LOGLINE: A trucker working in Afghanistan must drive a final run; braving bandits, mercenaries, and distrust within his own convoy.
PREMISE: FRANK is looking forward to going home – he’s spent a year driving a truck through Afghanistan and he feels lucky to be alive. His supervisor, NEIL, blackmails him into driving one last time, so Frank ends up in one last convoy, driving a truck full of contraband. The truckers lose their military escort, but pick up CURRY, an amoral mercenary who’s captured MALLAS, a wanted warlord. Mallas’ followers attack the convoy, and Frank is forced to repel the attack, then fight off Curry, who wants to kill them. Frank survives and manages to get most of the truckers back to civilization.
SYNOPSIS
FRANK DEEVERS is a trucker working the treacherous pass between Kandahar and Kabul. He tells a bedtime story about Marco Polo’s adventures to his son via phone, then tells his wife MIA that he loves her. Frank has spent a year in Afghanistan, where he’s being paid $110,000 for a year of truck driving. Its dangerous work and few make it back.
THE NEXT DAY
GRONER (40’s) a grizzled trucker, gives an orientation speech to the new recruits of G.O., the trucking contractor their work for. He explains the situation: there are few roads, and greedy bandit warlords control them all. The most dangerous job is riding “bobtail,” the trailer-less cab on the rear of the convoy. It’s the bobtail’s job to rescue any trucks that get waylaid. Groner makes the job sound like the most hellish thing in the world.
MEANWHILE
BATGIRL (a guy, despite the name) has lagged behind his convoy. He’s attacked by bandits in armored cars, who are led by the BUTCHER, a follower of the notorious warlord, MALLAS. Batgirl is saved by Frank, who literally jumps his truck into the air and crushes a bandit. Frank is driving an ancient truck named “Cleo,” the most dangerous rig in the fleet. No one has ever survived driving Cleo for a year.
Batgirl rejoins the battered convoy, which pulls into the G.O. yard, to the chagrin of the boss, NEIL ASPINWALL (40), who’s concerned with presenting the newbies with a palatable view of the job. It looks like Frank’s been lost on the road, but he pulls in just when it seems like all hope’s lost. Frank’s a hero to the truckers, the all-star, the best guy driving. He’s also a hardass, as shown when he knees Batgirl in the nuts when he catches him bragging about his courage to the new recruits.
The truckers catch some R&R. Frank makes a call to his Mia. He’s five days from the end of his term, which means he won’t be sent out on any more runs. He tells Mia to put the down payment on their dream house – it’s the reason he’s been driving.
Meanwhile, across the base, convoy commander DON DONALDSON (40’s, a former soldier with a prosthetic arm) and TAXI (an Afghani mechanic) manage to fix Cleo. Later, Taxi skillfully parks Cleo, impressing Neil, who didn’t know that Taxi could drive.
Meanwhile, Neil gets a call – it’s time to do another run. Neil has a profitable sideline running contraband. Unfortunately for Neil, three of the new recruits quit, scared off by Groner and the shot up convoy.
Neil goes to see Frank and asks him to do the run. When Frank tells him no, Neil blackmails Frank, he knows that Frank is wanted for armed robbery in Dallas.
As G.O. is understaffed, Neil will also drive a truck on the convoy. Neil also pays Taxi $1000 to drive a truck for one run only. The other drivers are PORTERHOUSE (Southern, fat) and BATMAN (Batgirl’s bigger, tougher brother) and new recruit MICHELLE (30’s, African-American).
Donaldson explains the mission to the crew: they’ll be hauling night vision goggles and Kevlar, and will be stopping by a checkpoint to pick up three additional trucks. They’re going to be watched by an (ineffective) NATO escort of three French soldiers in a Humvee. The drivers are warned to beware of IED mines, which take the form of suspicious packages left in the road. They’re also given a sit-rep with a picture of Mallas, a wanted warlord
The convoy: Cleo, three semi trailers, two fuelers, and the Humvee. The crew preps the vehicles and prepares. Frank rides with his son’s TOY INDIAN on the steering wheel and a box of “Bit-O-Honey” bars, which he uses as bribes for the locals. He also cuts a slit in the seat to accommodate a gun and knife.
The journey is initially uneventful. Frank rides with Michelle, who doesn’t like him. The others explain their motivations: Batman needs to pay off the IRS, Groner has gambling debts, Batgirl wants a Porsche, Taxi wants to restart his taxi business (which was destroyed by the war), Michelle wants to avenge her soldier husband (she’s ready for a fight and heavily armed) and Porterhouse wants to open a rib joint.
