis pleads with Gaius to draw the battle away from his work, but Gaius only laughs. He reveals he intends to pull down the aqueduct on top of the Iceni army, crushing them beneath the falling stone. Gravis tells Gaius he cannot do that, that his work cannot be destoyed. Gaius simply says Gravis can just build another one. Gravis lunges at Gaius, only to be cut down by Caedo. Mortally wounded, Gravis can only watch as Gaius gives the order to bring down the aqueduct.

Celsus hears this order and is horrified -- just as many of his men will die as will the Iceni. He pleads for his men to retreat from the battle, but the din of combat drowns him out. He seeks out Boudicca, driving a chariot through the chaos, and goads her into fighting him, keeping her at bay but also drawing her away from the aqueduct, which is now being pulled down. Fighters on both sides begin to flee, but too late.

Stone rains down on the field, crushing hundreds, and hundreds more trampled in the panicked flight from the wreckage. Boudicca turns and sees the catastrophe, then looks back to Celsus, the realization dawning that his actions have saved her life yet again. She shrieks in voiceless rage, seeing her army routed and knowing she is twice endebted to a Roman for her life. Before Celsus can react, she slits her throat, gurgling a final curse that Rome may crumble and fall just as the aqueduct did.

The battle ends. Isolda releases Componus, but cannot bring herself to go with him -- although she has realized she loves him, she cannot bring herself to be with one of those who brought so much pain and death to her people. She begs him to leave quickly, before the survivors return and no doubt kill him in revenge for Gaius' treachery. There share a wordless look, and he flees.

Celsus returns to Gaius' camp and tells Gaius he is done -- he is quitting the legion. Gaius tells him his service is not yet finished, that he could be killed for desertion. Celsus says Gaius could not kill him any more than this day has already, turns, and walks away. Caedo offers to kill him, but Gaius says no. Men like Celsus are fleeting, he says, but Rome is forever.

As the film ends, Componus stands atop the wreckage of the aqueduct. He holds in his hands a single strand of Isolda's hair, a last gift before his escape. He sits heavily, and begins to weep.

Principal Cast
Ryan Reynolds ... Rex Rabbit (Steven Godling)
Amy Adams ... Sheila Masters
Courtney Cox ... Wendy Sloane
Tom Cruise ... Mark Sloane
Shia LaBeouf ... Alec Danielson
Channing Tatum ... Trey
Judi Dench ... Betty Walker

Synopsis

Ryan Reynolds is late night radio dee-jay REX RABBIT. His real name is Steven Godling and he is extremely depressed and contemplating suicide. Working on a show that specializes in romantic call-in dedications from lovers, he seems to be slipping deeper and deeper into the abyss. He is divorced and has a son (TBD) that he is rarely able to see, thanks to his ex-wife (TBD).

His producer is a young woman named Sheila Masters, portrayed by Academy Award nominee Amy Adams, who has an obvious attraction to Steven, although he never seems to notice. Dame Judi Dench plays his program director, Betty Walker, who knows Steven is depressed, realizes that Sheila likes him, and is doing everything she can behind the scenes to move them together.

One night, everything changes for Steven. While taking a request, he gets a call from a woman named Wendy Sloane (Courtney Cox) who dedicates a song to her husband Mark (Tom Cruise), on his way out of town for a business trip. Steven’s interest is piqued simply by listening to the voice of the caller and imagines what she must be like and how great her life with Mark must be. The next night at work, he is handed a newspaper by Sheila and see’s a story that a local businessman was killed the night before when he was struck by a drunk driver. The businessman’s name: Mark Sloane.

Steven takes the chance to attend the funeral, just so he can see Wendy in person, and it is love at first sight. He starts to put a plan together to try to integrate himself into her life so he can meet her, setting in motion a series of events that will end up with the two dating, her never knowing he was a puppet master manipulating the entire situation.

Just when things seem to be moving well, Steven’s ex-wife decides she doesn’t like another woman showing interest in her ex-husband and moves back in, using Steven’s love of their son to manipulate him into having to choose between the woman he loves and the family he once lost.

