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INCEPTION
By Christopher Nolan
SHOOTING SCRIPT
FADE IN:
DAWN. CRASHING SURF.
The waves TOSS a BEARDED MAN onto
wet sand. He lies there.
A CHILD’S SHOUT makes him LIFT his
head to see: a LITTLE BLONDE BOY
crouching, back towards us, watching
the tide eat a SANDCASTLE. A LITTLE
BLONDE GIRL joins the boy. The
Bearded Man tries to call them, but
they RUN OFF, FACES UNSEEN. He
COLLAPSES.
The barrel of a rifle ROLLS the Bearded
Man onto his back. A JAPANESE
SECURITY GUARD looks down at him,
then calls up the beach to a colleague
leaning against a JEEP. Behind them is a
cliff, and on top of that, a JAPANESE
CASTLE.
INTERIOR - ELEGANT DINING ROOM,
JAPANESE CASTLE - LATER
The Security Guard waits as an
ATTENDANT speaks to an ELDERLY
JAPANESE MAN sitting at the dining table,
back to us.
ATTENDANT
(in Japanese)
He was delirious. But he asked for you by
name. And...
(to the Security Guard) Show him.
SECURITY GUARD
(in Japanese)
He was carrying nothing but this...
He puts a HANDGUN on the table. The
Elderly Man keeps eating.
SECURITY GUARD
...and this.
The Security Guard places a SMALL
PEWTER CONE alongside the gun. The
Elderly Man STOPS eating. Picks up the
cone.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
(in Japanese)
1:50
Bring him here. And some food.
INT. SAME - MOMENTS LATER
The Elderly Man watches the Bearded
Man WOLF down his food. He SLIDES the
handgun down the table towards him.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
(in English)
Are you here to kill me?
The Bearded Man glances up at him,
then back to his food.
The Elderly Japanese Man picks up the
cone between thumb and forefinger.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
I know what this is.
He SPINS it onto a table- it CIRCLES
gracefully across the polished ebony... a
SPINNING TOP.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
I’ve seen one before. Many, many years
ago...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES at the
top mesmerized.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
It belonged to a man I met in a half-
remembered dream...
MOVE IN on the GRACEFULLY SPINNING
TOP...
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
A man possessed of some radical
notions...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES,
remembering...
COBB (Voice Over)
What’s the most resilient parasite?
CUT TO: INT. SAME ELEGANT DINING
ROOM - NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
The speaker, COBB, is 35, handsome,
tailored. A young Japanese man, SAITO,
eats as he listens.
COBB
A bacteria? A virus?
Cobb gestures at their feast with his
wine glass-
COBB
An intestinal worm?
Saito’s fork pauses, mid-air. Cobb GRINS.
A third man is at the table- ARTHUR. He
jumps in to save the pitch-
ARTHUR
What Mr. Cobb is trying to say-
COBB
An idea.
Saito looks at Cobb, curious.
COBB
Resilient, highly contagious. Once an
idea’s taken hold in the brain it’s almost
impossible to eradicate. A person can
cover it up, ignore it- but it stays there.
SAITO
But surely one can forget?
COBB
Information, yes. But an idea? Fully
formed, understood? That sticks...
(taps forehead) In there, somewhere.
SAITO
For someone like you to steal?
ARTHUR
Yes. In the dream state, conscious
defenses are lowered and your thoughts
become vulnerable to theft. It’s
called extraction.
COBB
But, Mr. Saito, we can train your
subconscious to defend itself from even
the most skilled extractor.
SAITO
How can you do that?
COBB
3:30
Because I am the most skilled extractor. I
know how to search your mind and find
your secrets. I know the tricks, and I can
teach them to your subconscious so that
even when you’re asleep, your guard is
never down.
Cobb leans forwards. Holding Saito’s
gaze.
COBB
But if I’m going to help you, you have to
be completely open to me. I’ll need to
know my way around your thoughts
better than your wife, your analyst,
anyone.
(gestures around)
If this is a dream and you’ve got a safe
full of secrets, I need to know what’s in
that safe. For this to work, you have to
let me in.
Saito gives this a flicker of a smile.
Rises. A BODYGUARD opens double
doors which give onto a LAVISH PARTY.
SAITO
Gentlemen. Enjoy your evening as I
consider your proposal.
They watch Saito leave. Arthur turns to
Cobb, worried-
ARTHUR
He knows.
Cobb motions silence. A TREMOR
starts, they steady their glasses, Cobb
glances at his watch- THE SECOND HAND
IS FROZEN.
ARTHUR
What’s going on up there?
And we-
CUT TO:
FILTHY BATHROOM - DAY (FEELS LIKE
DIFFERENT TIME)
Cobb, ASLEEP, SITTING IN A CHAIR AT
THE END OF A STEAMING BATH. The
chair is up on a cabinet- the bottom of
the legs level with the rim of the tub.
A sweating man (40's) watches over
Cobb. This is NASH. A distant
EXPLOSION rumbles through the room.
Nash moves to the window, parts the
curtains. Outside: a CHAOTIC
DEVELOPING-WORLD CITY- the street
filled with RIOTERS- SMASHING,
BURNING.
Nash checks Cobb's left wrist: above
his watch, tape holds TWO THIN YELLOW
TUBES in place. Nash looks at Cobb's
watch- THE SECOND HAND CRAWLS
UNNATURALLY SLOWLY.
Nash follows the tubes to a SILVER
BRIEFCASE at Arthur's feet: ARTHUR
IS ASLEEP in an armchair. Tubes
connect the briefcase to Arthur's wrist.
Nash follows another set of tubes from
the briefcase to where they pass under
the door to the bedroom. Through the
crack of the door, Nash sees SAITO
ASLEEP on the bed, tubes running to his
wrist. BOOM- a closer EXPLOSION, and
we-
CUT TO:
INT. BULLET TRAIN COMPARTMENT -
DAY (FEELS LIKE DIFFERENT TIME)
Nash, ASLEEP. Head ROCKING AGAINST
THE WINDOW as the train BUMPS OVER
A ROUGH PIECE OF TRACK.
A Japanese Man, TODASHI (18)
watches Nash nervously. He checks
Nash's wrist: TWO YELLOW TUBES
CONNECT Nash WITH THREE OTHER
SLEEPING MEN IN THE COMPARTMENT:
COBB, ARTHUR, SAITO.
Todashi checks his watch: THE SECOND
HAND TICKS IN REAL TIME. Another
TRAIN PASSES in the opposite direction
with a MIGHTY WHUMP− Todashi's eyes
FLY to Nash's sleeping face-
NASH JERKS WITH THE MOVEMENT OF
THE TRAIN, and we-
CUT TO:
INT. FILTHY BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
Another EXPLOSION- Nash CHECKS the
sleeping Cobb and we-
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOFTOP TERRACES, JAPANESE
CASTLE - NIGHT
A LOW TREMOR RUMBLES THROUGH
THE CASTLE. Cobb and Arthur steady
themselves against the wooden rail.
Several TILES and pieces of MASONRY
fall. Below them a BLACK SEA churns.
Other GUESTS wander the massive
terraces.
ARTHUR
Saito knows. He's playing with us.
COBB
I can get it here. The information's in the
safe− he looked right at it when I
mentioned secrets.
Arthur nods. Then spots someone over
Cobb's shoulder.
ARTHUR
What's she doing here, Cobb?
Cobb turns to see a beautiful woman,
elegantly dressed, staring out at the sea.
This is MAL. Cobb watches her.
COBB
You just get to your room. I'll take care of
the rest.
ARTHUR
See that you do. We're here to work.