The convoy hits the first checkpoint, the end of easy travel. The convoy next passes through the BARREL, an alley between two sniper-infested buildings. The convoy’s besieged with rocks and bullets until their NATO escort blares Slipknot at top volume.
The convoy proceeds to their next stop, Bagram air base, where they pick up three more trucks. Two have G.O. markings, one doesn’t. Neil makes Frank drive the unmarked truck – Frank is pissed, he knows it contains contraband. Neil uses the threat of blackmail to get Frank to do his bidding. Michelle gets her own truck, but it becomes clear that she’s just learned to drive – she needs a book to teach her what to do.
The convoy takes off, but the Afghani who delivered the truck informs the Butcher (the bandit from the beginning) of the contents of the truck Frank is driving.
The convoy passes a cluster of tents, where they are AMBUSHED. The NATO escort is blown to bits. Batgirl’s truck catches on fire, forcing Batgirl to swerve off the road. Frank runs from his truck and saves Batgirl’s life. Batgirl is grateful to Frank, but pissed at Taxi, who he believes sold out the convoy (as Taxi is an Afghani).
The next occurrence happens when Michelle (leading) spots a strange package (an IED mine) in her path. She slams the brakes but jackknifes the truck. Groner realizes that Michelle is lying about being an experienced driver, but he doesn’t rat her out, saying he’ll think of some form of blackmail later in the trip. The convoy tries to summon a new NATO escort, but they can’t. Suddenly, the convoy gets ambushed by bandits, and Donaldson is killed when a bullet propels him onto the IED mine. Neil takes command of the convoy and says they’re going to the compound of ABDALI SHAH, a warlord who MAY shelter them for the night. The truckers want to turn back, but Neil threatens to fire them. Frank grits his teeth and puts on some body armor from one of the trucks. The rest follow suit.
MEANWHILE: The Butcher is pissed, and he summons all his men, saying “no one sleeps till we find that truck.” The butcher’s hordes mobilize. There are a lot of them.
The convoy gets to Abdali Shah’s compound. Shah is a dangerous man, half out of his mind from heroine abuse. He almost turns them away, but Frank’s diplomacy wins Shah’s favor. Later, Batman and Batgirl try to beat up Taxi, but the others stop them. Neil meets CURRY, an American soldier who’s been separated from his unit. Curry’s com-link’s fried, but he’s got a STRYKER armored tank/truck. Curry agrees to escort the convoy in exchange for gas. The truckers are kicked out of Shah’s compound anyway, when Groner loses at dice.
On the way to Stryker’s convoy they spot the lights of a group of vehicle – the Butcher’s men. The convoy is confused – usually bandits travel in the dark so they can sneak up on convoys. They realize the bandits are looking for something, probably them. The convoy slips by the bandits by turning off their lights and driving with the night vision goggles from the cargo.
The convoy comes to the Stryker, which is like a cross between a truck and a tank. They meet Curry’s crew – D-MAN and PITBULL. Curry is charming, but he’s paranoid about anyone approaching the Stryker. Frank is suspicious, especially when Curry’s men blow up an approaching car without warning. Frank voices his concerns to Neil, but Neil doesn’t want to hear it (though Neil doesn’t trust Curry with more fuel than he has to). Frank confers with Groner and Porterhouse on a private CB channel – none of them trust Curry. Curry catches the tail end of their exchange.
Curry leads the crew off the main road, through the desert. Porterhouse dies when his truck hits a mine. The crew finds themselves in the middle of a mine field. Worse, a group of bandits is closing on the convoy.
Frank comes up with a plan. With no time to lose, he and Taxi get an abandoned car running and they cover it with body armor. The car’s fuel line is cut, so Taxi has to hold it together. The mines are on a timed delay, so Frank can use the car to cut a swath through the field IF he stays above fifty miles per hour. Frank has Groner drive in last position, with the truck poised to dump it’s cargo on anyone who follows. Groner makes Michelle drive last position as payback for not ratting her out.
Frank puts the plan into effect, but it’s nerve racking work - if his speed goes below 50 mph while he’s in the mine field, he’s dead. Happily, the plan works, and the convoy makes another narrow escape.
Afterwards, Frank turns on Curry. He’s realized that Curry’s hiding something and the bandits are after the Stryker, not his truck. The truckers discover that Curry has Mallas, the wanted bandit leader in the truck. Neil, seeing an opportunity, negotiates a split on the bounty for Abdul Mallas with Curry. As the bounty is ten million dollars, half the truckers are won over, even though it’s dangerous. The truckers are split on the decision, with the naysayers led by Frank, so Neil pulls his trump card, revealing that Frank is wanted for armed robbery. The truckers reluctantly agree to a split. The convoy takes off again, with Mallas stashed in Neil’s truck. The convoy pushes on until they’re stopped by a brutal sandstorm that blocks the sun.