Shia LaBeouf plays Alec Danielson, Steven’s best friend and Channing Tatum appears in a small role as a man named Trey.

Will Steven return to his family? What will Wendy do when she realizes Steven has not been completely honest about their relationship? Will Sheila ever make her feelings known to Steven? Who the hell is Trey, and what does he have to do with anything? Find out this Thanksgiving in theaters everywhere.

Release Date: November 20, 2008

Aqueduct of Tears is a Starving Dogs Production

Aqueduct of Tears
CAST
Brad Pitt as Alexander Warren III
Casey Affleck as Eric Winston
Frances McDormand as Evelyn Aldridge
Ellen Page as Karen Winston
Linda Cardellini as Sarah Morgan
J.K. Simmons as Carl Thibodeau
Jonah Hill as Jake Carroll

Directed by George Wishart (that's me)
Screenplay by David Simon
Story by George Wishart


Background for the story (not completely based in reality):
Water from Lake Huron has been moved via underground aqueduct to the interior of Michigan for decades. That's allowed the farming industry in the interior of the state to prosper and hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy clean drinking water without relying on their local lakes.
---------

Eric Winston is a beat reporter for the Detroit Times, covering the local crime beat. An native Michigander, he has always wanted to work for the top paper in the state, yet its never become what he dreamed it would be when he was a kid. He's desensitized to the drama, heartache and turmoil he sees on a daily basis, but feels powerless to fix any of it. He routinely asks to be reassigned, but his editor-in-chief Evelyn Aldridge refuses to do so.

One morning, he gets a frantic call from his sister Karen, an Agricultural student at Michigan State University. She informs him that many farms throughout Ingham County are seeing their livestock perish and have difficulty growing crops with regularity. Foreclosures are constantly happening yet no one seems to care about the story.

Bored with the same old shooting/stabbings/drug deals-gone-bad stories, Eric talks to Aldridge about what his sister told him, but gets the run-around. She tells him that it's a non-story up that's 80 miles away, that the Farming industry in Michigan has been on a downswing for years and this is just a reflection of it.

That following weekend, Eric heads up to visit Karen while taking in a Spartan football game. His curiosity gets the best of him and he asks her to show him around to some of the areas she was talking about. Karen takes him to meet Jake Carroll, the writer for the university paper that has been following the story. Jake admits that he thinks something big is going on, but he can't put his finger on it. No one with information seems to want to talk to him/give him the time of day since he is just a college student. He feels he lacks the talent to really get at the core of the story, figure it all out. Eric & Jake spend the weekend talking to farmers and real estate agents, investigating whats been happening.

When he gets back to work on Monday, he tries to pitch his story to Aldridge but no one cares--Alexander Warren III, Democratic Senator from Michigan and the only child of the wealthiest family in the state, has announced that he will run for President in the next election. The Warren family helped build Detroit along with the rest of the auto industry, even purchasing the city's NFL franchise, the Detroit Lions. Alexander is young, vibrant, handsome and has hundreds of millions in his war-chest...he's the odd's-on favorite for the White House in 18 months.

Eric gets the change of venue he so wanted, now assigned to the political beat. His role is to help Sarah Morgan, the main political beat writer, with research and fact-checking. They go out for drinks the first night to get to know one another since they are gonna be side-by-side for the next year-plus. One thing leads to another and they end up sleeping together.

5:30am rolls around the next morning and Karen calls Eric, sobbing into the phone. Jake was found dead a couple hours earlier in a hit-and-run accident when he was crossing the street after a night at the bars. Eric heads up there to console his sister and look into what happened. Apparently Jake kept investigating the story and found out two key pieces of information: 1) lab technicians found TEARS (Toxic Environmental & Agricultural Rabies Syndrome), a man-made piece of germ warfare created 20 years ago for the US Government to be used to destroy the crops and livestock when invading a foreign land; and 2) the land was being purchased by TWC, which stands for The Warren Corporation...as in The Warren Family...as in Alexander Warren, III.

