dismounts andlike a falconercovers its eyes with a woven
HOOD. It waitsdocileas --
She joins Jake and the hunter party. Tsu’tey leads them
through the cave until they emerge onto a CLIFF FACE. And
Jake sees --
The BANSHEE ROOKERY. HUNDREDS of banshees huddle on rock out-
croppings as far as the eye can see. They cling to the walls
with the fore-claws on their wingsor perch on ledges.
70.
TSU’TEY
Jakesully will go first.
Tsu’tey smirks at Jakea challenge in his eyes. The two
teenage Hunters are scared but trying to act tough.
Tsu’tey scowls when Neytiri leads Jake out onto the ledge.
NEYTIRI
(whispering)
Now you choose your ikran. This you must
feel -- inside. If he also chooses you
move quicklike I showed. You will have
one chance.
JAKE
How will I know if he chooses me?
NEYTIRI
He will try to kill you.
JAKE
Outstanding.
Out of sight of Tsu’teyNeytiri takes his hand and squeezes
it. Jake feels a rush of emotionbut she breaks away like
it didn’t happen. He is on his ownon the ledge with --
The BANSHEES. They eye him as he approaches. Several SHRIEK
and take flight. Others flap their wings and yawnshowing
rows of fangsin a threat display.
Jake unrolls a weighted leather straplike a one-ended BOLO.
A LARGE MALE spreads enormous wingsSHRIEKSand glares
straight at him.
Jake looks directly into its eyes -- and strides toward it.
JAKE
Let’s dance.
The challenged banshee HISSES and leaps at himjaws wide as--
Jake times the lungeswinging the bolofeinting and then
slipping aside as the banshee’s jaws miss himSNAPPING SHUT.
Jake WHAPS the bolo across its snout. The weighted thong
whips twice around its long jawstying them shut. A MUFFLED
SCREAM and it SLASHES at his stomach with razor talons but --
71.
Jake is already leapingover the talons and tackling the
banshee around the neck. It topples on its sideand he
SWARMS IT -- arms around its thrashing head.
Jake grabs its whip-like antenna and brings it toward his
queue but --
The bony head SLAMS sidewaysand
BAM! -- clocks him right in
the facealmost knocking him out and --
IT WRITHESflinging him to the ground. He slides on the
rock and almost goes over the edge as --
NEYTIRI gasps. Tsu’tey laughs and yells mockingly.
The bolo is coming loose as the creature shakes its headway
pissed off nowbut --
Jake scrambles up and leaps straight at it. Claws rake his
leg but he gets his arms around its head and CLAMPS DOWN
HARD. They flop to the ground and he scrambles on top
pinning it and --
Grabs its whipping antennalocks it under his armand jams
the end of his queue into it. They FUSE together and --
The banshee stops struggling. It lies there panting. They
are locked togetherliterally eye to eye.
JAKE
That’s right! You’re mine.
ECU BANSHEE -- the pupil like a deep black well.
Jake relaxes his grip and slowlywarilyslides his leg over
the creature’s back.
Neytiri runs to him.
NEYTIRI
First flight seals the bond. You cannot
wait.
Jake sits astride the creaturefeeling its power. He grips
a hank of the beast’s mainand --
JAKE
Heeeyyyaaaah!
THWAP! THWAP! The banshee is off like a shot. Jake SCREAMS
as they PLUMMET off the cliff -- the banshee WAILS and --
72.
They fall togetherspiralling out of controland he is
almost tossed lose. The thing is SQUAWKING and SHRIEKING so
much he can't think.
JAKE
Shut the hell up!!
It does.
JAKE
Level out! Fly straight!
It levels out. Jake cocks his headonly thinking “bank left”
and the animal complies. He settles the banshee into an easy
loping beat of its huge wingswhile he catches his breath.
NEYTIRI’S BANSHEE falls into formation with him. She signals
“follow me” and DIVES.
Jake guides his banshee clumsily after her. Neytiri’s
banshee moves with precise movements of its wingtipswhile
Jake’s wobbles and dipsalmost falling out of the sky.
THE CAMERA SWOOPS after them as Neytiri leads an arcing DIVE
around the flank of Mons Veritatis. The scenery is stunning.
They pass waterfalls and swoop between hanging vines.
Neytiri leads Jake in a sharp bankskimming close to the
cliffs. They punch through streamers of cloud and emerge
into sunlight.
Jake is getting the hang of it. He jinks leftthen right
then divestucking himself tight against the animal’s back.
He’s recklessfearless. Half in control and LOVING IT.
Neytiri dives next to him as he lets out a long WHOOP of joy.
CUT TO:
INT./EXT. GROTTO/MONS VERITATIS - DAY
FLIGHT MONTAGE:
NEYTIRI squats with Jakeusing her hands to explain flight
principles like one fighter pilot to another.
