











THE FIFTH ESTATE





***









OVER BLACK:

A WHISPER OF VOICES, barely audible at first. Confessional,

personal, people sharing SECRETS.

WE FADE IN:

EXT. GUARDIAN - LONDON, ENGLAND - NEAR MIDNIGHT

A looming modern structure, steel and glass, home of...

July 2010

The Guardian - London, England

The whisper builds, pushing us into --

INT. GUARDIAN, BULLPEN - LONDON, ENGLAND - NEAR MIDNIGHT

A low buzz, a hustle of activity, journalists swirling.

REPORTER NICK DAVIES, 50s, handsome, hustles along with

RUMPLED EDITOR ALAN RUSBRIDGER, 50s. Alan's on a blackberry.

NICK DAVIES

If we hold the shooting in Kabul we

can keep it all to 14 pages.

They pass ONE SHEETS tacked to the wall, we note the FRONT

PAGE -- MASSIVE LEAK OF SECRET FILES EXPOSES TRUE AFGHAN

WAR.

ALAN RUSBRIDGER

(off his blackberry)

The Times wants to go.

Alan glances over at Nick. Nick frowns.

NICK DAVIES

Let me talk to Rosenbach.

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

A quiet room. CLOSE ON a laptop screen, The Guardian

website, no mention of the Afghan War Logs.

The cursor moves, hits the REFRESH BUTTON. The screen

refreshes. Nothing's changed. The cursor HITS the button

again. The screen refreshes, again it's the same.

As the cursor hits the button AGAIN --

EXT. POTSDAMER PLATZ - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

A SMALL BUILDING overshadowed by an array of GRAND

MODERNITY.

Der Spiegel - Berlin, Germany

A rumble of German voices take us into --

INT. DER SPIEGEL, STARK'S OFFICE - BERLIN - NIGHT (SAME

TIME)

A small office, ICONIC SPIEGEL COVERS on the walls. A

BUTTONED UP EDITOR, STARK, 40s, stands over a PROGRAMMER

working on the front page of SPIEGEL ONLINE. An English

headline -- AMERICA'S SECRET WAR.

[IN GERMAN WITH SUBTITLES]--

STARK

No, I don't want to have to scroll

down for the Task Force 373 story.

ROSENBACH

Holger, I've got Nick.

Stark turns. A DISHEVELED REPORTER, ROSENBACH, stands in the

door with a laptop. Nick in an open Skype window.

STARK

(pleading, IN ENGLISH)

Five minutes. Five more minutes.

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

CLOSE ON a hand holding down the SHIFT KEY. RACK FOCUS to

the other hand, clicking a MOUSE over and over.

CUT TO --

EYES covered with THICK BLACK GLASSES. In their REFLECTION

we see the screen. Refreshing again. Still the same.

EXT. NEW YORK TIMES - NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 5PM (SAME TIME)

The familiar TIMES LOGO sprawled across a SLICK NEW

BUILDING.

BILL KELLER

(O.C.)

Alan, you said five o'clock.

INT. NEW YORK TIMES, BUNKER ROOM - NEW YORK - DAY (SAME

TIME)

A small room, BILL KELLER stands over a TECH, reads a story

on a laptop, DEPUTIES crowded round. A SPEAKERPHONE squawks.

ALAN

(ON SPEAKERPHONE)

Yes, Bill, I know but...

Bill NODS to the tech, he starts typing, taking the site

live.

The deputies start to clear out as...

INT. RUSBRIDGER'S OFFICE - LONDON, ENGLAND - NIGHT(SAME

TIME)

Nick stands with Alan, on the phone, as AGITATED as he gets.

ALAN

(ON THE PHONE)

...Nick just spoke to Rosenbach,

they need at least another few --

IAN

(O.C.)

They're live. The Times is live.

Alan lowers the phone, turns to DEPUTY EDITOR IAN KATZ, 40s,

at a desktop. WE SEE the TIMES SITE live with THE WAR LOGS.

NICK DAVIES

Patience, humility, such cardinal

American virtues...

ALAN

(irritated)

Go.

As Nick rushes out of the office, Ian at his heels --

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

WE'RE WIDER NOW, we see a dimly lit office CLUTTERED with

routers, servers, network gear.

In the middle of it all, the MAN IN GLASSES sits on a stool,

his back to us, staring at a laptop. He's SHIRTLESS... A

HUGE UNFINISHED WIKILEAKS TATTOO stretches across his back.

He holds shift, clicks the mouse, the site refreshes. He

reaches for a mug, lifts it and PAUSES. Over his shoulder,

THE GUARDIAN SITE: SECRET FILES EXPOSE AFGHAN WAR.

CUT TO --

DANIEL BERG, 31. His beard UNKEMPT, a WEARY LOOK, complex

emotions playing across his face as he stares at the screen.

Off his reaction, we SMASH TO A SERIES OF MEDIA CLIPS --

TELEVISION MONTAGE (REAL FOOTAGE)

WOLF BLITZER and others report on the leak of the AFGHAN WAR

LOGS. They show WAR FOOTAGE and pivot from military cover

ups to the impact of Wikileaks on journalism, diplomacy,

national security...

Finally, a few reports suggest Wikileaks is about to release

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF STATE DEPARTMENT CABLES...

TELEVISION (REAL FOOTAGE)

Obama speaks at the Rose Garden.

PRESIDENT OBAMA

...the disclosure could

potentially jeopardize individuals

or operations...

EXT. PARCHIN MILITARY COMPLEX - TEHRAN, IRAN - DAY

DESERT landscape, a jagged mountain backdrop, barren save

for an oddly located COMPLEX of STERILE WHITE BUILDINGS.

PARCHIN MILITARY COMPLEX - TEHRAN, IRAN

INT. PARCHIN MILITARY COMPLEX, CORRIDOR - TEHRAN, IRAN - DAY

FOUR SCIENTISTS in WHITE COATS walk through a WINDOWLESS

CORRIDOR towards a MILITARY CHECKPOINT.

[ALL SCENES AT PARCHIN PLAY IN FARSI WITH SUBTITLES].

OLDER SCIENTIST'S VOICE

(O.C.)

A high speed camera will measure

the explosive charge we've designed

to trigger the chain reaction.

The youngest, SIM SARNA, 40s, carries a pad. He speaks up.

SIM SARNA

The dimensions are consistent with

the Shahab missile payload?

The older scientist nods as ARMED GUARDS check IDs, do a

RETINAL SCAN and then wave them through into --

INT. PARCHIN MILITARY COMPLEX, OBSERVATION ROOM - IRAN - DAY

A room of Iranian scientists. Sarna and his team walk in and

join them at a LARGE OBSERVATION WINDOW that looks out on...

A HUGE SUBTERRANEAN COMPLEX. Technicians scurry around a

large, cylindrical containment vessel surrounded by high

speed cameras and cocooned with fiber-optic cables.

Sarna spots a BLUEPRINT with NUCLEAR SYMBOLS on the wall. A

Teller-Ulam design for a NUCLEAR BOMB. Sarna opens his pad

to take notes when a GENERAL walks up.

IRANIAN MILITARY GENERAL

Gentlemen, if you'll follow me.

He starts to lead them into the main complex when Sarna's

cell RINGS. He checks the ID and HOLDS BACK. CONFUSED.

SIM SARNA

(ANSWERING THE PHONE)

This is Sim.

PUSH IN on his face as his EYES GO WIDE. A beat, then trying

to remain calm, Sarna heads for the exit...

OLDER SCIENTIST

(O.C.)

Sim? They're detonating in fifteen

minutes.

SIM SARNA

I... left my log book in the car.

As he turns, we SMASH TO --

EXT. PARCHIN MILITARY COMPLEX - TEHRAN, IRAN - DAY

A CAR barrels down the two lane road that cuts through the

desert.

As we spot Sarna, FREAKED, at the wheel, SMASH TO --

INT./EXT. SARNA'S CAR (MOVING) - TEHRAN, IRAN - DAY

Sarna's PALE and SWEATING, eyes filled with FEAR as he

SWERVES past slower moving vehicles. The car SCREECHES round

a corner, SPEEDS down a residential block and SLAMS into a

driveway of a PRETTY TWO STORY HOUSE.

Sarna BLOWS out of the car and we PULL BACK to... A LONG

LENS tracking Sarna racing into the house.

REVERSE TO --

Two IRANIAN MEN IN SUITS in an unmarked sedan. WATCHING. One

pulls back his jacket, reaches for a HOLSTERED GUN.

INT. SARNA'S HOUSE, KITCHEN - TEHRAN, IRAN - DAY

A well appointed kitchen. Sarna's young wife SHIDA is in

modern dress and sings to a baby in her arms. Behind her, a

MAID IN A BURKA cooks. [ALL IN FARSI WITH SUBTITLES].

Sarna RUSHES in, PALE, SWEATING. He turns to the maid.

SIM SARNA

You need to go home.

SHIDA

She's cooking dinner.

SARNA

Now! She needs to go now, Shida!

The maid exits quickly. Shida turns, CONFUSED.

SARNA

(CONTINUED)

We need to pack. Everything.

Sarna's wife PALES as we hear a KNOCK at the door. Sarna

turns. Through the window, we see the TWO MEN IN SUITS.

LOOMING.

Off Sarna, TERRIFIED, we PRELAP --

JAMES BOSWELL

(PRELAP)

Any other sources we still need to

notify in the Middle East?

EXT. U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT - WASHINGTON DC - DAY

The blocky, limestone architecture of Foggy Bottom.

The State Department, Washington D.C.

URGENT, AGITATED AMERICAN VOICES pull us into --

INT. U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT, BUNKER ROOM - WASHINGTON DC -

DAY

A chaotic swirl of TENSE DIPLOMATS on phones and

BlackBerrys, sifting through a MOUNTAIN of dossiers all

marked CONFIDENTIAL -- the fabled DIPLOMATIC CABLES.

DIPLOMAT

(O.C.)

Qaddafi's body man is one of ours.

FIND a DIPLOMAT at a WHITE BOARD: A MAP, a LIST OF

COUNTRIES, and NAMES OF SOURCES in two columns, NOTIFY or

EXTRACT.

STAFFER

Pulling him will torch the

Ambassador.

A STAFFER hands a file marked STRICTLY PROTECT to...

JAMES BOSWELL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DIPLOMATIC

SECURITY. BOSWELL, 62, has the wisdom and unflappable air of

someone who's been in the foreign service for over 30 years.

JAMES BOSWELL

We're pulling the Ambassador.

DIPLOMAT

Jesus. How long do we --

JAMES BOSWELL

Assange is talking to the press in

an hour, let's not screw around.

The men react but Boswell's already MOVING.

SPIN TO --

YOUNG DIPLOMAT

Karzai's going apeshit, I need the

Secretary to put in another call.

A YOUNG DIPLOMAT with a FEW CABLES catches up with him.

JAMES BOSWELL

She's still talking Cameron down,

let me handle him.

He TAKES the cables, moves past a BANK OF TVS -- CNN, FOX

coverage of the leak -- and lands at a TABLE OF DOCUMENTS.

SARAH SHAW

You think the President of

Turkmenistan will be more annoyed

that I called him a practiced liar

or that I called him vain?

DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE, SARAH SHAW, early 40s, eyes

a cable. Sarah's brittle, a searing intelligence that hasn't

always served well in the world of diplomacy and politics.

JAMES BOSWELL

He's heard worse.

SARAH SHAW

(reading)

The President doesn't like people

smarter than him. Since he's not

very bright, he's suspicious of a

lot of people.

JAMES BOSWELL

Berdymukhamedov has been around a

while, he doesn't tend to worry

about the opinions of mid-level

foreign attaches.

SARAH SHAW

(off the cable)

Yes, that's why I signed Hillary's

name to it.

Tight smile from Boswell. That could get Sarah fired.

JAMES BOSWELL

I'll see if the Times will hold it.

SARAH SHAW

I've got bigger issues.

She holds out a LARGE STACK of cables. Boswell BALKS.

JAMES BOSWELL

Sarah, I'm collecting cables from

the head of every foreign desk, I

can't --

SARAH SHAW

Then you tell me what to ignore.

(off a few cables)

This could destroy the Sudanese

peace talks, this screws a source

in Cairo...

JAMES BOSWELL

The Times will redact the names.