Eric brings this information back down to Detroit with him and tells Sarah. She's doesn't think it has anything to do with Warren III, but Eric feels otherwise. They have a sit-down interview with Carl Thibodeau, Alexander Warren III's Chief of Staff. As Sarah tries to keep it about the election and campaign, Eric begins forcing in questions about the acquisition of the farm land. Things get confrontational as Eric picks up on a condescending attitude from Carl. Eric eventually excuses himself from the interview at Sarah's urging.

One week later, Eric gets a phone call from the MSU hospital: Karen has been beaten and raped. He goes to visit her, feeling immensely guilty for what happened. Eric believes that her attack was a warning sign to him to let the story go. Jake sniffed around where he shouldn't have and he was killed. Eric got too close and his sister gets attacked.

Eric & Sarah learn from a confidential source that The Warren Family has been in discussions with the NFL to move their franchise. The two reporters put 2 & 2 together and finally figure out that it is all connected. TWC polluted the water going to the farms, causing them to go under. Then TWC bought up the land so they could move the franchise (with a new stadium, practice facility, etc.) to the middle of the state. If the move goes through, they could stand to make over $1 billion as the land surrounding the stadium & team headquarters will go up in value exponentially. Hundreds of thousands of people will move into the area and Detroit will no longer be the biggest city in the state. The Warren Family will help build the state of Michigan all over again.

They present their story to Evelyn, who tells them to go to Washington DC to investigate it further and speak with Alexander Warren III. Eric & Sarah meet again with Thibodeau, presenting their story to him and asking him questions. He brushes them off and tries to get them to out of the office, but Alexander comes in and sees the two reporters. He agrees to sit down with them in his office for an interview. The deft politician talks circles around the two of them, but he realizes they are getting close to the truth. When they leave the Dirksen Senate Office Building via the underground US Capitol Subway System, they are chased by two unknown figures, who shoot at them. Eric & Sarah escape, but not without her being shot in the shoulder.

Evelyn calls Eric the next morning to give him some information he was looking for: the newspaper's research department discovered that the lab that stores TEARS for the US Govt. is owned & operated by TWC. That's the smoking gun he needed.

Eric decides that a public confrontation is the only way to go about this, so he decides to face Alexander on Sunday morning after Mass at the National Cathedral. He & Sarah wait in the back of the church for the Senator, ready to ambush when the chance arrives. But Alexander notices this and whispers to Carl before excusing himself from the pew and walking towards a side exit. Eric tracks him over there and catches up to the Senator before he goes outside. Alexander steps into the men's room and invites his adversary in there if he wants "an exclusive". Eric follows him in after being patted down and searched by the Secret Service guard outside the door. Alexander informs him that no matter what information he gathers, nothing will stick. His family got to the position they are in by burying information and this is no different. His overconfidence leads him to pretty much admit that he's known everything that has gone on. Eric goes to leave but stops right before the door. He pulls an audio recorder (that looks like a Bluetooth) from his pocket and asks the Senator if he has anymore words for the voters.

The Senator freaks out and chases Eric out of the men's room and up the 6 flights of stairs to narrow hallways of the 7th floor which go all the way around the towers of the cathedral. The chase leads out onto the roof of the Cathedral. A struggle ensues and the Senator falls off, hanging by a couple fingers. Eric helps him back up as a crowd watches below. A police helicopter drops a ladder for the two men, rescuing them. When greeted on the ground, Eric discreetly passes off the audio recorder to Sarah before the police sweep him away for questioning.

Sarah takes the audio recorder and breaks the story that evening, sending it to Evelyn who gets it out to all the wire services. The film ends with Alexander & Carl (among others) being arrested and a montage of farms being rebuilt back in the area that TWC bought up.




Goddamn, that was long. I know it needs work, but I tend to put too much instead of not enough.

"Behind the lives of the people who changed yours."

