Voila! Finally, the Elephant
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Gus Van Sant movie
based on Columbine. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Elephant. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
Hike.
Stop it!
Go!
What's up, boys?
All right, let's go.
Hike.
-What? Where are you going? Come here.
-Oh, my God, Dad.
Get in the car.
You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
-Mom's gonna kill you.
-What?
What are you doing?
Dad, I'm driving. No.
Get out of the car, Dad.
-What?
-Get out of the car.
-Seat belt.
-Yeah.
-What's the big deal?
-Can you just get in the car, please?
Let's go hunting.
Wanna go hunting this weekend?
Okay, let's go. Where are we going hunting?
You can use that old Jap
that Grandpa brought back from Truk.
-From where?
-Truk Islands, the South Pacific.
-Admiral Halsey, World War II.
-Yeah, right.
I was there.
You've been there, right, Dad?
No.
-Can I take your guys' picture?
-Why?
I'm just developing my portfolio right now,
doing random projects.
What's a portfolio?
It's when you put together pictures
to present your work.
-Get into galleries, stuff like that.
-What kind of work?
Anything. Like, portraits mainly.
-Like, naked people?
-No.
Want us to get naked with you,
take our picture?
No. I'm not for the outdoor-naked thing.
Public nudity is.... No.
-No, we won't do that.
-All right, man.
Yeah? Okay, good.
You're too kind.
All right, let's go.
Be a little happier. Come on.
There you go.
Kind of look away.
Make a funny face.
One more.
Yeah, good. Keep walking.
Maybe one kiss.
Perfect. All right,
I actually gotta get to school.
-My name's Caroline.
-Nice to meet you. I'm Eli.
-Nice to meet you, too.
-What's up?
I'll give you guys a print
the next time I see you, or whenever.
-I'll try and make one today.
-All right. See you later, man.
All right, Dad, you stay here.
Paul will come pick you up.
Dad, just stay in the car. I gotta go.
Just stay in the car, please.
Hey, Paul? Yeah, it's John.
Dad's drunk again.
So, Mr. McFarland....
Hi, Mr. Luce. I'm sorry I'm late.
My dad took me out to lunch.
-I mean, breakfast.
-Meet me in my office.
I'm in trouble now.
Will you pick him up?
I'll leave the keys in the office.
Can you do it soon?
'Cause I don't know if he's gonna stay.
Set. Hike!
He's so cute.
-How are you?
-Good, and how are you?
I'm doing pretty good. How was Math?
-How do you think?
-That good?
That's all right, you know, it happens.
How's Sara doing?
Is everything okay with her?
She seemed a little off lately.
Yeah, I guess so. How's school for you?
It's about as good as it could be.
-Is P.E. treating you all right?
-Yeah.
-Excuse me, miss?
-Yes?
-We need to sign out.
-Okay.
That picture was taken in Hawaii,
on the island of Maui.
What do you need, hon?
Get to class.
Don't be late for detention.
-Excuse me, miss? We need to sign out.
-Where was that picture taken?
That picture was taken in Hawaii,
on the island of Maui.
-That's real pretty.
-Isn't that cool? What do you need?
I need to leave these keys for my brother.
He's gonna come pick them up, : -ish.
Put the keys in the envelope,
and put your brother's name on there.
His name's Paul.
By the way, what time will you be back?
Right around : p.m.
- : you said?
-Yeah, about.
-Okay, great.
-All right, thanks.
And don't forget to bring your own steaks.
-I'll see you then.
-Yeah, okay.
I'm saving for my car.
I'm paying it off this month.
Surprise!
Hello.
Hi.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
-You were crying.
-Yeah.
-Is it something bad?
-I don't know.
I'll see you later. I have to go
to a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting.
Okay.
Hi, Acadia, how you doing?
We were talking about
walking down a street being gay.
What do you think about that?
How can you tell?
-Or can you tell?
-Good question.
See, that's the thing. I don't think you can.
I think in some situations you can tell...
and there are situations
where people want you to know.
What makes you think you can tell?
If somebody wants you to know.
If someone has...
dyed pink hair.
Wait, what do you think about that?
I know it is,
but what do you think about that?
I don't think that wearing pink...
indicates your
sexual orientation necessarily.