SARAH SHAW

What about him? Will he?

AGITATED, she eyes the TVs, each with a DIFFERENT IMAGE of

JULIAN ASSANGE, ANGLED SHOTS so we can't see his face.

SARAH SHAW

(CONTINUED)

And don't tell me your buddy

Keller's got him under control.

Every news network on the planet is

covering his press conference, he's

bigger than the Times, he's going

to do whatever the hell he wants.

Just like he did with the war logs.

Boswell softens. CONCERNED --

JAMES BOSWELL

Any word on Sim?

Sarah shakes her head, WORRIED.

SARAH SHAW

300 million people gave us the

responsibility of deciding what's

public. Who in God's name elected

him?

We push past her, towards the bank of tvs, towards the

VAGUE, FRACTURED OF IMAGES of ASSANGE and we hear...

CBS ANCHOR

Love him or loathe him,

MSNBC ANCHOR

(ON THE MONITOR)

Assange provokes debate --

Julian Assange is not your

average journalist --

CNN ANCHOR

Some have argued he's not really a

journalist at all...

Push into a MONITOR -- MORE STOLEN GLIMPSES of Julian...

putting on boots, hauling a backpack...

CBS ANCHOR

The peripatetic internet muckraker

is used to bounding...

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY (SAME TIME)

MATCH CUT TO A LAPTOP, STREAMING VIDEO from CBS and a

COLLAGE of other NEWS SITES, all open to stories on the war

logs. On the video, Julian pulls the wrapping off a new cell

phone...

CBS ANCHOR

(O.C.)

...from city to city, regularly

changing his cell phones,

hairstyles and general appearance,

he says to avoid surveillance...

We hear the BRITISH DOUBLE PURR of a recently placed phone

call and FIND Daniel, AGITATED, phone to his ear. A shirt on

now, he rifles through a BACKPACK just like Julian's.

DANIEL

Come on. Come on, pick up.

Daniel grabs a SECOND LAPTOP as the DOUBLE PURR takes us

to--

INT. LONDON TAXI CAB - LONDON, ENGLAND - DAY (SAME TIME)

MATCH SOUND TO A RINGING PHONE... in the hands of ZIGGY, a

17-YEAR-OLD INTERN in a rear facing jump seat in the back of

a crowded cab. We spy a FRACTURED REFLECTION in the

window...

A GLOWING LAPTOP SCREEN, a SHOCK OF WHITE HAIR.

PAN TO...

A MAN WITH WHITE HAIR opposite Ziggy, hunched over his

laptop. Beside him, the SAME BACKPACK as Daniel. We don't

see his face, but we know it's JULIAN ASSANGE, 39.

ZIGGY

It's Daniel.

Julian waves him off. Ziggy SILENCES the phone as the cab

pulls up in front of the FRONTLINE CLUB.

The intern opens the door and we CUT INTO --

INT. FRONTLINE CLUB, PRESS ROOM - LONDON - DAY (SAME TIME)

PRESS MILLING. Photos of soldiers on the wall, copies of The

Guardian everywhere -- MASSIVE LEAK EXPOSES TRUE AFGHAN WAR.

A BBC REPORTER stands near a PODIUM, doing a live feed.

BBC REPORTER (TO CAMERA)

A few months ago, most people had

never heard of Wikileaks or its

mysterious and eccentric founder...

OFF TO ONE SIDE, a small group of reporters congratulate Ian

Katz, now in GUARDIAN PRESS TAGS.

Suddenly, he hears --

NEWSMEN

(WHISPERING)

He's here. / Assange is here.

Ian looks up, spies Ziggy on the edge of the room.

As he starts to move, we hear a loud KNOCK and we SMASH TO

--

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY (SAME TIME)

Daniel pulls open the door. MARCUS, 30s, a BEARDED HACKER

with an IMPOSING PRESENCE, pushes in carrying a laptop bag.

Daniel leads him to his desk, where several laptops are now

up and running. Marcus pulls another out of his pack.

MARCUS

Did you reach him?

DANIEL

No.

As Marcus pops open the laptop, Daniel glances at a TV.

We see our BBC Reporter in the Frontline Club press room.

BBC REPORTER

Mr. Assange dismissed reports of

internal dissention and defections

--

Daniel and Marcus trade a LOOK, Daniel moves to a laptop. We

see the WIKILEAKS SITE and an OPEN CHAT BOX. Daniel TYPES.

ddd: Julian? Are you there?

INT. FRONTLINE CLUB, GREEN ROOM - LONDON - DAY (SAME TIME)

MATCH CUT TO ANOTHER LAPTOP. A CHAT pops up in a CHAT BOX.

ddd: Julian? Are you there?

Next to the chat, a collage of PAUSED VIDEO CLIPS and ONLINE

ARTICLES... all about Assange. REVEAL Julian, back to us,

typing a speech on a second laptop. Julian pauses, looks at

the chat box, IGNORES it, but glances over at the ARTICLES.

Ian Katz walks in and peers over Julian's shoulder.

IAN KATZ

A man points to the moon and the

idiots look at his finger.

JULIAN

Then I suppose we'll have to give

them the moon again.

Julian smiles up at Ian. It's the first time we've gotten a

good look at him. And he's fucking MAGNETIC.

Julian takes the laptop he was working on and exits. HOLD ON

the other laptop. On Daniel's BLINKING MESSAGE.

SMASH TO --

INT. FRONTLINE CLUB, PRESS ROOM - LONDON - DAY (SAME TIME)

Julian shuffles to the podium, Ian behind him. The press

hushes as Julian opens up his laptop. He pauses, looks out

at the crowd, TAKING IN THE MOMENT. A beat, then --

JULIAN

If journalism is good it is

controversial by its nature...

INT. ANKE'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY (SAME TIME)

MATCH CUT TO Julian on TV.

Marcus and Daniel watch.

JULIAN

(ON THE MONITOR)

Of course, powerful abusers always

attempt to criticise the

messenger--

As Julian speaks, we PUSH IN on Daniel...

JULIAN

(ON THE MONITOR)

(CONTINUED)

...to distract from the power of

the message...

MARCUS

Daniel. If you want to do this, we

need to do it now.

Daniel turns back towards his laptop. As he rubs his eyes,

we push past him, to the laptop screen, the blinking cursor.

ddd: Julian? Are you there?

PUSH IN as faint ELECTRONICA starts WHISPERING, PULSING...

Suddenly, THE LETTERS CHANGE FROM GREEN TO WHITE. SLAM

INTO--

INT. EDS (ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

White letters on black. Tinny electronica a little louder.

ddd: Julian? Are you there?

PULL BACK to REVEAL another computer screen. Another chat

box. And a man wearing HUGE BLACK HEADPHONES. SPIN TO --

A YOUNGER DANIEL BERG, now 28, in a CATASTROPHE OF A

CUBICLE. FILES everywhere, a DIRT BIKE against the wall,

desk littered with BOTTLES of CLUB MATE energy cola, WILLIAM

GIBSON NOVELS, CALL OF CTHULHU BOOKS, an odd ANTENNA made of

PRINGLES CANS.

December 2007

Electronic Data Systems - Berlin, Germany

Daniel's in T-SHIRT and JEANS, CLEAN SHAVEN, no world weary

to his mien... a YOUTHFUL LIGHT in his eyes as he looks

hopefully at the screen.

ON THE SCREEN, we WIDEN to reveal TIME CODES and SCROLL UP

[NOTE: There should be 15 or 20, these are representative.]

07-12-23 11:29 jjj: hey daniel, see

you in Berlin?

07-12-23 11:30 ddd: julian! you're

coming?

07-12-23 11:30 ddd: you send in the

forms for your talk?

07-12-24 12:41 ddd: julian? are you

there?

07-12-26 13:56 ddd: heya, you still

logged on?

07-12-27 16:41 ddd: julian? are you

there?

SUPERVISOR

(O.C.)

Mr. Berg.

REVEAL DANIEL'S SUPERVISOR, black suit and gray temples, at

the cubicle door. He's trying to get Daniel's attention.

Daniel, OBLIVIOUS, reaches for a bottle of CLUB MATE.

ANNOYED, the Supervisor TAPS on Daniel's headphones. Daniel

turns, pulls off a headphone; the electronica WHINES.

SUPERVISOR

(CONTINUED)

Have you seen this?

He holds out a STACK OF PAGES, GERMAN TEXT over IMAGES OF

THE GRINCH: ACHTUNG! LASSEN SIE SICH NICHT DER GRINCH!

[LISTEN! DON'T BE A GRINCH!]

SUPERVISOR

(CONTINUED)

They're printing on ... every

printer in the office.

Daniel looks to the printer outside his door. CHURNING.

DANIEL

Guess someone's pissed you made New

Year's Eve a work day.

SUPERVISOR

Yes, and as our resident computer

freak, could you find out who that

someone is?

Daniel pulls up a DIAGNOSTIC on his computer. He scans it...

DANIEL

Whoever did it disguised his IP

address. According to this, the

print jobs are coming from... your

computer.

The supervisor STARES. Daniel stands, starts PACKING UP.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

It's thousands of pages. You'll

have to manually reboot if you want

it to stop.

SUPERVISOR

(off Daniel packing up)

Where are you going? I need you to

finish the Opel --

Daniel hands him TWO FOLDERS from the bottom of his pile.

DANIEL

I costed out GM too, in case you

need something to do tomorrow.

As the Supervisor stares down at the folders, Daniel grabs

his bike, takes off... exiting the cubicle and crossing with

ANKE DOMSCHEIT (CUTE, 20S). Daniel's clearly into her.

ANKE

Charlie in maintenance said you

left this by the scanner.

She holds out a German edition of The Grinch Who Stole

Christmas (WIE DER GRINCH). Daniel takes the book.

DANIEL

Happy New Year.

Daniel SMILES, pops on his headphones and wheels off. Anke,

not quite sure what to make of him, watches as he heads past

SEVERAL CHURNING PRINTERS. Tinny electronica SWELLS and...

WE RISE UP over A MAZE OF CUBICLES, little boxes, each with

a SUIT at a TIDY DESK. Daniel weaves through the maze,

moving to music no one else hears, music that POUNDS US INTO

--

EXT. ALEXANDERPLATZ - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

A CRANE SHOT of the famous plaza. Industrial Eastern Bloc

architecture broken up by COLORFUL MURALS and western ADS.

The camera PANS DOWN through the gentle snowfall and we PICK

UP A BACKPACK on a BIKE -- Daniel, HEADPHONES ON, weaving

through clusters of pedestrians in the vast square.

EXT. BCC (BERLINER CONGRESS CENTER) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel glides to a stop at the edge of the plaza. He hops

off the bike, looks up.

A HUGE ROCKET stands outside the entrance to the HUGE

CONFERENCE CENTER. A COLORFUL SIGN flaps in the wind.

24c3: DECEMBER 27TH-31st, 2007 24TH CHAOS COMPUTER CONGRESS

- VOLLDAMPF VORAUS!

Daniel watches as a CROWD of GRUNGY YOUNG MEN STREAM into

the building.

A SMILE crosses his face and we CUT TO --

INT. BCC (BERLINER CONGRESS CENTER) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

NERDY MEN with TATS and EAR BUDS push into a hall of PULSING

MUSIC, FLASHING MONITORS, and JERRY-RIGGED ELECTRONICS.

FIND DANIEL in the throng, CAPTIVATED as he passes BOOTHS of

HACKERS working on various high and low tech initiatives. In

one, a REEDY KID with thick glasses TAKES APART an iPhone...

REEDY HACKER

Once you crack the source code, you

can reprogram it for any carrier...

...in another, a FAT HACKER powers up a QUADROCOPTER...

FAT HACKER

A 4K cam, varifocal zoom... it's

the future of government

surveillance...

The hacker paws a REMOTE CONTROL and the QUADROCOPTER RISES.

THE CAMERA FOLLOWS as it flies over booths -- Electronic

Graffiti, Quantum Cryptography -- it's WILD, a stark

contrast to the lifeless EDS cubicles.

The copter CIRCLES BACK to --

Daniel, ABSORBED, much more at home here than at EDS, grabs

a PAMPHLET from the quadrocopter booth and heads towards--

INT. BCC, VOLUNTEER DESK - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Three guys in 24c3 shirts sign in participants, volunteers.