Second Glance Rep presents
Aqueduct of Tears
Written by John Irving, based on an unfinished novel (Lonesome Dove in reverse!)

Sixty years in the life of a prep school and the small New England town surrounding it, as seen through the eyes of a teacher at the exclusive Chisholm Academy.

Starring:

Mary-Louise Parker as Abigail Easterson, single mother and Seven Sisters grad
Russell Crowe as Thomas White, mayor of the town surrounding Chisolm
Rachel McAdams as Ivy Easterson (adult), Abigail's doomed daughter
Patrick Wilson as Rudy Marsters (adult), Dante's son and soldier in Vietnam, who marries Ivy against his father's wishes
Kyle Chandler as Senator Andrew White, Thomas's married brother who becomes the one great love of Abigail's life
with Peter Dinklage as John Owen, a journalism/English teacher whose political activities are a perepetual source of embarrasment to the school
and Ed Harris as "Coach" Dante Marsters, the more-than-a-little sexist football coach at Chisolm who remains the one constant in Abigail's life.

Full summary coming soon

This was my first. Please forgive me:

Aqueduct of Tears

Staring:

Ed O'Neill as Carl Menlo
Gary Cole as Bob Glassman
Amy Ryan as Sherri Glassman
Rosario Dawson as Brenda Adams
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Ethan Colfax
Michael C. Hall as Deputy Travis Simmons
Wendell Pierce as Roy Hamilton

Ed O'Neill is Carl Menlo, a retired FBI Agent who spends his time practicing Jiu-jitsu and working at a partner in a private investigations/security firm in Los Angeles who is hired by powerful attorney Bob Glassman (Gary Cole) to try and find his missing artist somewhat of a hippie sister Sherri, who is living out in the desert near the Colorado River Aqueduct.

After much consideration, Menlo heads out to the desert to see what's going on with the search for Sherri. As he makes the journey southeast into the barren landscape, Menlo notices a giant gap cut into the land, that being of the Colorado River Aqueduct which is one of many aqueducts that feeds Southern California's thirst for water. While driving, Menlo notices a young guy standing by the gap not doing anything. But seeing how it's none of his business, he just keeps going.

When Menlo arrives at Sherri’s he finds the house abandoned and robbed of anything of value.

Menlo then heads over to the nearby sheriff's station where he gets in contact with Deputy Travis Simmons (Michael C. Hall) who is leading the investigation into Sherri’s disappearance but much like Menlo hasn’t found much except there was word a couple of drifters were last scene at her house.

Menlo then remembers the two he saw on the way over to Sherri's and then decides to head back to see if he can find the two he saw earlier. When he drives back, he doesn’t find anyone and heads over to the local Metro Water District (MWD) office to speak to the manager, Roy Hamilton. Hamilton states no ones been around and if so, security would’ve been notified because of people stealing water and even bathing in the aqueduct.

With not much else to go on, Menlo heads over to the small desert community of Fleetwood where he pulls over to a local bar. There he finds Brenda (Rosario Dawson), a recent transplant to the area tending bar. Menlo and Brenda strike a conversation about various things and while clearly it’s not going to lead anything romantic, it’s still a friendly one.

While they continue to chat, a loud group of skuzzy white trash types walk into the bar let by Jesse Clemson (Timothy Olyphant), a guy who clearly looks methed out of his mind. Despite Breanda’s assurances, that they won’t be much trouble. Menlo walks over and tells White that seeing how they’re in a bar, it’s reasonable to have a good time but not the kind of time in which no one can have their drink without worrying if they’re going to be get beaten or robbed.

Clemson makes a threat and Menlo brushes it off until Clemson tries and makes a move. Menlo then fights back with his Jiu-jitsu and pretty much knocks Clemson out. Clearly the place goes quiet and Menlo walks back to his drink still sitting on the bar.

Clemson and his group quickly exit and Menlo and Brenda go back to talking.

Later that night at his motel room, Menlo hears a loud bang on his door and after checking the peep hole. He notices a disheveled looking young guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) at his door; Menlo recognizes him as the guy who was by aqueduct on the way to Sherri’s place.