-A lot of men wear pink.
-It is a lot, yeah.
Like rainbow necklaces.
I mean, if you have
tons of rainbow paraphernalia....
Jump in on this.
Help them out here a little bit.
Come on.
Did you guys see the cover story
on The Oregonian about the gay rams?
Yeah. See, this is a good topic here.
Go ahead.
Because apparently the farmers can't tell
if the rams are gay or not.
So you get a ram to breed and it's not...
so they waste a lot of money.
So they're doing all this research.
They spend, like, $ on a ram.
That's a lot of money for one ram.
But the scary thing is
if they know what causes homosexuality...
is that something you could change,
something you could remove?
There's all this
weird political stuff around it.
I don't think we're talking about
the change, necessarily.
We're talking about
if we notice somebody on the street...
if we can tell they're gay.
I don't think you can.
How in the world do we know their spirit?
If they wear one of those bracelets,
the rainbow and stuff, that's a giver.
Somebody walking on the street,
all dressed up, wearing high heels--
Rainbow bracelets don't necessarily mean
that you're gay.
I've never seen anybody wear one
that isn't gay.
-Me, for example.
-Then why would it even matter?
You're wearing a bracelet
and you're not gay. Who cares either way?
-What time will you be back?
-Right around : p.m.
Okay.
Here's the deal.
Aaron and I and some of the other boys...
we're gonna go fourbying later today.
We were wondering if maybe you would
like to bring some of the girls along.
Don't you remember
what happened last time?
-Of course. How could I forget?
-With Sara and Jessica?
-Sara and Jessica, they're....
-Don't be mean.
I never tease you about Jason
and his hot dogs, or whatever.
That was an isolated incident.
Besides, I don't know if I can go.
I don't know what time I'll get home.
-Home from the appointment?
-Yeah.
Does that, by any chance, have to do with...
when we went camping,
two or three weeks ago?
I don't know. It could be anything.
You know what? You don't have to worry
about it. You know why?
Because we're gonna
have a blast fourbying...
as long as--
You gotta promise to show up.
-Hey, Eli!
-What's up, John?
-How's it going?
-Pretty good.
-What are you doing?
-Just taking pictures.
-Can I take a picture of you?
-Yeah, sure.
Okay, ready? One, two, three.
-Nice.
-I'll see you later.
-You going to the concert tonight?
-No, my parents are being bitches.
That's retarded. That happens.
All right. I'll see you.
Boomer!
Come here.
What are you guys doing?
Get the fuck out of here
and don't come back.
-Some heavy shit's going down.
-What are you doing?
When the electrons jump
from one orbital to another one...
what does that do?
What's the difference between the orbitals?
The orbitals differ in energy.
The orbitals, which are areas in space
around the nucleus...
the ones that are closer to the nucleus,
those are low energy...
and the ones that are further away
are higher energy.
So when we put energy into the atom...
it kicks these electrons out...
further away from the nucleus,
and produces a higher.... Yes?
After putting electricity
into the tube full of the electrons...
after they're lit up, do they stay lit up
or can they run out of energy?
Good question. What they do...
is they will sit up
in this higher energy state...
and then drop down again.
And when they drop down, they emit light.
What are you writing?
-This?
-Yeah.
It's my plan.
-For what?
-You'll see.
-Hey, Eli, what's up?
-Hey, how are you?
Not much. I'm just gonna go
to the darkroom and stuff, so....
Yeah. Watch out for Mr. Robertson's class.
Yeah, I know. No kidding.
-All right, I'll see you later.
-Okay. Bye.
-How you doing?
-Pretty good, actually.
-How about you?
-Fine.
Michelle, look, we've got to talk
about this gym clothes problem.
This is not gonna do it, these long pants.
Everybody else is wearing shorts.
What's the matter?
I don't want to talk about it.
I don't want to give you a mark
against you, either.
But I'll have to do it
if you can't show up in shorts...
like you are supposed to.
Look, I won't do anything about it
this time...
but tomorrow, I want to see those shorts.
Okay!
There's that nerd girl
who sits behind you in Math class.
-That one right there.
-Yeah. Her.
Green panties?
Loser.
-Where'd you take that at?
-The bleachers outside.
Pretty blurry, though.