Behind them, a MAN pulls NETWORK SWITCHES from an EDS BOX.

Daniel walks up, hands a form to one of the volunteers.

DANIEL

Daniel Berg, I volunteered to sell

shirts tomorrow?

As Daniel hands a form, the MAN at the EDS box turns. We

recognize him -- it's a well-rested, almost jovial MARCUS.

MARCUS

Hey, Daniel, thanks for getting EDS

to donate again.

DANIEL

Donate may be the wrong word.

Marcus smiles, exits with the switches. A volunteer returns

with a STACK OF SHIRTS. As Daniel grabs them, glancing at an

EASEL with the LECTURE SCHEDULE, we hear an AUSTRALIAN

TWANG--

JULIAN

(O.C.)

We must be on the schedule. My

associate Jay Lim sent in our

proposal months ago.

Daniel turns, sees JULIAN ASSANGE, a strange picture with

two backpacks and a TENT. Irritated, he lobbies OTTO, one of

the guys at the desk. Otto has an EARLOBE CORK, is

UNIMPRESSED.

OTTO

We didn't get anything from

Wikileakers --

JULIAN

Wikileaks. This is ridiculous.

Who's in charge here?

DANIEL

Julian?

Julian turns, doesn't recognize him.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

It's Daniel. Daniel Berg. I

contacted you over chat?

JULIAN

Daniel. Thank God.

(leans in,

conspiratorial)

For a moment, I thought you were...

He nods towards a BLUE HAIRED WEIRDO with a ton of

piercings, gripping a laptop and staring at them from a

nearby couch.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Online dating has gotten me into

trouble before.

A MISCHIEVOUS grin. It's MAGNETIC. Daniel smiles.

OTTO

(O.C.) (out of patience)

I have people waiting here.

DANIEL

Otto, his organization is super

cool, they've been doing crazy shit

in Kenya, they just leaked a major

report on government corruption.

OTTO

(skeptical, off the tent)

You took on the Kenyan government

from a tent.

JULIAN

I thought it more prudent than

checking into the Nairobi Hilton.

(to Daniel)

Of course that didn't stop Kibaki

from raiding our compound.

OTTO

The President of Kenya attacked

your compound?

JULIAN

Twenty men, with heavy artillery...

(to Otto, an edge)

Least you could do is put me on the

program.

OTTO

I'm afraid the small conference

rooms are all booked.

DANIEL

(off the schedule)

What about the auditorium? It's

empty 'til the X-Box Security talk.

OTTO

(beat, then relenting)

You can have it for a half hour.

But you'll have to print flyers if

you want an audience.

JULIAN

That shouldn't be a problem.

Julian grabs his things and heads directly for a printer

room... marked CLUB MEMBERS ONLY. Otto shoots Daniel a look.

DANIEL

God forbid we give free toner to

human rights activists.

INT. BCC, PRINTER ROOM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

CLOSE ON a laptop hooked up to a printer... SPITTING OUT

FLYERS with WIKILEAKS LOGOS.

Daniel enters. He sees the laptop sitting by a ROW OF

PRINTERS, but no Julian. Until --

JULIAN

(O.C.)

Sorry, I totally spaced on that

proposal. Of course I was a little

busy in Nairobi.

Julian gets out from UNDER A TABLE WITH a BCC EXTENSION

CORD.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

By the way, that report we leaked

shifted voting 10% in the

Presidential election. You should

mention that when you introduce me.

DANIEL

Sure.

But Daniel's STARING at Julian, who's pulled out a pen

knife, cut the extension cord and swiftly started to FUSE it

with a shredded power cord. Julian notices Daniel staring.

JULIAN

Shredded my power cord in Mombasa,

I'm almost out of juice. I assume

the club won't mind making a small

donation?

DANIEL

I'll pay for the cord if you

actually get it to work.

Julian plugs the newly repaired cord into his laptop... and

the screen BRIGHTENS.

JULIAN

If you're going to take on global

corruption, you need a few super

powers.

Daniel can't help but SMILE. He picks up a flyer.

2007: WikiLeaks vs. The World.

JULIAN

(PRELAP) (CONTINUED)

I'm a mathematician by training...

INT. BCC, MAIN AUDITORIUM - BERLIN, GERMANY - EARLY EVENING

MATCH CUT TO projection of the image from the flyer.

JULIAN

When I was a grad student in

Melbourne, I began thinking about

information. How it flows through

people and society...

PULL BACK to find Julian with his laptop at a podium.

To one side of the stage, THE NEXT SPEAKER sets up a few

deconstructed X-BOX 360s beside a CORKBOARD covered with

exhibits for his talk: 'Deconstructing Xbox 360 Security.'

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

...and how, when new information

comes to light, it can bring about

great change.

Daniel, also on stage, watches as Julian pulls out a WAD of

TWINE, moves to the corkboard.

The X-Box guy looks up, CONCERNED, as Julian wraps the twine

around a PUSH PIN holding up part of the X-Box exhibit,

STRINGING THE TWINE to another pin holding up another part.

Julian POINTS to the two pins and the twine. ILLUSTRATING.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Two people and a secret. The

beginning of any conspiracy, of all

corruption. As it grows...

Daniel watches, RIVETED, as Julian STRETCHES the twine to

another pin. And another. And another...

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

More people... and more secrets.

CLOSE ON THE BOARD as Julian RAPIDLY RUNS TWINE AROUND PINS,

ensnaring more of the exhibit in his web. It's MESMERIZING.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

But. If we can find one moral man,

one whistleblower...

Julian focuses on a PIN at the CENTER of his web of twine.

CLOSE ON THE PIN as he LOOPS MORE TWINE AROUND IT...

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Someone willing to expose these

secrets --

Julian PULLS THE TWINE TAUT... then YANKS THE CENTER PIN...

PULLING THE TWINE SO THAT ALL THE PINS POP OUT OF THE BOARD.

THE FLYERS FALL, SCATTERING ALL AROUND JULIAN.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

That man... can topple the most

repressive of regimes.

Julian pins a WIKILEAKS FLYER on the NOW EMPTY CORKBOARD.

X BOX GUY

Was zur hoelle!

JULIAN

And there's the problem.

Retribution.

X BOX GUY

Otto, my talk is in ten minutes.

The X-Box guy, PISSED, looks to Otto who's with a CUTE

HACKER GIRL in back of the EMPTY AUDITORIUM, maybe A DOZEN

HACKERS.

OTTO

Okay, we're done here.

Otto glares at Daniel, who would be embarrassed, if he

weren't so focused on Julian. Julian keeps going, oblivious.

JULIAN

Whistleblowers are afraid to come

forward because they fear

retribution. What if we could take

that fear away?

Otto moves to stop Julian, but the hacker girl, INTRIGUED,

reaches out to STOP HIM. Otto frowns as Julian continues.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Twenty years ago I got my first

modem and joined a legion.

Cypherpunks fighting for freedom,

for privacy -- for the right to

remain concealed in clouds of code.

Julian hits his laptop. NUMBERS and CODE appear on screen.

It's not the most advanced graphic you've ever seen.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Today's hackers take it for

granted, but they surf the net in

peace thanks to the turf wars we

fought. And the crypto --

ON SCREEN, the numbers and code fade a bit, revealing the

outline of a person. Again, the graphic is AMATEUR, but it

gets the point across... the person is hidden in code.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

The programs we created to hide

data, to hide our identities --

even then I knew this technology

could be the key to a whole new

form of social justice.

(then)

We could expose a thousand dark

secrets if we could keep just one.

ON SCREEN, the graphic morphs into the WIKILEAKS WEBSITE.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Hundreds of volunteers work on the

documents we're sent, but we've

honed our technology to the point

that even I don't know the identity

of our sources.

Julian, ENERGIZED, talks like he's speaking to a huge crowd.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

If no one knows the whistleblower's

identity, he has nothing to fear.

And if he has nothing to fear...

Julian taps a laptop and WIKILEAKED DOCUMENTS appear on the

screen: a MILITARY CRACKDOWN in ZAMBIA... CORRUPTION IN

SOMALIA... TOP SECRET U.S. DOCUMENTS on GUANTANAMO BAY.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

As Oscar Wilde said, man is least

himself when he talks in his own

person. Give him a mask and he will

tell you the truth.

INT. BCC, LOBBY - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

THE X-BOX GUY apologizes to a crowd at the auditorium door.

X-BOX GUY

(O.C.)

Sorry, it's going to be a few

minutes. We had some... technical

difficulties.

DANIEL

Cool talk, huh?

Daniel walks out of the auditorium with Otto, whose arm is

around the hacker girl.

OTTO

No, not cool. People anonymously

sharing secrets, isn't that why we

tore down the wall?

Julian joins with his gear.

JULIAN

Believe me, no one's interested in

your secrets.

(to Otto's girlfriend)

Yours on the other hand...

She blushes, CHARMED. Otto, THREATENED, pulls her off.

DANIEL

Great talk, shame turnout wasn't

better.

Julian's still watching Otto's girl, who smiles back at him.

JULIAN

One convert at a time.

Daniel laughs, pulls out his 24c3 FAHRPLAN.

DANIEL

By the way, I can soup up those

graphics if you want. From the end

of the talk?

JULIAN

What's wrong with the ones I have?

DANIEL

Nothing. I'm sure they would have

blown people away in the eighties.

Again, Julian considers Daniel... who holds out his

FAHRPLAN.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

You want to check out the talk on

Microcontrollers? I hear the guy

who invented TV-B-Gone is speaking.

(off Julian's BLANK look)

It's a remote, you walk into a bar,

you can turn off all the TVs and...

Daniel reads Julian's contempt, WILTS a little.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

...I guess it's kind of stupid.

JULIAN

No, it sounds interesting. But...

don't you find it tiring? Spending

time with all these wankers?

Daniel grows still. He LOVES these wankers. Or did, until

just now. Julian pretending not to notice, leans in --

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Look at them. Useless idiots,

cracking X-Boxes, building antennae

out of Pringles cans, probably

spending all their free time

reading Neuromancer and playing

Call of Cthulhu. What a waste.

Daniel BLANCHES. Julian's just described HIM.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Capable generous men, men of

purpose- we need to seek nobler

inspiration.

(then)

Come on.

Julian flashes a SEDUCTIVE SMILE then races out the door.

As Daniel follows on his heels, we SMASH TO --

EXT. ALONG THE RIVER SPREE - BERLIN, GERMANY - NEAR MIDNIGHT

Government buildings loom, modernist sculptures along the

river. Two figures race down a street, one checks his watch.

JULIAN

Shit! We've only got twenty

minutes! Come on!

Julian rushes ahead, Daniel chasing after him as we CUT TO

--

EXT. GLASS BUILDING - BERLIN, GERMANY - NEAR MIDNIGHT

Daniel, out of breath, catches up to Julian, as he

approaches a HUGE GLASS GOVERNMENT BUILDING, all lit up.

JULIAN

The guard goes on break at

midnight.

Julian eyes his watch, slips into the building. Daniel,

INTRIGUED, follows.

We watch through the glass as they race up the STAIRCASE,

towards a BRIDGE OVERHEAD...

EXT. BRIDGE - BERLIN - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)

Julian and Daniel run onto the bridge. Julian, GIDDY, slides

across the last few yards, coming to a stop in the middle.

DANIEL

Wow.

Daniel pulls up beside Julian, STARING at a CRAZY VIEW of

THE REICHSTAG, it's MAJESTIC GLASS DOME shining in the

moonlight.

JULIAN

A government destroyed by tyranny

then rebuilt with a dome of glass

so the whole world could look in.

There's an ideal to aspire to.

Julian turns, gestures the other way. THE ENTIRE CITY

stretches before them, it's TOTALLY FUCKING SPECTACULAR.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Just look at it, Daniel. Reborn

from the ashes -- a city once ruled

by fascists, now overrun with

artists and anarchists and

sunlight... transparency...

Daniel reacts. He looks to Julian, INSPIRED.

DANIEL

My father took me to see the dome

when they first built it. I was 13.

He wasn't quite so eloquent.

JULIAN

When I was 13, my mother started

dating a guy who was part of a

nasty Australian cult. The Family.