The guy introduces himself as Ethan Colfax, a bored suburban kid who made his way out to Cochella and hasn’t quite gotten back home due the fact he’s got no money and any money he does get goes to his meth habit that Clemson supplies.

Menlo wonders what does this have to do with him other the fact he kicked Clemson’s ass at the bar that night. That’s when Colfax lays out the fact he knows Menlo has been looking for Sheri because he was one of the guy’s that Sherri took in. Menlo then asks Colfax if he’s seen Sherri. Colfax mentions that she went with Clemson over to a place near the state line out by where the aqueduct gets its water from.

Menlo, from his experience knows one doesn’t go after these things alone. So he places a call to Simmons who agrees to check it out this tip from Colfax. Seeing how it’s a may lead to numerous arrests and a meth lab. Simmons states he’s going to need back-up and that Menlo can come along but clearly won’t be kicking down doors.

Simmons, Menlo and Colfax go down to the house near the end of the aqueduct. It’s still dark but the sunrise is on the horizon. They meet up with a group of other cops, including the leader of the group, Lt. Cronin (Clancy Brown). Cronin explains that the tip was right on as surveillance indicates meth production and the possibility of Clemson inside the trailer. Knowing the explosive nature such places, Menlo and Colfax hang back behind the sheriff’s cars and wait to see the cops make their move.

The cops make their move and Menlo recognizes many of the gang members he saw at the bar that night as they try to escape.

While the cops are rounding up the various addicts and thugs, a car peels out from behind the trailer. It’s Clemson, trying to make a break for it, the cops give chase and despite trying to attempt a Thelma & Louise across the Colorado River. Clemson gives up and is quickly swarmed by the police.

However despite a thorough search, Sherri is no where to be found. Later Menlo observes the questioning of Clemson by Simmons and there’s still no progress as Clemson has no idea who Sherri was nor would have any memory since he’s fried out of his mind anyway.

Led to yet another dead end, Menlo turns back to Colfax and begins to press him as to what happened while he was with Sherri. It takes time, and Menlo begins to learn what actually happened.

From what Colfax says, he showed up at Sherri’s doorstep, offering to paint the house to make some quick money. For whatever reason Sherri trusts Colfax and the house painting process goes on. Things are going good, so good Colfax stops hitting meth for the time being and a friendship begins to develop. Sherri even tries to show Colfax his hand at doing some other kinds of painting.

Soon enough, he’s staying at her place and things are going okay, until he heads back into town and falls back into some bad habits. He comes back to Sherri’s, completely fried out on meth. He doesn’t know what to think except he’s horney as hell. The meth will do that sort of thing, so he tries to make a move on Sherri. She rebuffs him but he’s not going to listen. Clearly not thinking on any rational level, he tries again and once again she says no.

A fight breaks out and things are knocked over. Punches and kicks are thrown and Sherri is on the floor. Colfax tries to fuck her but the meth prevents him from actually doing it. He gets into a bigger rage and starts beating her senseless to the point she stops making sounds.

There’s a delay and then a realization as to what he did. Reality sets in and Colfax realizes how much he fucked up. He panics and doesn’t know what to do and then tries to drag Sherri’s body out the door and into the darkness.

Menlo looks at Colfax and sits there. He then asks Colfax where the body is. Colfax says he dumped the body in the aqueduct. Menlo nodds and then tells Simmons what Colfax told him.

We then go back to Hamilton’s office: Now with Bob Glassman, Simmons and Menlo trying to figure out if they can recover the body. Hamilton explains there’s a possibility of finding the body down stream due to the fact there are barriers in place to catch debris. But due to the force of the water pressure, there may not be much of the body left. Although none of it will reach the water supply due to the treatment process.

At this point, there’s not much else for Menlo to do but head back to Los Angeles. But before he leaves he heads back to the bar over in Fleetwood and have a chat with Brenda and thinks about what to do next.