-What's that?
-It's a rip in his shirt.
I thought it was coming out of her head.
-I took that outside at the park earlier.
-Really?
That's pretty. Where'd you take that at?
At my house.
That's my light assignment.
Great contrast. I like how you can barely see
the fence right there.
I think I'll make another print, though.
It came out too light.
Yeah, you should burn in right here.
-Hey, Eli.
-What's up, John?
-How's it going?
-Good, how about you?
-Pretty good. What are you doing?
-Just taking pictures.
-Can I take a picture of you?
-Yeah, sure.
Okay, ready? One, two, go.
-Nice.
-All right, I'll see you later.
-You going to the concert tonight?
-No, my parents are being bitches.
That's retarded. That happens.
All right. See you.
Come on out here.
I got a job for you here.
You can take these books...
and you can reshelf them right over there,
if you would, please.
I'll be here if you need me.
-That's what they told me.
-I don't know.
-I mean, it's really hard to decide.
-Yeah, I know.
I mean, the money's really nice, but....
He's so cute.
-Did she see you?
-Who?
Did she see you?
-Who?
-Her. His girlfriend.
He has a girlfriend? Since when?
-You didn't know?
-No, I didn't.
A long time.
-Are you joking?
-I hope she didn't see you.
-She's not gonna do anything.
-She hit a girl last time for that.
-Hit a girl?
-She slapped a girl.
No way.
She smiled, he smiled, and she slapped her.
My gosh, I cannot believe that.
Are you joking?
-I saw it.
-Why wouldn't she slap him?
-Because--
-It's not the girl's fault.
All girls do that.
-In the middle of the hall?
-Yeah. After school last Friday.
Wow, I am so tired.
I haven't been getting any sleep lately...
'cause every morning, I wake up
and my mom's going through my stuff.
-Going through your stuff?
-Yeah.
Completely, like,
ruffling through my covers and like....
-Your covers?
-Yeah.
Like, what would I hide there?
What am I gonna be hiding?
I don't know.
Didn't your mom used to do that to you?
She did that a couple days ago.
She was going through it, and I said:
''Don't go through my shit.
I don't go through yours.
''lt's not like you own my stuff.
I don't own your stuff.''
I don't know. I talk to her about it,
and she'll be like:
''Okay, I'm sorry. I won't do it anymore.''
And then all of sudden, I'll come home,
and she's in my room.
They think it's their job
because they're the parents of the house.
I'm sick of it. I want out of here.
I'm so ready to go to college.
Yeah, I wanna get out of here.
Only one more year, though, you guys.
One more year. Count it down.
-What to eat?
-I can't wait to go off campus.
-Can I help you?
-Can I have a milk?
Wait, no, I think I want a Capri Sun.
-Can I have a juice?
-I'll have that milk. Thanks.
Juice. This one.
Yeah. Thanks.
What do I want?
-None of it looks that good.
-It never does.
-Some kids like this stuff.
-Thank you.
I know, they come back for, like,
seconds and thirds.
They just keep coming?
Salads?
It's too crowded. Let's go to the back.
-Where's a table nobody's sitting at?
-Where's your salad dressing?
-I don't eat salad dressing anymore.
-You don't? I thought you loved it.
No, I hate it. I used to like it,
and then I tried once without it.
-I cannot stand it without.
-You know it has fat?
You know salad dressing has
grams of fat in it?
-Shut up.
-It's not like it stays in us anyway.
I can't believe you just said that.
-What if somebody heard you?
-It's the truth.
Is that John?
What is he doing?
-Is that a dog?
-I didn't know he had a dog.
Why would he bring it to school
if he did have a dog?
-I have no idea.
-Maybe he just found it.
You guys want to go shopping today?
That sounds like fun.
I don't know. Ben wanted to do something.
-Are you joking me?
-What?
This is the fifth day in a row
you're not hanging out with us.
You guys, it's like,
how much time do you want?
Put a number on it.
I don't even want to talk about it.
You spend so much time with him.
You get, like, % to % of my time.
-Yeah, right. More like %.
-You do!
School, after school....
You know, you can't have both weekends.
I need to split it a little more evenly.
We're not just people
to be pushed out of the way.
I'm not saying that.