They believed in blue auras and

cleansing souls and had a

surprisingly large network of

influence, extending to the highest

levels of government. My mum knew

the guy was a wanker, but by the

time she came to her senses they'd

had a kid together and... we spent

the next three years on the run.

The Family chased us all over the

country.

DANIEL

(beat)

Jesus. That's terrifying.

JULIAN

Why do you think my hair's white?

Julian's straight faced. Is he serious? Before we can hazard

a guess, an ALARM BLARES. Julian spots TWO GUARDS heading up

the staircase towards the bridge.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Shit! Abandon ship!

Julian, LAUGHING, GRABS Daniel, pulls him the other way...

EXT. TACHELES - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

A cathedral-like building with a mural: 'HOW LONG IS NOW?'

Julian and Daniel approach the building.

DANIEL

It's called the Tacheles, it's an

artists' squat. They were gonna

tear it down in the 90s, but some

painters occupied it.

JULIAN

That's cool.

They walk through the gate and we CUT INTO --

EXT. TACHELES, ARTISTS' GARDEN - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

A garden of AVANT-GARDE METAL SCULPTURES and IRIDESCENT

PAINTINGS. We hear techno music drifting down from above.

FIND a Boccioni style PORTRAIT OF A MAN staring out at us...

JULIAN

(O.C.)

Pretty great, isn't it?

Julian stands in front of a canvas with Daniel. Daniel nods.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Now look closer, beyond the image,

past the colors... until you've

found the element that unlocks the

portrait, the single brushstroke

that reveals the essence of the

painting, of the painter.

(then)

To me that's what hacking is.

Finding that stroke, that code,

that tiny point of entry...

Julian looks at Daniel. Looking for his point of entry?

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

I should get to work.

Abruptly, he heads for the building. Daniel checks the time.

DANIEL

Now?

INT. TACHELES, STAIRWAY - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian sprints up the stairs, calling out...

JULIAN

Life on the run, Aussie jet lag,

you stop distinguishing between

night and day.

Julian brushes past exiting club goers, knocking a GREEN

HAIRED TATTOO QUEEN into... Daniel, struggling to keep up.

DANIEL

Uh, excuse me.

The woman gives Daniel a LOOK as he slips past her.

INT. TACHELES, UPSTAIRS CLUB - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

More AVANT-GARDE ART and ECCENTRICS moving to MELLOW

ELECTRONICA. Daniel finds Julian opening his laptop at one

of the TABLES in the corner. Daniel sits and follows suit.

DANIEL

So... what are you working on?

Julian lowers his laptop screen, scrutinizing Daniel.

JULIAN

Look, today was fun, but these are

sensitive documents, people's lives

are at stake.

DANIEL

You can trust me.

JULIAN

Can I?

Julian eyes an ANARCHIST TATTOO, a BLACK CAT on Daniel's

arm.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

When I was your age I called myself

an anarchist too. But do you really

want to change the world, Daniel?

Or is that just some sticker you

wear to look cool.

Daniel's surprised at Julian's SUDDEN CHANGE IN TONE. It's

tough, CONFRONTATIONAL, like the tone he took with Otto.

DANIEL

I mean, I've read Orwell,

Kropotkin, some Chomsky. 'The

burden of proof has to be placed on

authority.' You know, all animals

are equal.

Julian eyes him, impassive, not responding.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

That's Animal Farm? Maybe you've

read it.

Daniel gives him a little smile. It's endearing. Julian

takes it in... and makes a DECISION. Julian flicks on a

CELLULAR MOBILE ROUTER and starts TYPING ON HIS LAPTOP. A

CHAT BUBBLE appears on Daniel's laptop.

CLOSE ON CHAT: ircs://chat.wikileaks.org/

Daniel, mystified, glances at Julian then clicks the link.

A CHAT WINDOW appears on his computer. Julian TYPES.

jjj: we talk in here.

Daniel, getting it, leans forward and TYPES. [NOTE: CHAT

APPEARS ON OUR SCREEN, LIKE SUBTITLES].

ddd: it's secure? encrypted?

jjj: yes. and quiet.

Daniel SMILES. They start TYPING in QUIET CONVERSATION.

jjj: there's a new leak on the

submission platform.

ddd: the submission platform?

Daniel looks up at Julian. Julian smiles, mysterious...

jjj: In my twenties, I created a

tool called Rubberhose...

And suddenly, we SMASH INTO --

INT. INTERNET - NIGHT

A UNIVERSE OF DATA. A DOCUMENT moves at great speed through

an infinite abstraction of facts, figures, information...

jjj: It hid sensitive information

beneath layers and layers of fake

data. Wikileaks is based on the

same idea...

...and whenever we move close to the document, it's suddenly

PROTECTED, wrapped in a multi-layered SMOKESCREEN OF DATA...

jjj: We constantly upload fake data

from fake sources to make it

impossible to monitor our real

sources...

...the document slides down through WORMHOLES of data...

jjj: Their very presence is

infinitely deniable.

...FLITTING AWAY from us as we catch up to it...

jjj: We keep no records as to when

or where you uploaded from, your

time zone, your browser...

...the document slips through what feels like the inside of

the internet, until at last we SMASH TO --

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

A door opens and a document lands on a FLOOR OF SAND.

jjj: The system makes leaks

untraceable.

They simply turn up on the submission platform.

PULL BACK to find THOUSANDS OF DOORS line walls of a space

receding to infinity. WELCOME TO THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM.

A SURREALISTIC VISION, Julian's romantic view of journalism.

ROWS of STEEL DESKS set in sand, a different COMPUTER on

each, FLUORESCENTS hanging oddly above. Behind the doors, we

hear the SOUND OF AN OCEAN. In front, find...

Julian with Daniel, at their Tacheles table. Daniel, taking

it all in, spots a few OCCUPIED DESKS. Glowing monitors

obscure faces, but we see NAME PLATES. J LIM. T BELLMAN.

A beat, then Julian nudges Daniel. A STACK OF DOCUMENTS sits

in front of one of the doors. Daniel looks at them, maybe

noticing a JULIUS BAER LOGO on the front page. He TYPES.

ddd: who's it from?

JULIAN

(V.O.)

I have no idea.

INT. TACHELES, UPSTAIRS CLUB - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian smiles at Daniel.

JULIAN

See the beauty of it?

He nods to his laptop, a doc with THE SAME JULIUS BAER LOGO.

jjj: ever hear of Julius Baer?

ddd: it's a big Swiss Bank, right?

And now, we SMASH TO --

EXT. JULIUS BAER BANK - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - EARLY EVENING

The grand neoclassical facade of BANK JULIUS BAER.

jjj: huge. manages $100 billion for

the ultra rich.

We PUSH past the large logo, through a window into --

INT. JULIUS BAER BANK - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - EARLY EVENING

The rich, traditionally decorated LOBBY of BANK JULIUS BAER.

BANKERS in wealthy suits greet obscenely wealthy CLIENTELE.

jjj: wealthy assholes in Germany,

Switzerland, UK...

A POV SHOT walks us out of the lobby and into...

A HALLWAY OF WOOD CUBICLES, THICK DOORS. The bankers pass

us, leading their clients down the hall.

ddd: the leak is from someone

inside the bank?

jjj: think so, my associate Jay Lim

is working the docs.

The POV SHOT FOLLOWS the bankers and their clients into...

A POSH CORNER OFFICE. We see a stack of DOCUMENTS on a TABLE

beside a WHITE BOARD with a SHELL COMPANY DIAGRAM.

jjj: we think they show how the

bank uses offshore secrecy laws to

hide $$ for fat cats.

PAN AROUND THE TABLE TO FIND Daniel and Julian sitting

there, looking from the documents to the WHITE BOARD

DIAGRAM.

WAITRESS

(O.C.)

Guten tag.

SMASH BACK TO THE TACHELES

Julian and Daniel stare at the WHITE BOARD DIAGRAM, now on

Julian's laptop. A WAITRESS with a NOSE RING smiles at them.

Julian SLAMS SHUT his laptop, paranoid, HOSTILE.

WAITRESS

(CONTINUED)

(smile fading, bored)

Let me guess. Secret plans for the

revolution?

EXT. TACHELES - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian walks out of the cathedral-like building, TAPPING on

his computer, a MEMORY STICK in the USB slot.

DANIEL

So it's tax evasion.

REVEAL Daniel following behind, carrying all the bags.

JULIAN

On a grand scale. How secure is

your computer?

DANIEL

GELI full disk encryption with two

factor authentication.

JULIAN

Good. Unlike most reporters, we

verify our sources. Jay and our

volunteers in Switzerland will

analyze the docs, but I need you to

confirm they're real.

Julian pulls out the MEMORY STICK, holds it out to Daniel.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

The meta data should list the

authors. Extract it and verify

these people work at the bank.

Julian's warm, but Daniel STARES at the memory stick.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

What? Did you think we just threw

what we got up on the website?

DANIEL

No, but.. you're just giving me the

docs?

JULIAN

You said I could trust you.

DANIEL

(mans up, takes the

stick)

You can.

JULIAN

I know. I'm a good judge of

character.

Julian flashes a smile then grabs his things, heads off.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Stay off the internet when working

on the docs. And buy yourself a

cryptophone.

INT. JULIUS BAER BANK - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - DAY

A familiar hallway. A phone RINGS, breaking the silence.

FIND a FORMIDABLE ASSISTANT in a cubicle outside the posh

corner office. She picks up the phone.

ZILKE'S ASSISTANT

(INTO THE PHONE)

Julius Baer, Ralf Zilke's office.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. EDS, NINTH FLOOR STORE ROOM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

CLOSE ON Daniel, cryptophone to his ear.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

I'm sorry, I must have the wrong

extension. What division is this?

ZILKE'S ASSISTANT

This is Personal Wealth Management.

Who were you looking for?

REVEAL Daniel in small closet filled with cleaning SUPPLIES.

He sits on an overturned MOP BUCKET, a document on his lap.

DANIEL

Sorry, I was actually looking

for...

Daniel eyes TWO LAPTOPS crammed on a shelf. On one, the

WHITE BOARD DIAGRAM. On the other, a window of META DATA

with A TIME STAMP and a LIST OF AUTHORS, Ralf Zilke and...

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

...Leisal Grop.

ASSISTANT

Ms. Grop is down the hall in Client

Services. Can I transfer you?

DANIEL

Yes, please. Thank you.

Daniel waits a beat... then HANGS UP THE PHONE. He pulls out

a pencil, looks down at the document on his lap.

CLOSE ON a marked up LIST OF NAMES. Daniel CHECKS OFF Zilke

and Grop, begins writing down their divisions when...

The STORE ROOM DOOR OPENS BEHIND HIM.

ANKE

Daniel? What are you doing in here?

Daniel turns. Anke is in the door. Just then, one of his

computers BEEPS. A chat pops up.

TBellman: Daniel, I'm Thomas

Bellman, WL's Swiss spokesman.

Julian said you're working on the

bank docs?

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Daniel, what's going on?

Daniel looks from the computer to Anke, AWKWARD.

DANIEL

I'm doing some.. sensitive

research.

The laptop BEEPS again. Daniel, UNCOMFORTABLE, turns to it.

TBellman: Daniel? Have you

confirmed authorship of the docs?

Anke is CURIOUS. Daniel TYPES, tries to block her view.

ddd: The authors are all bank

employees... THE DOCS ARE REAL.

As he finishes, a FLURRY OF CHAT pops up on screen --

JayLim: Hey, is Julian plugged in?

jjj: Hoi. Just landed. What's up?

JayLim: Our source agreed to

explain the docs, can anyone get

to Liege-Guillemins in Belgium by

4pm?

TBellman: Daniel's in Germany,

that's not too far.

JayLim: Is he up for it?

jjj: I think so... if he's not too

busy sucking off THE CORPORATE

OVERLORDS :P

INTERCUT WITH --

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - DAY (SAME TIME)

Brightly lit monitors obscure faces but the nameplates are

now familiar. J LIM, T BELLMAN, J ASSANGE...

Julian PEEKS OUT from behind his monitor, smiles at Daniel.

ANKE

(O.C.)

Is this some kind of geeky, hacker

version of Dungeons and Dragons?

SMASH BACK TO THE EDS STORE ROOM

Daniel turns, sees Anke LOOKING OVER HIS SHOULDER. He

quickly shuts his laptop. Then, TRYING TO IMPRESS --

DANIEL

We're investigating corruption in a

large swiss bank.

