Jumper

by
Michael Kukula
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - NIGHT

A dark and foggy night. No cars cross as the hour is late.

The view from the bridges pedestrian walkway is illuminated
with dull and orange lights from the art deco style
streetlights above. A steady stream of fog moves across the
bridge as the strong and consistent breeze pushes the fog
towards the ocean. The bridges two iconic vermillion colored
towers are hardly visible through the thick blanket of fog.

A distressed man, THEODORE, late 40s, gazes towards the

befogged, dense cluster of lights that make up 1950s San
Francisco. Theodore is a man who has seen better days. His
bearded face is cracked with lines of weariness, and his
teary eyes project gloom and desperation. His body facing
outwards and back to the railing. Like a vine, his arms and
hands clasp firmly to the bridges railing. He looks down at
his bare feet as his heels are rooted to the edge and the
rest of his feet dangle freely in the cold breeze.

VOICE (O.C.)
Evening.

Startled, Theodore whips his head quickly to his right to see

a smartly dressed man about 20 feet away, peering over the
railing at him. GARY, late 40s, is attractive and clean cut.
As he smiles, his pearly white teeth shine through the fog,
which offers a bit of warmth on this wind-chilled night.

THEODORE
Dont try to stop me.

GARY
Why would I do that?

Gary climbs over the railing and stands on the edge.

THEODORE
What are you doing!?

GARY
What are you doing?

THEODORE
Right.

GARY
Windy night, huh?

THEODORE
What? Yeah, sure.

Gary begins to shimmy across the ledge towards Theodore.

 2.

THEODORE (CONT'D)
Stay away!

GARY
(jokingly)
Dont worry, Im not gonna push
you.
(pause)
Gary.

THEODORE
What!?

GARY
Im Gary.

Gary reaches his arm out to him, Theodore cautiously shakes

it.

THEODORE
Th-Theo...Theodore.

GARY
Why pleasure to meet you Theodore.

Theodore nods at Gary, and gives him an uneasy smile.

Theodore quickly turns his gaze back to the dark, choppy
water below.

GARY (CONT'D)
Say, where are your shoes? A bit
nippy to be walking around
barefoot.

THEODORE
Theyre down there.

GARY
I see...
(pause)
So, Theodore...
(pause)
Are you gonna go, or what?

THEODORE
Ill go when Im good and ready!
You go right on ahead.

GARY
Im in no hurry.
(pause)
So why are you going to...you
know...
 3.

THEODORE
Why would I not? Its a mess.
Everythings a mess.

GARY
Whatdya mean everything?

Theodore looks back at Gary. Gary is looking over at Theodore

with a curious intensity.

THEODORE
I dont know what youre getting at
friend, but cut it out. I wasnt
always like this, you know.

GARY
Like what?

THEODORE
Out of straws. Broken. On the edge.

Gary looks down at the water.

GARY
You definitely got that right, pal.

THEODORE
Im 49. 50 next week Thursday.

GARY
Happy birthday.

THEODORE
Thanks, I guess.
(pause)
I cant bare the idea of turning
50. Its supposed to be a big
milestone in ones life, you know?
What do I got to show for all these
years Ive sucked up air? I got no
job, no money, no home, no kids.
Everything I try fails.

GARY
Better to have tried and failed
than to not have tried at all.

THEODORE
Ive tried everything I could,
honest.
(pause)
You think Im a fuck up dont you?
 4.

GARY
Im not here to judge.

They look over at the revolving beam of light from the

lighthouse on Alcatraz Island.

Gary digs into his breast pocket and pulls out a lighter and
pack of cigarettes. He puts a cigarette in his mouth.

GARY (CONT'D)
Smoke?

THEODORE
No, bad for your health.

GARY
A little cigarette is the least of
our worries, my friend. You know,
at this height, we might as well
jump off a 20 storey building. From
up here, that water down there
would be like hitting concrete.

Gary lights his cigarette.

GARY (CONT'D)
If at some cruel act of fate, we
manage to survive that, if
hypothermia doesnt get us, the
sharks sure will.

THEODORE
Sharks?

GARY
Yep. Great Whites. Man Eaters. I
hear they can smell a drop of blood
up to a mile away.

THEODORE
It wont matter.

GARY
What do you think is gonna happen
when you hit that water? Lights out
Charlie? Or are you going to shoot
the breeze with old Saint Peter?

THEODORE
Anything is better than this.
 5.

GARY
How can you be sure? What if
whatever comes next is worse than
this?

THEODORE
Well then, Ill just take my
chances.

GARY
Thats an awfully big leap of
faith...no pun intended.

THEODORE
I played my part, and I played it
straight. I did my best to do right
by others. Never cheated, never
swindled. Always had others in
consideration. By societys
standards, I lived life virtuously
and unselfishly. It just seems like
life is just a long series of
disappointments. You tell yourself,
thats a part of life and you pick
yourself up again. But before you
know it, life kicks you in the
teeth and youre back in the mud.
What I am afraid of is not dieing,
but that there is no point to my
suffering. That in the grand scheme
of things, my life is like a tiny
pebble falling into some raging
river. Whether divine or not, I
just hope theres a point to it
all. I hope that when I die, all my
misfortunes and disappointments
will be translated into a language
I can understand. Theres gotta be
a point, right?
(pause)
Hell, Maybe everyones given a
manual on how to navigate through
lifes ups and downs, but because
some clerical error upstairs, I
didnt get my copy.

