"Maximum Ride"
Written by
Jacob Drenick & James Patterson
First Draft, April 5, 2010
Fade to:
Opening Titles begin
Opening Tiles end without showing Movie Title.
Ext. OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL- LATE AFTERNOON.
Max runs, trying not to look back. She was racing for her life, her only subject to escape. She was running from mutant wolf like creatures. She runs at a cliff. She stops and looks back. The erasers are running full speed at her, running on four legs. She runs and leaps off, her wings spread out. Large 14' long wings, they are white with brown specks.
Cut to:
Int. Colorado-Max' Bedroom- Dawn
Max wakes up. It's only a dream, a dream that she has been having all her life. She gets up and looks out the window. We follow the camera as it goes out into the outside, showing the rising sun.
MAX (V.O)
Congratulations. You're watching. Do not stop watching. I'm dead serious- your life could depend on it. This is my story. The story of my family, but it could easily become yours too. We are all in this together. Trust me on this. My name is Max, I'm fourteen. I live with my family, who are five different kids who are not blood related to me. We're well kind of amazing. The six of us- me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel- we were made on purpose by the sickest, horrible scientist you can imagine. They created us as an experiment, an experiment that caused us to be 98% human and 2% bird. The other 2% made a huge impact. We were kept as prisoners at the lab they called the "School". Until, a white coat scientist named Jeb Batchedler kidnapped us and raised us, until he died.
There was one other School Experiment that made it past infancy. Erasers, part human, part wolf, all predator. To them the six of us are moving targets. All they want to do is find us a rip our throats out. But we aren't giving up yet. This story could easily become your story. So welcome to our life. Welcome to our nightmare.
Opening Titles Continue: MAXIMUM RIDE
Int. Hallway- Dawn Still
Max walks by sleepily and tiredly, she takes another look out the window.
Int. E shaped house- kitchen- Dawn Still
The kitchen is empty and no light is in it, except for a stream of light that comes from the skylight. Max walks in, with her same routine everyday. She grabs her ruined cooking from the fridge and throws it in the trash.
GAZZY (O.S)
Mornin' Max.
The camera turns to see Gazzy walk into the room and slumps in the first chair of the large dinner table. He is tall for his age (all of them are) he has bright blond hair and glowing blue eyes.
Max
Mornin', Gazzy.
Max (V.O)
That's Gazzy. He's Eight. He is the only one in our flock to have a blood sister in the flock, her name is Angel. Gazzy has been known as the Gasman ever since he was four, if you can't figure out why you might need to get your brain checked.
Max
Rubs Gazzy's shoulders
How was your sleep, Gazzy?
Gazzy
Fine,
Iggy clumsily and lazily slumps onto the couch.
Max
Iggy, will you make breakfast?
IGGY
Bite me.
Max
Fine, make us starve.
Iggy
Fine, Max.
Iggy gets up and walks into the kitchen. He is tall, he has pale skin, bright blue eyes, and strawberry blonde hair.
Max (V.O)
That's Iggy; he's 6 months younger. When he was 9, the scientist tried to improve his vision, but messed up completely. He has been permanently blind ever since. But that has never been a problem to him. He cooks the best of all of us. He's also the tallest. 6 foot 2, not bad for a fourteen year old.
Iggy
Max, where are the others?
Max
I'll wake them up
Int. Nudge's and Angel's room- Dawn Still
Their room is pink. Nudge lays her bed on the side of the right wall. Angel's bed is in the corner of the room. She has always loved cozy spots.
Max
(Quietly) Nudge, get up.
Nudge groans as she lies up. She has chocolate colored skin and black, wild hair.
Max
(To Nudge)Another day, get over it, sweetie.
Nudge sleepily gets up, she yawns. She walked out of the room.
Max (V.O)
Her name is Nudge. We named her on our own when we grew up in the lab. We named all of our members. Otherwise our names would be Subject: SJH4432 or something. When she's awake we are all on the Nudge Channel, all Nudge, all the time.
Max walks over to Angel's bed. Max opens her mouth to tell her to get up but-
ANGEL
Im up, Max!
Max
Okay, Iggy's making breakfast.
Angel
I know.
Angel stands up as Max brushes her hair. Angel has light blond hair.
Max (V.O)
Her name is Angel. Don't tell anyone, but she's my favorite. Besides her looks, she is barely anything like her blood brother Gazzy. Except that they are both sweet little kids. She is 2 years younger than her brother.
Angel
Maybe it's just because I'm your little girl, Max. But I won't tell anyone that I'm your favorite.
Max (V.O)
That's one of the best things about Angel, she can read minds.
Int. E shaped house- kitchen- Morning
Max goes into the fridge and gets a carton of milk, when she feels a soft breath on the back of her neck. She turns around angrily.
Max
Will you quit that?
We turn with the camera to see FANG. He is tall, 5' 12" to be exact. He has thick black hair that covers his eyebrows. He's wearing all black as usual.
FANG
Quit what, breathing?