Anke BLINKS, intrigued... a political side to Daniel.

ANKE

Well, in that case, I can cover for

you.

Off Daniel, a HINT OF A SMILE --

EXT. LIEGE-GUILLEMINS TRAIN STATION - LEIGE, BELGIUM - DAY

The Calatrava marvel. It's EERILY EMPTY... as we FIND DANIEL

walking up the platform, texting on his phone.

CLOSE ON THE TEXTS

Daniel Berg: at the train station,

where's our guy?

A beat then...

Thomas Bellman: Le Chat Noir.

Heavyset, brown suit.

Daniel starts walking inside. His phone BUZZES, He checks

it.

Thomas Bellman: WATCH YOUR BACK.

Daniel pauses, looks over his shoulder. A few travelers,

nothing out of the ordinary... until from HIS POV WE SEE a

HARD LOOKING BALD MAN leaning against a wall, STARING at

him.

Is he WATCHING Daniel? Or is it in Daniel's head? Daniel,

NERVOUS, pulls up his coat, hurries onward...

INT. LE CHAT NOIR CAFE - LIEGE STATION, BELGIUM - DAY

CLOSE ON a thick hand, SHAKING, nervously paging through a

document with more diagrams like the one we saw above.

DANIEL

(O.C.)

(in whispers)

Our team has been having trouble...

the diagrams are a bit

impenetrable.

REVEAL HANS, 40s, SWEATING in the rail station cafe. He and

Daniel sit at a table. Talking in HUSHED TONES.

HANS

They're meant to be. They reveal

the bank's most intimate secrets.

(passionate, intense)

I worked for these assholes for

years before I understood the

extent of the deception. It's a

massive tax dodge.... last year,

those diagrams cheated your country

alone out of 30 billion in tax

revenues.

DANIEL

And you'll explain them to us?

HANS

(nervous)

You understand I won't just be

exposing the bank. They have

hundreds of clients -- wealthy,

powerful clients from New York to

Moscow who will go to great lengths

to hold on to their money.

Just then, Daniel spots a BALD MAN at the bar. Shit, it's

the guy from the platform. Daniel TENSES, tries to cover.

DANIEL

We understand the risks.

But Hans follows Daniel's gaze to the bald man... watching

them. Hans looks NERVOUS. Daniel struggles to project calm.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

We've got incredible infrastructure

and hundreds of volunteers, people

who've dealt with threats like

this. Our process is totally secure

-- we don't even know your real

name.

HANS

You're damn right.

A WOMAN joins the man at the bar. Hans, anxiety

dropping...

HANS

(CONTINUED)

I'll explain the documents, but you

don't know me, you never met me and

when the shit comes down, it's on

your house. Are we clear, Mr...

Daniel eyes a SIGN on the wall. A black cat, 'LE CHAT NOIR.'

DANIEL

Schmitt. Daniel Schmitt.

Off Daniel's ADRENALINE RUSH, we hear a SHRILL WHISTLE --

EXT. LIEGE-GUILLEMINS TRAIN STATION - LEIGE, BELGIUM - NIGHT

The station's arch glows above Daniel in the dark night.

Daniel, WIRED, glances furtively at other travelers.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

The bank has a huge network,

they've got billions of dollars

buried in the Caymans.

INTERCUT WITH:

EXT. NAIROBI, KENYA - DAY

A smog filled street. ANCIENT MINIVANS, THRONGS of PEOPLE.

Nairobi, Kenya

We PUSH IN on a DILAPIDATED BUILDING and PRELAP --

JULIAN

(OVER THE PHONE)

This is absolutely colossal.

INT. KENYAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS - NAIROBI - DAY

A shabby OFFICE, a few HUMAN RIGHTS POSTERS. Julian helps

two Kenyan human rights activists (OULA and KINGARA) hand

out PICKET SIGNS to VOLUNTEERS. He talks on a cryptophone.

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

We're gonna nail these bastards.

Daniel warily looks at the passersby. No sign of the bald

man from inside, but Daniel's still ON EDGE.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

You know, our friend was pretty

jittery.

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

Of course he was.

On Daniel, cold comfort.

OULA

Hey, Julian, let's go.

Oula, SCAR on his cheek, beckons to Julian -- they're

heading out. Julian looks at his sign: 'ANOTHER WORLD IS

POSSIBLE.'

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

How fast can you get Bellman a

summary?

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

I'll stay up until it's done.

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

Good. Remember, Daniel, courage is

contagious.

Daniel reacts as a train WHISTLES again, the sound fading

into a PIERCING TELEPHONE RING --

INT. JULIUS BAER BANK - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - DAY

CLOSE ON a RINGING PHONE. A hand reaches in and we REVEAL

the assistant we met earlier, as she picks up.

ZILKE'S ASSISTANT

(INTO THE PHONE)

Julius Baer Bank, Ralf Zilke's

office

As she listens, her expression changes and we CUT TO --

INT. JULIUS BAER, ZILKE'S OFFICE - ZURICH - DAY (SAME TIME)

A SILVER-HAIRED BANKER (ZILKE) works in a posh corner

office, noblesse oblige in a BRIONI SUIT. He reaches for a

pen when--

ZILKE'S ASSISTANT

(O.C.)

Mr. Zilke?

Zilke looks up.

ZILKE'S ASSISTANT

(CONTINUED)

I'm sorry, I just got an odd call

from the tech department. They said

there's a report on this website...

it's posted some of our files. I

sent you the link.

Zilke eyes her, then turns to his COMPUTER. He clicks an e-

mail link and up pops THE WIKILEAKS SITE with a DOCUMENT:

CLOUDS ON THE CAYMAN TAX HEAVEN -- THE JULIUS BAER

DOCUMENTS: How the Swiss Bank hides Millions for your

favorite fat cats.

Below, a FAMILIAR DIAGRAM. ZILKE SEES IT AND GOES WHITE.

ZILKE

Get me Gregor. And wake up our

lawyers in London, in New York, in

California...

INT. EDS, NINTH FLOOR STORE ROOM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel back on his mop bucket, staring at two laptops on the

shelf. On one, a THREATENING E-MAIL from Julius Baer

lawyers.

ANKE

And I thought grinching the

printers was impressive.

Daniel turns and finds Anke standing over him with a print

out of the Julius Baer doc. She eyes his computer.

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Their lawyers are threatening you?

DANIEL

Julian says you can spend your life

in cushy cubicles or you can march.

You can brave the truncheons and

breathe the tear gas or --

ANKE

Take a girl to dinner?

An INVITATION. Daniel smiles.

INT. DANIEL'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

CLOSE on Anke, asleep, NAKED under a cheap coverlet. We hear

TAPPING on a keyboard. Anke stirs, blinks up at the CHAOS

COMPUTER CLUB POSTERS over the bed.

Anke smiles, turns to see... Daniel at a messy desk, tapping

on his laptop and pulling on his jeans.

ANKE

Hey.

Daniel, distracted, TRIPS and FALLS. Anke LAUGHS.

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Sorry, I've just never had a guy

try to sneak out of his own

apartment.

DANIEL

The bank got a judge in California

to shut down our primary domain.

He nods to his LAPTOP. A WEB BROWSER points to wikileaks.org

but the site is down: THE REQUESTED PAGE IS UNAVAILABLE.

ANKE

A judge in California?

DANIEL

It's where our domain is

registered.

ANKE

Right, but I thought Americans put

free speech up there with mom and

apple pie.

DANIEL

So did we. Julian wants to meet up

right away.

Daniel throws his laptop in his backpack then pauses.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

You know this isn't what I imagined

for our first... get together.

ANKE

How often did you imagine it?

Daniel smiles, CAUGHT. He grabs his bag.

DANIEL

You don't have a cryptophone do

you?

ANKE

No, but that may be the best excuse

I've ever heard for not calling.

They trade a SMILE and we SMASH TO --

INT. BERLIN TEGEL AIRPORT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian glides down a people mover, TAPPING his phone. As he

does, e-mail SCROLLS UP THE SCREEN:

Friends - Solzhenitsyn says no one

can bar the road to truth.

Wikileaks.org has been forcibly

shut down but you can still learn

the truth about Julius Baer on our

mirror sites. Send press to

http://wikileaks.be,

http://88.80.13.160 --

As Julian glides along, typing, we SMASH TO --

INT. STRASSENBANH BERLIN TRAM - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Daniel rides the tram talking on his cryptophone.

DANIEL

...blogs, twitter, they're

defrauding the world, we can't let

them cover it up...

As the tram lurches forward, we see TWITTER FEED start to

scroll up the LEFT of the screen...

EthanZ Walk the road to truth!

http://wikileaks.be Mlsif Break the

bank! Send press to 88.80.13.160

The twitter feed CONTINUES TO SCROLL and we SMASH TO --

EXT. ALL NIGHT CAFE - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian walks into an all night cafe, hauling his bags.

JULIAN

We never thought we'd need extra

servers to fight censorship

attacks--

INT. ALL NIGHT CAFE - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Julian walks into the dingy cafe.

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

...from the bastion of free speech.

Julian sees TWO OPEN LAPTOPS, a few empty bottles of Club

Mate... and DANIEL, on the phone. Daniel doesn't see him.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

...I sent links to our mirror

sites, if you can post...

Daniel spots Julian, lowers his phone. WARM --

JULIAN

More fun making history than

reading about it?

Daniel smiles. A NICE MOMENT... until Daniel's laptop BEEPS.

A news alert, WIRED.COM: ACLU, EFF, HEARST FILE BRIEFS IN

SUPPORT OF WIKILEAKS CASE. They spring back into action.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

...Yeah, and there's a new Wired

blog you should post as well...

Julian pulls out his laptop as TWITTER FEED TAKES US TO --

EXT. CITYSCAPE - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAWN

Dawn breaks over Berlin. We hear Julian --

JULIAN

(PRELAP)

Yes, of course, we're pleased the

EFF and the ACLU are behind us...

INT. ALL NIGHT CAFE - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAWN

The sun rises over EMPTY BOTTLES, COFFEE CUPS... Daniel and

Julian each have two laptops, still going strong. Julian

talks on the phone, eats hummus with his finger.

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

...but the court of public opinion

has already ruled in our favor.

Daniel's computer BEEPS again as SITE NOTIFICATIONS start to

SCROLL UP the RIGHT OF OUR SCREEN, opposite twitter feed...

www.largeleaker.de is now pointing

to 88.80.13.160

www.screwthebank.com is now

pointing to 88.80.13.160

DANIEL

Some french hackers donated

domains.

Daniel shows Julian his laptop. Julian lowers his phone,

wipes his hummus finger on his pants. Daniel notices.

JULIAN

Send the links to Bellman, he'll

blast the list serve.

Daniel reaches forward to type and we SMASH TO --

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - DAWN (SAME TIME)

Half the monitors are lit, DOZENS OF VOLUNTEERS working

away.

Daniel opens a CHAT BOX and we RACK FOCUS TO A DESK. We note

the nameplate, T BELLMAN.

We CUT BEHIND THE DESK --

Daniel's CHAT pops up on Bellman's MONITOR. As he reaches

forward, TWITTER FEED and URLs SCROLL UP our SCREEN. And if

it's OVERWHELMING, that's what we're going for.

SMASH TO--

INT. GUARDIAN, BULLPEN - LONDON, ENGLAND - NIGHT

ALAN RUSBRIDGER and IAN KATZ (from the OPEN) review a row of

one sheets tacked to the wall -- TOMORROW'S PAPER.

ALAN RUSBRIDGER

Move the US primaries to page three

to make room for the Diana inquest.

NICK DAVIES

Yes, Diana still sells papers. 21st

century churnalism at its finest.

Rusbridger and Katz turn to find NICK DAVIES (also from the

OPEN), all looks and charm in an out of date leather jacket.

NICK DAVIES

(CONTINUED)

Can't afford reporters? Grab a

story off the wire, give it a

little scrub and drop it in your

paper.

(mock smells the print)

Just the kind of quality journalism

I left Oxford to pursue.

IAN KATZ

This how you're chatting up the

totty in your golden years?

NICK DAVIES

I certainly can't impress them with

stories that've been rattling round

the mainstream media echo chamber.

