Adapted from the existing narration script, with brief scene descriptions drawn from the reviewed local film. Dialogue follows the source script, not a certified transcript of the uploaded cut. This is a fictional reconstruction, not an archival news report or a final shooting script.
KECKSBURG
The 1965 Incident
A film by Maxwell Cole
SCREENPLAY READING DRAFT
INT. HOUSEHOLD - EVENING
Interference moves across a television screen. A special
bulletin interrupts the evening.
INT. RECREATED NEWS STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
An anchor, DAN, sits at a news desk. His report carries
over the household and exterior images.
DAN
We interrupt our programming to bring
you a special bulletin.
At approximately 4:45 this afternoon,
an unidentified aerial object was
observed crossing the skies over
several states.
Witnesses from Michigan to New York
report seeing the object.
Our correspondent Tom Haines is
standing by near the reported impact
site outside Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.
Tom?
EXT. CHECKPOINT / TOWN / WOODS - EVENING
TOM HAINES reports from the field. The film cuts between
his face, residents leaving home, and the search.
TOM
Dan, I'm standing at a checkpoint on
Meteor Road, about a quarter mile
from the reported impact site.
I can tell you that this town has
never seen anything like what
happened here this afternoon.
I've spoken to three witnesses.
Neighbors. A farmer. A volunteer
firefighter.
And they all describe the same thing.
Something came down in those woods.
Not a meteor. Not a plane.
An object. Large. Acorn-shaped.
Half-buried at the base of the tree
line.
I was close enough to see it clearly
before the Army established their
perimeter.
EXT. WOODS - CONTINUOUS
A fire chief studies the area. Flashlight beams reveal
the object's surface and markings.
TOM (V.O.)
The fire chief was already there
when I arrived. He said nothing.
He stood there looking at it.
Markings around the base. I don't
know what they are. Nobody I've
spoken to does either.
EXT. FOREST ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Army vehicles occupy the road. A soldier blocks access.
TOM (V.O.)
The Army arrived within the hour.
That's the part that nobody can
explain.
Kecksburg is not a military town.
There is no base nearby.
They came from somewhere... fast.
I've been told to stay behind this
line. Those are the exact words I
was given.
Stay behind this line.
Whatever came down here tonight...
the United States Army got here
very fast.
And right now, they very much do
not want us to see it.
INT. RECREATED NEWS STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
DAN
Tom... is there any indication of
what the object might be?
EXT. CHECKPOINT / MILITARY TRUCK - CONTINUOUS
The report returns to Tom. At the truck, soldiers secure
a large load and cover it.
TOM
Dan, I... they're not saying.
Nobody here is saying anything.
A pause.
TOM
There's a truck.
A flatbed.
They're loading something onto it.
I can see it from here. I don't...
they're covering it.
It's covered now.
A pause.
TOM
Something large. Under that tarp.
And it is not a meteorite.
INT. RECREATED NEWS STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
DAN
Tom.
What did you see?
EXT. CHECKPOINT - CONTINUOUS
Tom holds through the silence.
TOM
Reporting live from Kecksburg,
Pennsylvania.
Tom Haines, KDKA News.
The report ends without an answer.
BLACK.
KECKSBURG
DRAMATIZED RECONSTRUCTION
Inspired by the Kecksburg incident
maxcolefilms.com
END