Max (V.O)
And finally, this is Fang. He is four months younger than me, but yet four inches taller. He can sneak up behind you without you ever noticing, which makes him the quietest and less talkative in our flock, a lot unlike Nudge. This is our family.
Max
(To Fang) just stop sneaking up behind me. It creeps me out.
They are all sitting down at the large, oval table. They are eating eggs, bacon, toast e.t.c that Iggy made.
Angel
I wanna go out and pick the strawberries today
Max
Are they ripe enough?
Angel
Ya, I just checked yesterday.
Gazzy
K, I'll go with you
Max
(Seriously) yeah, and I could make a strawberry shortcake.
All start laughing except for max.
Fang
That was a good one.
Max
That wasn't a joke!
Iggy
Maybe I should make it, Max.
A loud CRASH silenced them all.
Nudge
What was that? It sounded like the vase. Not the blue vase, but the yellow, with the lilies on it and-
Max
I'll go check
Gazzy
K
Int. Hallway- Late Morning
SUSPENSE SCENE: Max walks slowly down the long hallway full of windows. She looks down from a nightstand and there is a broken yellow vase.
Max
Oh, it must have just fallen.
Yet something still seemed wrong. We are through the window outside as the camera is too. Max turns from the window. A sharp, furry finger screeches the window from the outside. The head of an eraser crashes through the windows in a "jump scene". She hits its face, knocking it out. Another large CRASH comes from the kitchen, Angel's scream is heard. Max runs into the kitchen
Max
Iggy Duck!
Iggy did so and ducks as an eraser's hand flies over him. He quickly gets back, hitting the eraser as her does so. Max rushes over to where Angel was hiding under the table, but a larger eraser got in her way. She attempts to fight it; she looks over at Fang who was single-handedly fighting three erasers. One hit him; the other knocked him on the table. Blood seeps from the corner of his mouth. Max tries to run over to Angel, but the eraser throws her to the counters. One eraser grabs Angel out from under the table and stuffs her in a bag. Max is to weary to get up. All the eraser left, except for one. Camera doesn't show his face. He starts walking toward max
ARI
Max is that you?
Max tried to squint and see who it is.
Ari
Why, you look terrible.
Max
Who are you?
Ari
You don't recognize me? I guess I've grown. Well, (he puts his face closer to Max's) you never really paid much attention to me.
Max realizes who he is.
Max
Ari? But- but you were just a little 7 year old kid. But they-
Ari
Yes. But they…. turned me.
Max
If your doing this for attention Ari than just stop.
Ari
Goodbye, Max
No one else of the flock is really paying attention. Ari leaves. They flock manages to get up.
Nudge
What are we going to do, Max?
Max
They have Angel.
Iggy
(Screaming) What are we going to do?
Max
We are going after them.
Max barges out of the room through the back door leading outside. The others follow.
Ext. Strawberry Garden- Late Morning
They ran until they saw erasers. A Humvee screeched around and a gun barrel stuck out of the window and stared to shoot. Max starts to run at the Humvee but the gun accidentally shot through the bottom of the car and it exploded. Max, tears in her eyes, still ran after the exploded vehicle. Fang put his arm out in front of her, making her stop.
Ari
Don't you see? We're the good guys.
Ari takes a lit match and throws it on the ground. It explodes into a giant burst of fire. Ari takes the bag with Angel in it and throws it on the helicopter. Max runs through the fire, chasing after them. The helicopter takes off; Max grabs the railing as it flies up. Ari kicks Max's fingers repeatedly, eventually making her fall.
Int. House- Early Afternoon
All of the flock, except for Angel, is sitting in a mad and sad mood.
Iggy
(To Max) (Yelling)How could you let this happen?
Fang
Watch it!
Iggy
No, you watch it! You guys can see, you guys can fight and know what you're doing!
Gazzy
You try being an eight year old in a fight! It's all you're fault anyway!
Max
Stop fighting! We aren't the enemy, they are!
Nudge
We don't even know where they took her.
Gazzy
They probably went all the way to China.
Max
I don't think they went all the way to China, Gazzy.
Fang
Looking at the ground,
(Mumbling) I know where they took her.
Iggy
Yeah, where?
Fang
The School.
Int. Kitchen- Early Afternoon
All are sitting at a table, waiting for Fang as he searches through a closet. He comes back out with a very old file, map thingy, yes I said thingy. He lays the map across the table.
Fang
Here.
Nudge
What's that?
Fang
A map of a secret facility. In California. The School.
Gazzy
What?
Iggy
We're going to the school to get her?
Max
Well, yes, me Fang and Nudge are. You guys are gonna have to stay here.
Gazzy
What? Are you crazy? She's my sister and I have to wait here?
Iggy
This is so stupid!
Max
Look, this is really dangerous. Yes Iggy you're a great flier, but I can't worry about you during a fight. Yes Gazzy she's your sister, but you're also eight years old.
Iggy
That's so stupid. Jeb would have never made us stay, never.
Max
Maybe not, but we will never now. Jeb is dead. And so are you if you argue with me one more time!