The women I meet are smart enough

to know what they're missing out

on.

IAN KATZ

I assume you're going to tell us

what that is?

NICK DAVIES

I'll leave that to Mr. Assange and

his merry band of programmers.

He hands them a printout of another tech blog from WIRED.

Alan glances at the headline: 'WIKILEAKS VS. GOLIATH.'

As Alan reads, a GOOGLE NEWS SEARCH scrolls over him, UP THE

SCREEN, REPLACING THE TWITTER.

EXT. KREUZBERG STREET - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

A VIBRANT TURKISH CAFE in an polyglot neighborhood... oddly

set against a backdrop of blocky West German architecture.

Our GOOGLE SEARCH scrolls up the screen and we MATCH CUT

TO--

INT. TURKISH CAFE, KREUZBERG - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

A LAPTOP with the Google News Search.

Wikileaks is still live, and

kicking THE GUARDIAN - 6 hours ago

Judge Shuts Down Site, Raises

Constitutional Issues NEW YORK

TIMES - 3 hours ago

Freedom of Speech has a number -

88.80.13.160 CBS NEWS - 30 minutes

ago

A mouse CLICKS on the CBS story, which OPENS in a window...

next to OPEN STORIES from the Times and the Guardian.

DANIEL

(O.C.)

The Guardian, The Times, CBS... are

all linking to our mirror sites.

REVEAL Daniel with Julian in a mostly EMPTY cafe, surrounded

by coffee cups and NEWSPAPERS with JULIUS BAER HEADLINES.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

(reading the article)

The Bank's injunction has brought

an obscure group of dreamers to

prominence, paradoxically

generating more attention for their

apparently uncensorable leaking

machine...

Daniel and Julian are HAGGARD, it's plain they haven't slept

in days, but they're both FLYING. Daniel scans the paper...

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

And the bank's clients may now face

prosecution in Germany, the US...

(thrilled)

Jesus, can you believe it? Actual

justice for those assholes.

Just then Julian's laptop BEEPS. He reads, STUNNED.

JULIAN

Wow. The judge pulled the

injunction. We're back online.

He pulls up wikileaks.org on his laptop. Daniel is FLOORED.

DANIEL

Holy shit. We won!

Julian is proud, but Daniel's OVER THE MOON.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

We took down a billion dollar bank!

This is crazy, we have to

celebrate!

JULIAN

...sure, we should order some

beers.

DANIEL

I mean with everyone. Bellman and

Jay Lim and all the others. This

was a team effort, we should get

everyone up on Skype or something.

JULIAN

I don't know. It's... late.

DANIEL

I just got an e-mail from Bellman.

And Jay was on chat 15 minutes

ago..

(then)

What? You think Skype isn't secure?

Julian hesitates. Considering SOMETHING. Then --

JULIAN

No... it's probably time for you to

meet everyone face to face.

Daniel smiles, pulls up Bellman's account and Jay's. Julian

watches, PENSIVE... as Daniel INITIATES the VIDEO CALLS.

We hear the SKYPE RING on Daniel's computer and INTERCUT

WITH --

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - NIGHT (SAME TIME)

ANGLE ten desk rows deep, CAMERA behind a dozen volunteers,

Daniel and Julian at the cafe table in the distance.

A few monitors LIGHT UP WITH SKYPE CALLS. As volunteers lean

forward to answer, WE HEAR an ANSWER CHIRP and Daniel's face

pops up in a couple of screens.

SMASH BACK TO --

DANIEL IN THE CAFE, staring at his laptop. CONFUSED.

DANIEL

I don't get it, it says I called...

Daniel looks at Julian, something DAWNING.

SMASH TO --

A SUBMISSION PLATFORM DESK. Nameplate: T BELLMAN. DOLLY

AROUND the monitor on the desk... REVEALING JULIAN.

SMASH TO ANOTHER DESK.

Nameplate: J LIM. DOLLY AROUND this monitor... Julian again.

He looks up, coy.

SMASH BACK TO --

DANIEL IN THE CAFE. TWO SKYPE BOXES OF JULIAN on his screen.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

You're Jay and Bellman?

(unnerved)

How many volunteers do we have?

JULIAN

Hundreds.

SMASH TO THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM

DOLLY AROUND A SERIES OF DESKS/COMPUTERS IN RAPID

SUCCESSION. Each time, we find Julian at the computer.

THEN WE PULL BACK TO THE FRONT OF THE ROOM... an infinite

number of Julians peek out from the infinite monitors.

JULIAN

(O.C.)

(CONTINUED)

We have hundreds of volunteers.

SMASH BACK TO THE CAFE

Daniel's pale. He stares at Julian.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

What? I have hundreds of e-mail

addresses.

DANIEL

That's not the same th--

Julian puts a finger to his lips, WARILY eyes a waiter. HE

grabs his pack, moves to the back. Daniel follows.

JULIAN

Every startup exaggerates its size.

No one's going to leak sensitive

material to two freaks with a

single server.

DANIEL

We only have one server?

JULIAN

Not as far as the rest of the world

is concerned.

(then)

Castro began a revolution with 82

men. It doesn't matter how small

you are if you have faith and a

plan of action.

But Daniel is STUNNED...

DANIEL

I told dozens of reporters... our

source at Julius Baer...

JULIAN

Necessary fictions. If Julius Baer

knew they were up against an army

of two...

DANIEL

What, they'd 'rub us out?' They're

a bank, not the mob.

JULIAN

Then why have you been using an

alias?

(pressing)

Come on, Daniel. It's just a hack,

an inelegant solution.

DANIEL

I have a hundred friends I could

call, people who would be happy to

help. This is bullshit.

Daniel turns away, pissed. A beat. Then Julian GRABS his

backpack and RIPS IT OPEN...

ANGRILY, VIOLENTLY pulling out LAPTOPS, POWERCORDS,

CLOTHING; SINGLE SERVINGS of CANNED FRUIT, GLASS JARS of USB

STICKS...

JULIAN

...where is it, where the hell...

Daniel turns, stunned, as Julian pulls out WIRELESS ROUTERS;

SOCKS, SHOES, NOTEBOOKS... until at last he finds...

A SMALL PIECE OF PAPER. Newsprint. Folded and soft with age.

He THRUSTS it at Daniel. Daniel blinks, confused.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Open it.

Daniel hesitates, then unfolds it.

CLOSE ON an old newspaper article.

May 1995. LEAD 'SUBVERSIVE' TO STAND TRIAL FOR 31 COUNTS OF

HACKING.

Beside the headline, a MUG SHOT of a younger Julian -- a

long ponytail and a defiant expression.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

There were three of us. Mendax,

Trax, Prime Suspect, three boys

with cartoon names, off on a series

of harmless adventures,

'Subversives' one and all.

But when the Federal Police finally

caught up with us, Trax pled guilty

and Prime Suspect -- he turned

Crown Witness against me.

(beat)

I remember waiting for the verdict

in this little room, walking in

figure eights like some demented

bee, imagining life in a tiny cell.

The stress, that was... actually

the moment my hair turned.

Daniel takes this in. A beat, then internal, wounded --

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

You don't get far in this world by

relying on others. People are loyal

until it seems opportune not to be.

And now Julian reaches out. Vulnerable.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

The tyrants we're up against have

money and men and guns and I don't

have an army to fight them. All

I've got is a website and a couple

of fake e-mail addresses and...

you.

Off Daniel, YIELDING, we HEAR a recording --

L. RON HUBBARD

(PRELAP, ON VIDEO)

The only way you can control people

is to lie to them.

EXT. ANTWERP CONVENTION CENTER - ANTWERP, BELGIUM - DAY

The SUN sets over the GORGEOUS BUILDINGS of OLD ANTWERP.

A HUGE BANNER stretches across the CONVENTION CENTER:

'GLOBAL VOICES CITIZEN MEDIA CONFERENCE -- ANTWERP, BELGIUM

-- 2008.'

INT. ANTWERP CONVENTION CENTER - ANTWERP, BELGIUM - DAY

A table COVERED with WIKILEAKS NEWS CLIPS. Some are old ('US

investigates Julius Baer') but many are new. US MILITARY

MANUALS, a PROTEST RIOT IN TIBET... the clips mostly in

small, alternative papers. Julian and Daniel have been BUSY.

L. RON HUBBARD

(O.C., ON VIDEO)

The only way you can control

anybody is to lie to them.

JULIAN

He founded the damn religion.

Gobsmacking isn't it?

FIND Julian and Daniel streaming video of Hubbard for a few

reporters, their HUMBLE BOOTH dwarfed in a vast room filled

with MORE IMPRESSIVE DISPLAYS of old and new media ventures.

GERMAN REPORTER

(off the Hubbard video)

This is on your site?

DANIEL

We're streaming it now. See, there

are links to all our fresh leaks.

Daniel shows him another laptop. The site is rudimentary, a

column of analysis and a column of FRESH LEAKS including...

JULIAN

People need to see how they treat

their members. The memos on their

'introspection rundowns' -- forced

isolation, regulation of meals...

FRENCH REPORTER

Six Apart would love a piece on

this, you have a French spokesman I

can follow up with in Paris?

NICK DAVIES

Like watching a young Woodward and

Bernstein...

Nick Davies and Ian Katz walk up in GUARDIAN PRESS PASSES.

JULIAN

The hallowed Guardian gracing us

with their presence?

Julian starts to move towards them but the French reporter,

pad out, is in his way. Brusquely pushing past --

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Would you mind?

The reporter is offended. Daniel, used to this, jumps in...

DANIEL

Our associate Jay Lim is based in

Paris. Can I give you his e-mail?

PAN OFF the mollified reporter to Nick shaking Julian's

hand.

NICK DAVIES

Hustling for a story, trying to get

the world to pay attention, I

almost wish I were working for him.

JULIAN

The way they're sacking

journalists, you might not have a

choice.

IAN KATZ

Sounds like you want to put us all

out of business.

JULIAN

I want you to do your job. If you

can't, someone needs to pick up the

slack.

IAN KATZ

Is that what you're doing? Anyone

can take a bundle of information,

toss it up on a website and call it

news. But people buy our papers for

something a little more discerning.

JULIAN

They're still buying your papers?

NICK DAVIES

Gentlemen, we're all on the same

team.

(to Ian)

It's the samizdat of our day, Ian,

a new nervous system for the

planet.

Ian considers the Scientology video... which FREEZES.

IAN KATZ

Looks like his nervous system's a

bit twitchy.

JULIAN

10,000 hits an hour does that to

you. How's your website doing?

Nick LAUGHS. But as he and Ian exit, Julian's smile FADES.

Daniel joins him.

DANIEL

We're down again. We need to add

servers.

JULIAN

Yes, that's the downside to selling

truth for free. No money.

DANIEL

(considers, then)

...I've got a few thousand euros

saved up. Bet that'd get us a half

dozen machines on eBay...

Julian reacts, a little surprised.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

Are we not inspired, men of

purpose? Capable, generous men?

Julian SMILES BROADLY and we --

INT. EDS (ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel's cubicle. A mess as before. Exactly as before.

Daniel's supervisor stands at the door. IRRITATED.

ANKE

(INTO THE PHONE)

I thought you were coming back

today.

REVEAL Anke, on her phone, a few cubicles away. CONCERNED.

INTERCUT WITH:

EXT. ROOFTOP, HERTZ PARKING STRUCTURE - BERLIN - DAY

Daniel, on the phone, stands by a RENTAL MERCEDES STATION

WAGON, filling out a form. Julian is in the car, door open.

DANIEL

(INTO THE PHONE)

Little detour. Why, do you miss me?

At EDS, Anke eyes Daniel's Supervisor, who walks towards

her.

ANKE

No, but our friend Andreas seems

to.

DANIEL

Andreas is a wanker.

ANKE

...and my sister was looking

forward to meeting you.

DANIEL

Shit. I forgot.

ANKE

She'll understand, she's an

understanding person. Fortunately

for you, so am I. But Andreas...

DANIEL

Tell him I'm still sick.

ANKE

(for Andreas' benefit)

Pneumonia? Is it serious?

DANIEL

Very. See if your sister's free for

dinner on Friday.

ANKE

By Friday, I'll want you to myself.

Daniel smiles, hangs up and hands the form to a RENTAL

AGENT.