In talking with Curry, Michelle realizes that he’s lying about being Special Forces, and she shares her fears with Frank. Frank radios to the G.O. base, and learns that Curry is listed as dead.
Things get interesting: Mallas appeals to Neil, saying that he can wire ten million into Neil’s bank account. Neil agrees, but Batman and Batgirl catch him. Meanwhile, Curry and his men decide to take Mallas back by force. Curry and his men knock out Batgirl – WHILE BATMAN is killed by the Butcher and his men, who free Mallas. Frank gets the drop on the Butcher, sending him packing. Frank recaptures Mallas, then accosts Curry and his men.
When the situation stabilizes, Frank demands to know who Curry really is. Curry is a mercenary who killed the real Curry and took off with his Stryker.
Knowing that the Butcher will return with an army, Frank has the convoy circle, like a wagon train. The truckers are outgunned, but then Frank breaks into the unmarked truck, revealing a stash of AK-47’s – Neil has been running guns. The truckers arm themselves, just in time. Two dozen armored vehicles appear on the horizon.
A gun battle ensues. It’s a brutal battle, but the Butcher is killed and the other bandits flee. In the chaos, Curry tries to abscond with Mallas, only to find that Frank hid Mallas in another truck. The Truckers collect D-Man and take off in Cleo, the only surviving vehicle. Mallas sits shotgun, the rest cling to the back. They leave Curry for dead by the Stryker, which has had its tires flattened.
Curry is still alive, and he manages to reinflate the Stryker’s tires. Curry chases Cleo, his first ram killing Neil. D-Man jumps onto the Stryker. Frank, realizing that his friends are sitting ducks, has them jump off. Frank takes off into the desert, leading Curry on a high speed chase.
In the course of the chase, D-Man is accidentally crushed by the Stryker. At the end, Frank totals Cleo on a derelict rig and Mallas is killed. Curry comes to kill Frank, but Frank stabs him with a knife hidden in the seat. Frank takes a beating from Curry, but when Curry goes to pick up Mallas’ corpse, Frank lights a gas spill, exploding Cleo, Curry and Mallas.
The surviving truckers (Batgirl, Groner, Michelle and Taxi) trudge down the road. They spot Frank on the back of an ancient cart. They ride the last miles to Kandahar in silence.
COMMENTS
This script was sold off a pitch, and it’s easy to see why. The concept is really great – truckers in Afghanistan who are practically mercenaries; people doing a dangerous job because they really need the money. More surprising is the way the concept serves a great script, complete with dynamic, vividly sketched characters and plenty of big, fun action.
This is exciting stuff – a high concept rendered well. The writing is very, very “Hollywood” (a gruff anti-hero with a soft spot for his son; a guy with five days in “the shit” sent on a final mission), but it’s tremendously effective.
The characters are all very strong – sketched quickly, but effectively, and the reader is invested enough in them to be sad when they die (particularly Porterhouse, whose death becomes more moving post-humously). The characters are enlivened with details that have nothing to do with the story (Taxi’s love of a Bollywood star; the way older brother Batman has a love for Jessica Simpson, while his younger brother loves Ashley). Frank is a great role, cunningly written to attract a bankable star.
Also of note is the way the writers pit the characters against each other, keeping the truckers’ suspicion of each other high and well founded, and introducing temptations that would legitimately turn brother against brother. It takes an appropriate amount of time for the crew to even BEGIN to trust each other, and then they add Curry and his soldiers to the mix, which ups the stakes even further.
The action is clever and broad, with memorable set pieces (a truck flying in the air and squashing a biker, the convoy circling like a wagon train, pretty much anything involving the Stryker truck/tank), and a plot that uses a number of clever tricks and gives the supporting cast chances to shine.
All in all a compelling sample written from a compelling pitch by a hot writing team that deserves their reputation. The writer’s ability to have characters this interesting in a high concept script that’s this plotted speaks well of their ability to handle assignment work.
RECOMMENDhe convoy circling like a wagon train, pretty much anything involving the Stryker truck/tank), and a plot that uses a number of clever tricks and gives the supporting cast chances to shine.
All in all a compelling sample written from a compelling pitch by a hot writing team that deserves their reputation. The writer’s ability to have characters this interesting in a high concept script that’s this plotted speaks well of their ability to handle assignment work.
RECOMMEND