You're both very important to me.
I'm supposed to be your best friend
and you pushed me out of it.
You're both equally as important,
but my time has to be split up.
What do you want? % and he gets %?
Your friends are supposed to be
just as important, if not more.
-All the time. Haven't you ever heard that?
-I've heard that, but it's different.
I've been there for you, through everything.
We've been best friends for, what,
three years now? Since high school started.
-I know, I'm working.
-I'm done, guys.
Let's just go.
I'm going shopping.
Sounds like fun. I'll go.
I don't want to be
the only one not going. I'll go.
Okay, I'll go, but you cannot drive.
Yeah, you're not driving.
I am such a good driver.
-You are not.
-That's mean. You guys can't say that.
I don't understand because everyone else
thinks I'm a good singer...
and a couple of weeks ago,
when I sang Star-Spangled Banner...
everyone thought it was really good.
That's why I'm really confused
that you would say something like that.
Seriously, I mean, why?
Why do you think I'm such a bad singer?
Do you guys have cars?
Because I don't think you do.
So, how else are you
going to get anywhere?
We'll go, just drive under the speed limit.
You have to have your hands at ten and two.
-That's no fun.
-Go back to the basic rules.
When you guys get your licenses,
you'll understand.
We'll understand?
I just want to live to get my license.
-We want to live to see the rest of our lives.
-I'm not gonna kill you.
It'll be in the newspaper--
I might run into a couple of people
on the way, but....
It's not funny.
Oh, my gosh. It'll be fine. We'll just go.
-This is disgusting.
-I ate too much.
I always feel so fat after I'm done eating.
-Every time.
-Do you ever get....
-The pudge there?
-Where it sticks out above your belt?
And you can't get rid of it, no matter what.
So gross.
That's awesome.
What's up?
You suck.
-See you tonight, dear.
-Yeah.
You know, Jared's got the pole this week
and the track record.
What's that smell?
That's just your mom.
You could find other places to eat.
I'm sure there's better restaurants in town.
No, you're the best.
-Want more of these?
-No thanks.
All right, lock the door.
The radio has wholly taken over.
Many of the cinema's....
-What was that?
-I don't know.
All scripts must now be vetted.
The casting of actors must be approved.
From now on...
the German people will only know
what their Führer wants them to know.
Propaganda brought us into power.
That's a lot of flags.
-This was made in Germany, right?
-Yeah.
Propaganda will enable us
to conquer the world.
In his early Munich days,
Hitler had taken an old Hindu symbol...
the hooked cross, the Swastika,
as the Nazi symbol.
Now he multiplies it a million times.
From the Romans, he steals the standards....
-Can you still buy Nazi flags?
-Sure, if you're a nut.
From Mussolini, he steals the Fascist salute.
Check it out.
Führer, command, we follow you.
The Führer is always right.
Who's that guy?
-That's Hitler, right?
-Yeah.
...who fears the intellect
and hates all intellectuals.
So into the flames are flung the works
not only of German philosophers...
scientists, doctors, poets,
playwrights, novelists...
but those of all the world.
Students as well as storm troopers
obey the Führer's orders.
Any culture except Nazi Kultur
must be destroyed.
Hey, how you doing?
You guys must be out of school today.
-Yeah.
-Good for you.
I'll have you sign for me here.
That's great. Thank you very much.
Sweet. It's here.
At a vast meeting in Berlin...
Mussolini thanks Germany for her help
in his brutal Abyssinian War.
And the Führer replies.:
-Oh, yeah, dude.
-This is so awesome.
''Peace, '' did Hitler say?
Let's check this shit out, man.
-Hell, yeah, dude.
-Sweet.
Back up.
Whoa, dude, that was awesome.
Hey, Eli!
-What's up, John?
-How's it going?
-Pretty good. And you?
-Good.
-What are you doing?
-Just taking pictures.
Can I take a picture of you?
-Nice.
-I'll see you later.
-You going to the concert tonight?
-No, my parents are being bitches.
-All right.
-See you.
Hi, Michelle. Glad you could make it.
Please come in and sign in here,
then come out.
There are a few things
we can work on together.
First, if you want to just take this
cart of books...
and you can reshelf it over there
in the non-fiction.
I'll be right here to help you if you need me.