RENTAL AGENT

Where'd you say you were going?

JULIAN

We didn't.

Julian GLARES at the agent. Daniel gets in.

PUSH INTO --

INT. MERCEDES (PARKED/MOVING) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel slips behind the wheel and starts the car. Julian

stares at the rental agent and starts to SUCK ON A RAW

LEMON.

JULIAN

Nosy prick.

DANIEL

He was being friendly.

JULIAN

Servers are vital organs, if people

know where they are...

DANIEL

No one's going to know where they

are, he was just being friendly.

JULIAN

I'm telling you, he was acting

weird.

Daniel stares at Julian's lemon. He was acting weird?

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

What? I need some vitamin C. Have

you seen how pale I am?

An ODD BEAT... then Julian SMILES. He's joking.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

You're looking a bit pale yourself,

young man. Maybe you should have

one.

Julian playfully tosses a lemon at Daniel who SMILES...

EXT. BERLIN STREET/INT. MERCEDES (MOVING) - BERLIN - DAY

Still smiling, Daniel drives out of town. He casually checks

the REARVIEW... as a BLACK BMW falls in and begins to follow

close behind. Julian sees Daniel's smile FADE.

JULIAN

What?

DANIEL

Probably nothing...

But Julian sees him peering into the rearview. FREAKED --

JULIAN

Someone's following us?

Julian looks back just as Daniel makes a HARD RIGHT, POPPING

THE CAR up on the curb. Julian SLAMS against the door.

JULIAN

(O.C.)

(CONTINUED)

Shit!

Daniel struggles with the wheel, barely managing to get the

car back on the road. He glances again at the rearview...

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Did you lose him?

DANIEL

Yeah.. no, shit, I think that's

him.

As Daniel guns the engine, Julian FLIES OUT OF FRAME...

JULIAN

(O.C.)

I think I'm going to vomit.

Music takes us through a SERIES OF QUICK SCENES --

EXT. DANIEL'S APT - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel rushes out of his apartment, carries a server to the

Mercedes and tosses it in the trunk beside six others.

Julian, waiting, hastily throws a TARP over them.

As Julian and Daniel jump into the car and take off, we

SMASH TO --

EXT. MERCEDES (MOVING) - AUTOROUTE - OUTSIDE PARIS - NIGHT

The Mercedes FLIES towards the SKYSCRAPERS of LA DEFENSE.

EXT. MERCEDES (PARKED) - A DATA CENTER - PARIS, FRANCE -

DAWN

Julian and Daniel crouch behind the car, holding a SERVER.

The data center door cracks and A SKINNY FRENCH HACKER

beckons ANXIOUSLY.

As they RUSH towards him, SMASH TO --

INT. MERCEDES (MOVING) - FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

Julian works on his laptop, struggling to stay awake. He

considers, then reaches for a Club Mate and takes a sip...

It's disgusting. Julian looks at Daniel, CHUGGING IT. Wide

awake. As Julian FORCES HIMSELF to take another sip...

EXT. MERCEDES (MOVING) - OUTSIDE ZURICH - NIGHT

The car races twards the twin spires of the GROSSMUNSTER.

EXT. MERCEDES (PARKED) - A DATA CENTER - ZURICH - NIGHT

Old town. Daniel, Julian with a server, banging on a DOOR,

nervously looking around. The door cracks, they rush in...

EXT. JULIUS BAER BANK - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - EARLY MORNING

JULIUS BAER SWISS HQ. The Mercedes rolls into frame. Daniel

and Julian hop out, shouting and GIVING THE BANK THE FINGER.

JULIAN

Screw you, assholes!

DANIEL

Suck my tax paying German weiner!

They JUMP AROUND, CELEBRATORY, as we SMASH TO --

INT. MERCEDES (MOVING) - AUTOBAHN - GERMANY - NIGHT

Daniel clings to the wheel, EXHAUSTED.

DANIEL

Can you pass me a...

Daniel looks over... Julian's WIRED, typing on his laptop,

polishing off the last Club Mate.

Music fades as we PRELAP --

JULIAN

(PRELAP)

Doesn't look like a data center.

EXT. MARCUS' FARMHOUSE - SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY - DAY

A WORKING FARM. Julian eyes the sleeping cows. Daniel opens

the trunk of the Mercedes, pulls out a case of Club Mate.

MARCUS

You know the way to my heart

Daniel.

Daniel turns, sees Marcus in the farmhouse door.

He smiles --

INT. MARCUS' FARMHOUSE - SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY - DAY

A LARGE BARN, PACKED with SERVERS. TECH HEAVEN. Marcus walks

in, leading Julian and Daniel who carry a server. Julian

looks around, blown away.

MARCUS

(off the server)

Hook that up next to the other old

IBMs. And take any tags off it -- I

don't want to know which one it is.

They set the server down. Daniel starts hooking it up as

Marcus cracks open a Club Mate.

DANIEL

You're protecting us from yourself?

MARCUS

Plausible deniability is never a

bad thing. Especially when there

might be jackboots at the door.

JULIAN

(impressed)

A man who understands security.

MARCUS

Just following in the tradition of

some excellent hackers. One in

particular who went by this curious

name, something out of Horace... in

parentum splendide Mendax.

It's Julian's hacker name. He looks up, GUARDED.

MARCUS

(CONTINUED)

The way Daniel talks, I suspected

an illustrious past. So I did some

digging. Hacking Nasa? Impressive.

And Milnet...

DANIEL

You hacked the US Defense Network?

Daniel's intrigued. Julian LAUGHS, guard dropping.

JULIAN

That was a long time ago. There

were dozens of back doors, it

wasn't all that difficult.

MARCUS

Delightfully deceiving, like his

name. And your 'robust'

infrastructure.

He looks at Julian, whose smile fades.

MARCUS

(CONTINUED)

Any leet hack could see your tech

was junk. Good thing you're adding

servers.

JULIAN

(dismissive, looks out

the window)

Mmm. So the cows... do you milk

them yourself?

INT. HERTZ PARKING GARAGE - BERLIN, GERMANY - EARLY MORNING

A TRUNK OPENS on a CASE of EMPTY BOTTLES. Daniel grabs them.

Julian sits on the car hood, working on his laptop.

JULIAN

He can do some coding, but I don't

want him on the primary server.

DANIEL

Marcus just wants to get involved.

He's a bit of a legend in the club.

He could be a big help.

JULIAN

People with that much experience

tend to have minds of their own.

ON DANIEL. Something about that bothers him. But before he

can comment --

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

Holy Shit.

(staring at his laptop)

The Scientology video is generating

a ton of new traffic... we've got

half a dozen new leaks. A nuclear

cover up in Iran, a list of British

National Party members.

Daniel, intrigued, looks over Julian's shoulder.

DANIEL

Jesus, it's thousands of neo-nazis,

right in the heart of London...

RENTAL AGENT

2100 kilometers? Where were you?

They turn. The rental guy STARES at the ODOMETER.

JULIAN

Mind your own business.

DANIEL

None of your goddamn business.

WE HEAR the sound of A DOOR SWINGING OPEN and we SMASH TO --

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - DAY

A STACK of DOCUMENTS as it drops just beyond an OPEN DOOR.

The door closes and we REVEAL the long LINE OF DOORS. A few

open, STACKS OF DOCUMENTS tossed into the room...

We see NUCLEAR SYMBOLS on an IRANIAN REPORT; a GERMAN SECRET

SERVICE document labeled TOP SECRET; FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

from the KAUPTHING BANK in Iceland... it's MESMERIZING.

As we watch we notice a familiar WHINE.

FAINT ELECTRONICA pulls us through the sea of empty desks

to...

A LONE OCCUPIED DESK. Docs, Club Mate bottles and a

NAMEPLATE: D SCHMITT.

DOLLY AROUND to find Daniel in headphones, hunched over a

laptop. He POUNDS away to thumping music. PLUGGED IN.

SUPERVISOR

(O.C.)

Daniel?

Daniel keeps typing as we SMASH TO --

INT. EDS, NINTH FLOOR STORE ROOM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

Daniel, headphones on, plugged in, hunched over a laptop...

eyeing a list, members of the BRITISH NATIONALIST PARTY.

REVEAL DANIEL'S SUPERVISOR in the door, peering past Daniel

at the WIKILEAKS ICON on his screen. PISSED. Daniel turns,

HOLDS his gaze then TURNS BACK TO HIS LAPTOP.

INT. EDS, NINTH FLOOR - DANIEL'S CUBICLE - BERLIN - DAY

CLOSE ON Daniel, who finishes what he was doing then closes

his laptop. As he tosses it in his backpack we PULL OUT and

see HIS DESK IS EMPTY, his things packed up in a few BOXES.

Anke walks in, grabs a box. Daniel grabs the other, exits

past his supervisor, who shakes his head.

SMASH BACK TO--

THE SUBMISSION PLATFORM - NIGHT

Daniel walks in, drops the box on his desk and sits back

down to work. As he types, the CAMERA SPINS.... EMPTY CLUB

MATE BOTTLES and TAKE-OUT CONTAINERS piling up as time

passes...

At last, Daniel pauses, picking up a copy of THE GUARDIAN.

ANKE

(O.C.)

Daniel?

Daniel keeps reading. We see the paper over his shoulder:

BNP MEMBERSHIP LIST NAMES POLICE OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS.

ANKE

(O.C.)

(CONTINUED)

Daniel.

Now Daniel hears her. He rubs his eyes and we're in --

INT. DANIEL'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Same computer, now in Daniel's bedroom. A WIKILEAKS WAR

ZONE. Documents, newspapers, bottles everywhere. Daniel

surveys the carnage then stands, carrying THE GUARDIAN into

--

THE LIVING ROOM. A table set for a ROMANTIC DINNER, a VOTIVE

burning low, Anke passing time on a laptop with OPEN DATA

STICKERS (EFF, FSF, CC). Daniel walks in, kisses her cheek.

ANKE

You're alive.

DANIEL

And starving.

He hands Anke the paper then picks up a knife, starts to

carve the roast on the table. He serves Anke...

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

The British press is going nuts

over the National Party member

list.

Anke looks less than enthusiastic, but Daniel doesn't

notice. He makes himself a plate and sits.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

People are donating money. Not a

lot, but some. And we keep getting

more leaks. Toxic dumping in Ivory

Coast, corruption in Kosovo...

Daniel takes a bite, pauses, trying not to make a face.

ANKE

What? You don't like it?

DANIEL

No, it's delicious. Just a little

cold.

ANKE

Yes, it's been sitting there for an

hour.

DANIEL

(ah)

Sorry. I didn't hear you.

(then)

You could have gotten me. Anke?

ANKE

It's just the addresses I don't

get.

DANIEL

...sorry?

ANKE

The National Party members. I mean,

those people should be exposed, but

you published their personal

information. Phone numbers, home

addresses...

DANIEL

They were in the document.

ANKE

Yes, but why not cut them out?

Those people have families,

children... someone could get hurt.

DANIEL

Editing reflects bias. Our sources,

people on the site, they trust us

cause we don't screw with the docs.

As Julian says, a free people must

have knowledge.

ANKE

Or as Orwell says, Big Brother is

watching.

DANIEL

(beat)

Is this cause I stayed in on

Friday?

ANKE

I couldn't care less about Friday,

I had a perfectly good time with

Nik and Claudia, despite the fact

that Nik tried to get me to go home

with him again.

(off Daniel's look)

Don't look so concerned, he bores

the shit out of me.

DANIEL

Maybe that's what you want.

ANKE

(don't do that)

I'm the one who told you to quit

your job. And I'm glad you did. I'm

just saying that if you're gonna

nail yourself to a cross you should

probably know what it's made of.

DANIEL

I'm not nailing myself to a cross.

Anke raises an eyebrow. Daniel looks down, notes his own

disheveled appearance.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

But I guess I could use a shower.

Care to join me?

Daniel smiles, suggestive. Anke softens.

ANKE

Do you even remember the last time

we had sex?

DANIEL

I'm sure I'll remember the next

time.

He kisses her. A hint of Julian.

ANKE

So goddamn clever.

DANIEL

It's a little clever.

He moves in, PULLS A STRING at her back. Her dress SLIPS to

the floor. She smiles, despite herself.

SMASH TO --

THE FLOOR. A CHAIR FALLS as Daniel pulls Anke down.