LOOKING DOWN a sheer cliff. SWOOOSH! Jake and Neytiri dive
their mounts STRAIGHT DOWN PAST CAMERApulling out and
soaring into a series of aerobatic turns.
JAKE (V.O.)
I may not be much of a horse guy. But I
was born to do this.
73.
THEY FLY in close formation with TSU’TEY and the young
HUNTERS5 banshees flashing through scarves of mist.
ANOTHER DAY. Jake divesplaying hide and seek with Neytiri
among the clouds. They are wild and free in a wild world.
She grins and banks harddiving --
catch me if you can. He
DIVES after her.
IN THE GROTTOby firelightJAKE’S BANSHEE snaps at a piece
of meat which he playfully pulls back. He’s teaching it to
take the food more slowly. He strokes its long head.
TSU’TEY is nearby with the young hunters. He eyes Jake with
frustrated hostility.
ANOTHER DAY -- Jake and Neytiri fly abreastsoaring easily.
She points and Jake sees --
A BIZARRE GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. Arches of magnetic rock form
rainbows of stone above a deep CALDERA. In the center of the
caldera is a singleenormous WILLOW TREEgnarled and
ancient. Thiswe will be toldis
THE WELL OF SOULS.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIDGE
JAKE flies with Neytiri along a forested ridge. She is
teaching him to hunt from his banshee. They carry their bows
at the readyscanning below them for prey.
A HUGE SHADOW covers him and Neytiri SHOUTS a warning. Jake
looks up to see --
A LEONOPTERYX in a delta-divewhistling straight at him.
Like a bansheeonly several times largerit is the king
predator of the air: the GREAT LEONOPTERYX. Striped
scarletyellow and blackwith a midnight blue crested head
-- it is both gorgeous and terrifying.
The hunter has become the prey. JAKE snap-rolls and dives
toward the forest canopy. He plummets into the gloom as --
K-CRASH -- the leonopteryx tears through foliagefollowing
him downboth diving like missiles and --
JAKE yanks into a hair-pin bankright through a gap between
two huge branches --
Forcing the leonopteryx to brake with a loud FWOOSH of wings.
It banks away with a frustrated SHRIEK. Two flaps of its
mighty wings and it is goneback above the canopy.
74.
CLOSE ON THE LEONOPTERYXas its fanged mouth opens in a
bloodcurdling SCREECH which echoes among the mountains. The
lord of its domain.
ON JAKEshaken. Neytiri flies upher expression the Na’vi
equivalent of Oh my God. A beat -- they both crack up.
CUT TO:
INT. SHACK - NIGHT
Jake ponders images Grace has called up at her workstation--
science graphics of the Leonopteryx. Trudy and Norm are
crowded around as well.
GRACE
The Great Leonopteryx is the apex aerial
predator. Not only rarebut the
sightings tend not to get reported.
Trudy makes a clicking motion with her thumb.
TRUDY
There usually isn’t time to key the mike.
JAKE
The People call it Toruk.
NORM
(translating)
Last Shadow.
JAKE
Last one you ever see.
TRUDY
I saw one take out a gunship once --
WHAM! Total frickin’ yard sale. Ate the
crew like peanuts.
TIME CUT -- Grace is scanning through images and Jake stops
her on one -- a 3D aerial shot of the strange arched
formation.
JAKE
That’s it.
GRACE
Vitraya Ramunong -- The Well of Souls.
It’s their most sacred place.
She moves the virtual cameraand we seem to fly around the
Well of Soulscatching only a glimpse of the interior.
75.
GRACE
Something big is going on in there
biologically. I’d die to get samplesbut
outsiders are strictly forbidden.
TIME CUT -- Jake looks through the pressure window at HUMAN
GRACE and NORM outside. Wearing masksthey are taking
readings from some time-series experiments Grace has set up.
As TRUDY watchesJAKE works fast to download Grace’s images
of the Well of Souls onto a memory chip.
TRUDY
They’re coming back.
Jake pulls the chipthen hesitates. Torn by what he is
doing.
TRUDY
If you don’t give him somethinghe’s
gonna shut us down.
He hands her the chip and she slips it into a pocket of her
flight-suit just as Grace and Norm enter from the airlock.
JAKE
Heyguys.
CUT TO:
INT. HOMETREE - NIGHT
JAKE STARES up at the TOTEM SKULLwhich we now recognize as
that of a GREAT LEONOPTERYX. NEYTIRI watches as he reaches
up to touch the tall indigo crest.
NEYTIRI
My grandfather’s grandfather was Toruk
Macto -- Rider of Last Shadow. Toruk
chose him. It has only happened five
times since the time of the First Songs.
JAKE
That’s a long time.
Neytiri takes his handbecause that’s what the Na’vi do when
they’re telling you something important.