GARY
If you get to the other side, make
sure you speak to the complaints
office, right away.
 6.

THEODORE
Ha, ha. Will do.

GARY
You know what makes us different
from this cigarette?

THEODORE
Were not made of tobacco?

GARY
Thats true. What Im getting at
Theodore is what makes us different
from the simple cigarette or any
other inanimate object for that
matter is we have a choice between
life and death--ultimately, free
will. We can choose to keep going,
or we can end. We benefit from the
object; it exists to benefit us.
This cigarette, it exists until I
interfere with its state. For
example: me lighting it.

Gary holds up the cigarette vertically. As he talks, the

cigarette quickly burns away to the butt.

GARY (CONT'D)
After a short while, paper and
tobacco will burn away and its
remnants will float away in the
wind as ash. The cigarette will
cease to have value, and I will
flick away the useless bit.

Gary throws away the cigarette butt.

GARY (CONT'D)
A man can choose to set himself on
fire but a cigarette cannot.

THEODORE
Thats a bit morbid.

GARY
Yeah, yeah it is.

THEODORE
I still dont see the point you are
trying to make.
 7.

GARY
I inhale the smoke into my lungs,
and it calms me. I benefit from
smoking the cigarette. The
cigarette does not benefit from me
smoking it. Im saying, if you live
like a cigarette, you will never be
happy. Do not live for the sake of
others, Theodore. Live for
yourself.

THEODORE
So, why are you going to jump?

GARY
Um...After many years of living
opulently, my wife and I had become
accustomed to certain standard of
living. The rug fell out from under
us and I wasnt able to provide
like I could before. I thought at
least Id have my wife and kids.
She left and took them too. Moved
in with her parents on the East
Coast. She wont return my calls.
All because I made an escalating
set of mistakes. I am--well, I used
to be a senior investment manager.
Handled hundreds of thousands of
dollars for clients across the West
Coast. Then one day, I made an
investment that if worked, would
have made my clients and I a lot of
money. Unfortunately, my judgement
was faulty. Weeks went by and I
kept calling it wrong. Thought I
would eventually be able cover the
loss, so I kept it quiet. Played it
cool like nothing was wrong. If you
keep calling it wrong, you have to
gamble larger and larger amounts
because the losses youre trying to
cover keep getting bigger. So, what
do you do? You keep gambling and
gambling, hoping one of the gambles
redeems you. Has to right? So you
keep going. And you keep going. And
you keep going until theres no
money left. It got to a point where
I couldnt hide it any longer.
(MORE)
 8.
GARY(CONT'D)
I lost my job, I had to sell my
belongings and my home to cover my
debts. You know what they say,
pride comes before a fall.

Theodore starts to chuckle.

GARY (CONT'D)
Whats so funny?

THEODORE
Sounds like you did a lot of living
for yourself.

GARY
That I did.

THEODORE
And here we both are.

GARY
I guess thats the divine joke.

THEODORE
So, what now?

GARY
I pick myself up, and try to start
anew.

THEODORE
What?

Gary climbs over the railing onto the walkway.

THEODORE (CONT'D)
Where are you going!?

GARY
To start over. No matter how many
times you fail, the great thing is,
you can always try, and try, and
try again. Safe journeys, Theo.

Gary starts to walk away.

Theodore looks down at the water and becomes more unsure.

THEODORE
(to himself)
To hell with this.

Theodore turns around, he tries to climb over the railing but

loses his balance and slips.
 9.

He quickly grabs onto the railing as his legs dangle

frantically off the edge, trying to reclaim his footing.

THEODORE (CONT'D)
Gary! Help!

Gary coolly turns to Theodore. Without haste, he walks back

to Theodore.

GARY
Whats the matter?

THEODORE
Help me!

GARY
Im not gonna help you fall,
Theodore. Just let go.

THEODORE
I dont want to die no more!

GARY
Everyone gets cold feet every now
and then. But this isnt a time to
chicken out. The universe is
watching you. This is your moment
to soar, Theo.

THEODORE
Not like this!

GARY
Do you deserve to live, Theo?

Theodores grip is slipping.

GARY (CONT'D)
I believe you do, but I dont think
you believe that.

One of Theodores hands slips off the rail.

THEODORE
Gary! Ill try!

GARY
For how long? A day? Two days? A
week? How long before you are back
here, ready to jump?

Theodore loses his grip and lets go of the rail. Theodore

hangs off the edge as Gary clutches his arm.
 10.

Gary is at ease as it appears that Theodores weight is not

burdening him. Gary looks intensely into Theodores
frightened eyes.

THEODORE
I control my life and I want to
live!

Gary reaches with his freehand and pulls Theodore by his

collar onto the walkway. Theodore begins to weep.

Gary stands Theodore up. Gary puts his hand across his back
as they walk away, Theodore slightly ahead of Gary.

GARY
Youre not a cigarette anymore,
Theodore.

BEAT.

THEODORE
I dont know what I would have done
if you werent there to stop me.
Things are gonna be different now,
I tell ya.

BEAT.

THEODORE (CONT'D)
Gary?

Theodore looks back and sees that Gary is nowhere to be seen.

He peers off the edge, then looks up and down the walkway
with no sight of Gary.

FADE OUT.