I guess this is it. We're gonna die today.
Yeah, I've never even kissed anybody.
Have you?
''I don't appreciate you
putting signs out like that.''
The next day, he called up his friend
and has him put out another sign.
And she doesn't see it.
And so he puts out another one.
Like, right in front of her house,
in front of her apartment thing.
It says:
''Tim Campbell's whorehouse
has been shut down.''
Or ''Has been placed under new ownership
by'' whatever her name was.
He couldn't cut it anymore.
All right, let's see this.
So, we'll park here, right?
We'll enter through the south entrance.
Then we go past the trophy case and the
medal case, enter through the language lab.
They don't use it anymore,
so nobody'll be there.
We'll gear up there,
we'll hear the primary explosions...
go about here in the cafeteria, right?
When that goes, we should be able
to pick off kids...
as we traverse the east wing.
And then we have another explosion
that should go off here in the gym...
and here in the auditorium.
At that time, there should be
kids flushing out in all directions...
and we'll be able to pick them off,
one by one.
After that, you'll hit your yellow line here,
which is your plan B.
And you'll go up through Mr. Luce's office
and take care of that.
Fuck!
While I go, on the red line,
up through this hallway...
where we'll have the best targets,
dumb-ass jocks and shit.
Because we'll have a fucking
field day down there.
I mean, come on.
You've got your Tec- and your rifle...
and I've got my shotty and my .
on my back.
And I got a couple pistols and a knife.
We have enough explosives to last us
almost a day.
-Most importantly, have fun, man.
-Yeah, man.
What are you guys doing?
Get the fuck out and don't come back.
Some heavy shit's going down.
Hey, don't go in there.
Hey, you guys, don't go in there.
Something bad is gonna happen.
Don't go in there, okay?
Dude, what the fuck?
Don't worry about it, it's probably just slow.
Let's go to plan B.
-Are you sure you set it right?
-Positive.
Sir, don't go in there! Trust me!
Just don't go in there, please. Don't go in!
Dad!
Hey, you guys--
What was that?
-Sounded like bombs. That's fine.
-No more homework, no teachers.
-That'd be so cool.
-That'd be nice.
-Hi.
-What's wrong?
What the hell is wrong with you?
Okay, then be a bitch.
What a freak.
I think maybe everyone could bring....
Well, I don't drink soda,
but some people do--
What was that?
Firecracker. Don't worry about it.
It'll be okay.
Come on, sit down. Let's finish this.
Okay now, we talked about
what we're gonna do--
Nate? Come on, get up, Nate.
Here we go, let's go.
Come on, let's go, now!
It sounds clear. Go!
Down the hallway to the band room exit!
Hey, Mr. Luce.
Why are you doing this?
Eric, put the gun down.
I ain't putting shit down!
Put the gun down, we'll talk about this.
Shut up!
Dad!
The school's on fire.
-Are you all right?
-Yeah, what's going on?
I saw two guys come in the other side.
Holy cow!
They had big black bags
and camo gear on.
My God.
-Where did you go?
-I just....
I'm sorry.
Yeah, you did, and I should shoot you
right now for it, you know I should.
But I think I just might let you live,
maybe, because I want you to know this...
and the next kids that come up to you
with their problems...
that they're being picked on,
you should listen to them...
no matter what twisted shit they say.
Fuck.
Anyway, Mr. Luce, whatever.
You know there's others like us
out there, too.
And they will kill you if you fuck with them
like you did me and Jared.
Get out of here,
before I change my mind. Go!
Bitch.
''So foul and fair a day I have not seen.''
Fuck!
-Oh, my God, there he is!
-Oh, shit!
Hey, man. I wouldn't drink that.
You'll get herpes or something.
-So how did you do?
-Did all right. What happened?
I shot the principal
and some other people, and--
Well, well, well.
Look who it is.
Dude, come on, don't do this.
-Eeny...
-You stupid fuck!
-...meeny...
-What are you doing?
-...miny...
-Please.
-...moe.
-Don't.
-Catch a tiger...
-This isn't something you wanna do.
-...by his toe.
-Please.
If he hollers...
-You're fuckin' sick. Don't do this.
-...let him go.
Eeny...
meeny...
miny...
moe.