Aqueduct of Tears

Synopsis:

Based partially on true events, Aqueduct of Tears is the story of the case of three doctors, Noah Borland, Lilian Ross, and Patrick Hudson (Bale, Thurman, and Walken, respectively) and their chief of medicine, Michael Goodwin (Mortensen). As the film opens, the doctors are now facing serious charges for their roles in the murders of 39 patients under their care. The film is interspersed with the court case, of each doctor stating the facts to a ruthless, unrelenting lawyer (Nicholson). Once employees at Mercy Hospital, an already understaffed and underfunded facility in the Midwest, they are caught unprepared by the drastic influx of injured or dying patients in the wake of a series of severe storms hitting the area.

When the worst of the storms hits, the main power is knocked out, and the first few floors begin to flood. While many of the patients were able to get to higher floors, and backup power remains, there is only so long the generator will last, many supplies have already been ruined, and the flood waters are continue to rise. On top of it all, without medicine, there are patients who are absolutely beyond treatment let alone recovery.

What follows is the harrowing tale as the staff try to save as many lives as possible and get people moving to the higher levels of the facility while awaiting help from the government, local authorities, anyone. The hardest of questions are asked, and they demand equally hard answers from everyone within the hospital. Whose lives take priority? What risks shall be taken? Is there enough food, drinkable water to last? Is anyone else alive downstairs? Is all hope lost?

A valiant effort is put forth by all, but in the end, salvation seems impossible: the hospital is about to be consumed by the waters, and there's no way out, leaving the doctors the ultimate choice: letting patients suffer in the drawn out wait for help, or ending their suffering peacefully, quietly.

The latter is chosen.

Shortly after, the hospital is found by rescue teams, and in a montage, we see in detail how each doctor has dealt with their morbid task before we go to the court's verdicts. Goodwin and Ross get life in prison, Borland is sentenced to 20, paroled in 9, Hudson is found in one of the upper rooms of the hospital, alone, with the needle in his own arm.

Cast:

Michael Goodwin (Viggo Mortensen) -- Soft-spoken, early 50s, bearded, big hearted, but slightly cold when things need to be done his way, no family. Views the situation detached as he can instead choosing to state the facts, facts that the other doctors, nurses, and patients don't always want to hear. The final solution is his idea: That the worst of the worst cases on the hospital should be euthanized to spare them the pain. During an attempt to shore up a door before floor waters find their way to one of the upper floor, he is forced to watch a swimming patient drown through a glass door, lying to the face of one of his nurses that they got everyone on that floor out alive. He is stoic up until he tells of his actions on the stand, and finally, just breaks down.

Danielle Perry (Natalie Portman) -- Mid-20s, calm at first, willing to help, in college studying to become a nurse, but in the hospital simply for diabetic treatment. Her condition worsens with time, the dread and panic that come part and parcel with hypoglycemic diabetes are accentuated by the situation, eventually leading her to come close to shock, and in the end, inviting the needle.


Noah Borland (Christian Bale)--Mid-30s, sharp-witted hotshot doctor willing to do anything and everything to save lives, whose cool head, at first, allows the other doctors and patience an achor to hang their hopes that things will improve, but takes it the hardest when the very patients he'd promised salvation to begin dying, and they are beyond his power to heal. In the end, he is the final voice of dissent to the other doctors final solution, and in the film's most harrowing scene, gives the needle to Danielle himself, and holds her as she dies. In the end he is found in that same position, nearly catatonic by rescue crews.

Lilian Ross (Uma Thurman) -- Early 40s, bookish, good with kids, but not so much other adults. When crisis strikes, her presence is calming, motherly. towards the end, talking with Noah, we learn much of who she is stems from a miscarriage at 24. Her resolve slowly breaks over the course of the film, clinging increasingly, unquestioningly, to Goodwin for instructions. Her excuse to the very end, "It seemed like the right thing to do."

Nathan Delcourt (Topher Grace) -- Coming Soon
(Jack Nicholson) -- Coming Soon
(CHristopher Walken) -- Coming Soon