NEYTIRI
Toruk Macto was mighty -- he brought the
clans together in a time of great sorrow.
All Na’vi people know this story.
76.
PUSH IN SLOWLY on the skull totemthen --
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVER BED - DAY
JAKENEYTIRI and other FLYING HUNTERS swoop low above a HERD
OF STURMBEEST -- a rapids of thundering muscle. Dust rises
from this living river like steam from a python's back.
TRACKING WITH the herd. A HUNTER appears in FGastride a
direhorse at full gallop. The sight is breathtaking. He
hurls a 3 meter spear and one of the sturmbeest CRASHES down
flipping twice from momentum.
JAKE ROLLS IN like a fighter jethis banshee screaming. He
draws and fires his bow. The arrow strikes truein the
plexus between the armored shoulders and --
THE BEAST crashes to the ground. Skids to a stop in a cloud
of dust.
NEYTIRI swoops in next to Jakearms raised and grinning
wolfishly.
CU TSU’TEYbanking around Jake’s kill. Jake looks upand
Tsu’tey SALUTES in grudging admiration.
CUT TO:
INT. COMMONS/HOMETREE - NIGHT
The central space is lit by a BONFIREaround which the HUNT
FESTIVAL is in full swing. Wild dancing. People gnawing on
massive sturmbeest ribs. A bowl of some kava-like intoxicant
is passed around.
NEYTIRI dances in a flowing costume as the BANSHEE SPIRIT.
NORM is dancing seductively with his own tail.
JAKEsurrounded by young huntersacts out the leonopteryx
attack with his hands. The leaping fire-light plays across
the eye sockets of the TORUK SKULLbringing it to life. It
seems to watch Jake.
TSU’TEY squats next to Jakethe usual scowl on his face.
Jake braces himself -- and Tsu’tey holds up the KAVA BOWL
offering it to him. A challenge or an olive branch?
Jake takes a longhearty drink as some of the young hunters
hoot and clap hands in a fast rhythm.
77.
GRACE
Watch that stuff. It’ll knock you into
next week.
Jake offers the bowl back to Tsu’tey. They lock eyes.
Tsu’tey drinks.
LATER -- AN EMPTY BOWL dropslanding on a pile of empty
bowls near the fire.
WIDER ON JAKE and TSU’TEYsitting amid the rowdy hunters.
Tsu’tey looks a little blearily at Jake. Finallyhe GRINS.
TSU’TEY
I thought -- enough drink -- you would
not be so ugly.
JAKE
Sorry.
Tsu’tey looks deep into the fire.
TSU’TEY
Your warriors -- hide inside machines --
fight from far away.
(he looks at Jake)
I did not think a sky person could be
brave.
Before Jake can answerNEYTIRI’S lithe shape runs through
the circle of silhouetted dancers toward them. She takes
Jake by the hand and pulls him up --
NEYTIRI
You must dance! It is the way.
TSU’TEY watches as she leads him awayhis face darkening --
the moment of connection to Jake lost to anger.
The hunters WHOOP and CHEER as Jake joins the circle of
dancers.
Jake takes Grace’s hand and pulls her upprotesting.
JAKE lets the DRUMS and CHANTING flow through him. He lets
himself godancing from the insidechanneling the primal
energy.
GRACE is rocking outgrinning. We see the young girlso
repressedwho lives within her.
Jake and Neytiri flow amongst the dancersbut they are
looking only at each other.
78.
A couple of the young girls watching from outside the circle
are giggling and talking about them. Mo'at and EYTUKAN
follow their lookseeing the obvious connection.
MO’AT
(subtitled)
We cannot let this seed grow. Her path is
with Tsu’tey.
ON JAKEdancing with abandon to the primal beateyes locked
with Neytiri.
CUT TO:
EXT. RAINFOREST - DAY
WIDE VISTA -- mist blowing through the treetops as the
morning sun burns it away. A spectacular panorama of a vast
primeval land.
UP ANGLE TRACKING among the treesthe sunlight shafting down
like light in a cathedral.
JAKE (V.O.)
It’s hard to put in words the deep
connection the People have to the forest.
HIGH IN THE BRANCHES of a treeJake watches as Neytiri
gently bends a large pitcher-like flower toward hersipping
nectar which is sweet and thick as honey. An incredibly
sensuous image.
JAKE (V.O.)
They see a network of energy that flows
through all living things. They know that
all energy is only borrowed--
MACRO SHOT of a purple flowerbeaded with raindrops. A blue
hand picks the flower.
JAKE (V.O.)
-- and one day you have to give it back.
LOOKING DOWN into a hole dug among tree roots. The body of
an old Omaticaya WOMAN lies curled there like an unborn baby
in the womb of the earth. The purple flower is gently placed
on her bodyjoining flowerstotems and beads.
Mo'at recites a prayer as Neytiriacting as acolyteplaces