ANKE

Cold floor.

DANIEL

We can go into the --

ANKE

No. I like it.

Sexy. Things start to get even sexier when... Anke FREEZES.

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Did you hear that?

Daniel looks at her confused when... THUMP. Daniel FREEZES.

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Was that the door?

THUMP THUMP. Shit. WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

You weren't expecting anyone?

DANIEL

No.

Daniel TOTALLY FREAKED, reaches up, KILLS THE LIGHTS.

ANKE

Neo-nazis wouldn't knock, right?

Anke, NERVOUS, grabs her dress as Daniel picks up a heavy

WIRE CUTTER. SHAKING, he peers past the Tibetan flag he

uses as a blind... and then RELAXES.

DANIEL

Jesus.

Anke confused, watches him open the door... JULIAN blows in.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

Weren't you in Australia?

JULIAN

I thought it best not to telegraph

my movements. By the way, you

should take your name off the door.

Julian sits at the table, not bothering to acknowledge Anke

as she pulls her dress on. Daniel glances at Anke, TORN.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

When was the last time you were

online?

Julian pulls out his laptop, pushes the roast out of the

way.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

There's a new expose from the

Kenyan National Coalition on Human

Rights.

Julian shows Daniel the computer. Daniel can't help himself.

DANIEL

They've got evidence that Kenyan

police are running death squads?

JULIAN

Friends of mine wrote the report,

Kibaki is trying to bury it, we've

got to get it up on the homepage.

Daniel hesitates. Now?

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

It details hundreds of murders,

major human rights violations--

it's like exposing Chile under

Pinochet. (he starts typing, then)

You have any of that disgusting

energy drink? Could be a long

night.

Daniel heads into the kitchen. Julian notices Anke, still

wrestling with her dress.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

I'm sorry, did I interrupt

something?

He's both CAVALIER and LEWD.

Anke REACTS and we CUT TO --

Daniel walking in with two Club Mates. The front door SLAMS.

Anke. Shit.

EXT. DANIEL'S APT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Daniel runs out of his apartment, chasing after Anke.

DANIEL

Anke. Come on.

He catches up to her, reaches for her arm.

ANKE

We were having sex! I was half

naked!

Daniel looks down. She shakes her head.

ANKE

(CONTINUED)

Did you invite him to Paris, too?

Because he's really not my type.

DANIEL

I didn't invite him. Anke, please.

Come back inside. It's late.

ANKE

Then tell him to go.

DANIEL

What?

She looks at him. Simple. Direct.

ANKE

You want me to come back inside,

tell him to go.

DANIEL

I... Anke, he's got nowhere else to

stay.

ANKE

Well, I do.

She turns and walks off.

INT. DANIEL'S APARTMENT - BERLIN, GERMANY - NIGHT

Daniel walks in, numb. He stands there for a moment, then

notices Julian... WEARING A SUIT JACKET.

DANIEL

Is that my suit?

JULIAN

I'm working on a press release on

the Kenyan death squads, I needed

something to match the gravity of

the occasion.

Julian reaches for the roast, PICKING at it WITH HIS

FINGERS. Daniel blinks. This is who he's following into the

abyss?

Upset, Daniel grabs the roast and walks it into the kitchen.

Agitated, he starts to wrap up the roast.

JULIAN

(O.C.)

(CONTINUED)

I have a son in Melbourne, you

know.

Daniel turns. Julian stands in the doorway.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

He turns 19 next week, I haven't

seen him in a year.

Julian pulls out his wallet, shows Daniel a picture.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

It takes two things to change the

world. You'd be surprised how many

people have ideas. But commitment,

true commitment, that's the hard

one. It requires sacrifice.

Daniel, stirred, stares at the photo of Julian's son.

DANIEL

What's his name?

JULIAN

Daniel. His name is Daniel.

Off Daniel, reacting --

TELEVISION (REAL FOOTAGE) - RUV

An anchor. Gray haired and GRAVE [in Icelandic, subtitles].

ANCHOR

We lead tonight with the collapse

of the Kaupthing bank. Due to a

court injunction, we can't bring

you the whole story. But there is

an organization that can. You'll

find them at Wikileaks.org.

As the WIKILEAKS URL flashes on screen we CUT TO --

INT. EGILL HELGASON'S TV SHOW - REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - DAY

CLOSE ON HOST EGILL HELGASON, on his Icelandic TV News show.

EGILL HELGASON

Iceland was bankrupted by the

Kaupthing, but we wouldn't know it

if not for my guests tonight.

Helgason turns to Daniel and Julian, beside him. We notice

that Daniel has STARTED GROWING A BEARD...

EGILL HELGASON

(CONTINUED)

You've done so much for our

country, how can we show our

thanks?

JULIAN

Protect free speech. Strengthen

your laws, give activists in

countries without freedom of the

press a home. We have too many

offshore tax havens, we need more

offshore media havens.

Helgason starts CLAPPING. He's joined by more applause and

we PULL BACK to REVEAL the ENTIRE CREW CLAPPING WITH HIM.

EGILL HELGASON

(TO CAMERA)

How about it, Iceland?

On Daniel, THRILLED, the APPLAUSE SMASHES US TO --

EXT. ALTHINGI PARLIAMENT BUILDING - REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - DAY

An ICELANDIC TV CREW (RUV) interviews BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR in

front of the imposing Parliament Building. A CROWD watches.

BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR

Wikileaks is redefining the

public's right to information, I'd

like to add whatever legitimacy I

can...

The crowd CHEERS as we FIND TWO IDENTICAL BACKPACKS in their

midst. Julian and Daniel watch as Birgitta wraps up.

DANIEL

She's a Member of Parliament?

JULIAN

And apparently our new

spokesperson. Some animals are more

equal than others.

Julian smiles at Daniel as the music SMASHES US TO --

INT. ICELANDIC CLUB - REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - NIGHT

Birgitta stands at a bar with Daniel and a small crowd.

BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR

Making Iceland a media haven, it's

an inspired idea.

Daniel smiles, sees Julian dancing with THREE HOT WOMEN

under a CHEAP DISCO BALL. Julian spreads his arms, calls to

him --

JULIAN

You need space for your ego to

flow.

Daniel smiles and starts dancing like Julian. Daniel's ON

TOP OF THE FUCKING WORLD.

THE MUSIC SWELLS as we SMASH TO --

INT. RUSBRIDGER'S OFFICE - LONDON, ENGLAND - NIGHT

PAPERS WITH WIKI-HEADLINES dropped one by one on a desk.

NICK DAVIES

The Iceland bank. The Natanz cover

up. Corruption in Kosovo, in

Kenya--

REVEAL Nick dropping the small, foreign paper clippings on

Alan's desk. Alan and Ian Katz eye the papers skeptically.

NICK DAVIES

(CONTINUED)

Great big scoops in tiny, local

papers, stories that could have

been picked up by the mainstream

press. It's an opportunity, Alan.

Off Nick, wry, the music SMASHES US TO --

EXT. CITYSCAPE - NAIROBI, KENYA - DAY

Third world gridlock, beat up cars inching their way through

squalid, downtown Nairobi. Beggars and vendors swarm.

KENYAN NEWS ANCHOR

(ON THE CAR RADIO)

..earlier this week Wikileaks

posted a human rights report

detailing...

We see a BEAT UP STATION WAGON and we --

INT. CAR (IN TRAFFIC) - NAIROBI, KENYA - DAY

FIND Oula and Kingara, the activists we saw with Julian

earlier. They're in traffic, FAMILIAR PICKET SIGNS in back.

KENYAN NEWS ANCHOR

(ON THE CAR RADIO)

...shocking police misconduct.

KINGARA

The Student Union wants to hold a

protest at the University next

week.

Oula, behind the wheel, is frustrated by the traffic.

OULA

Might take that long to get there.

Oula shoots a wry look at Kingara, who cracks a SMILE...

...but as he does, WE HEAR A POP. Oula STARTS, then stares

as BLOOD SPREADS ACROSS KINGARA'S WHITE BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT.

Oula reacts, TERRIFIED. FRANTIC, he reaches for the

door...

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! The car is RIDDLED WITH BULLETS.

Oula FLAILS then SLUMPS across the wheel. The horn BLARES...

...and we see BLOOD oozing over a folder on Kingara's lap,

over a SYMBOL for THE KENYAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

The horn's wail SILENCES the music and we FADE TO --

EXT. HACKING AT RANDOM - VIERHOUTEN, NETHERLANDS - NIGHT

AERIAL SHOT: a CAMPGROUND overtaken by an ODD HACKER CIRCUS

-- NEON WIRES snaking among dozens of HUGE, ILLUMINATED

TENTS.

HACKING AT RANDOM - VIERHOUTEN, NETHERLANDS

WE FOCUS IN on a BIG TENT with a HUGE WIKILEAKS FLAG.

DANIEL

(O.C.)

We've exposed death squads in

Kenya, an Iranian nuclear cover

up...

INT. HACKING AT RANDOM, WIKILEAKS TENT - NETHERLANDS - NIGHT

A MOB of REVELERS drink beer and smoke pot under BIG

MONITORS displaying the WIKILEAKS SITE. Large tables hold

PILES of Wikileaks NEWS CLIPPINGS and the latest leaked

docs/photos.

DANIEL

...in Iceland, the government has

taken over the Kaupthing bank...

Daniel stands in front of dozens of fans, including a CUTE

FEMALE REPORTER with a NOTEBOOK labeled WIRED.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

...and the 9/11 pager message leak

will have huge privacy

implications.

Daniel beams. It's INFECTIOUS... the reporter is SMITTEN.

WIRED REPORTER

Wired wants a longer piece, can you

make time for a one on one session?

DANIEL

Absolutely.

WIRED REPORTER

Great. Call me.

She hands him a CARD and exits, crossing with Marcus.

MARCUS

Look at you. With groupies.

DANIEL

She's a reporter.

MARCUS

She's certainly working an angle.

Daniel laughs. We hear the RING of a CRYPTOPHONE and follow

the sound past happy revelers to Julian, with Birgitta and a

few CUTE HACKER GIRLS.

Julian notices the cryptophone's RING, picks up --

JULIAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

This is Julian.

EXT. STREET - NAIROBI, KENYA - DAY

A crowd chants, SCREAMING, FIGHTING with police. A MAN in

the foreground presses a phone to his ear, WEEPING.

MAN

(INTO THE PHONE)

Julian... I have horrible news.

INT. HACKING AT RANDOM, WIKILEAKS TENT - NETHERLANDS - NIGHT

Julian GRIPS the phone, listening.

He PALES and we PRELAP --

KNN NEWS ANCHOR

(PRELAP, ON CLIP)

The victims, Oscar Kamau Kingara

and John Paul Oula had worked

closely with the Kenyan Commission

on Human Rights on a report

documenting...

INT. HACKING AT RANDOM, WIKILEAKS TENT - NETHERLANDS - NIGHT

CLOSE ON A MONITOR, a KNN CLIP of the crowd fighting police.

KNN NEWS ANCHOR

(ON CLIP)

...complicity of the Kenya police

in over 400 murders. The report

gained local notoriety after it was

published on the Wikileaks site...

REVEAL Birgitta and Marcus staring up at the screen. Julian,

VERY UPSET, hovers over Daniel, typing on a laptop.

JULIAN

This can't be some mealy mouthed

press release. Kibaki killed them,

the language needs to be stronger.

DANIEL

It's already pretty strong.

JULIAN

Give me the damn computer.

Julian, IRRITATED, takes over, pushing Daniel out of the

way. Birgitta sees how upset Julian is, leans in to comfort

him.

BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR

This wasn't your fault. They left

their names on that report, they

wanted the world to know they stood

behind it. They knew the stakes.

Julian keeps typing, FRUSTRATED...

JULIAN

Yes, they wanted the world to know.

It's an astonishing story, we put

it on the front of the damn website

and we couldn't get a single paper

outside of Kenya to pick it up.

(then, upset)

We're not breaking though. They

were my friends and I... if we'd

gotten that report more publicity,

they'd have been heroes. Murdering

them would have had a political

cost, Kibaki wouldn't have dared.

DANIEL

He's a tyrant, Julian, I don't

think more publicity would have --

JULIAN

(turning on him, HARSH)

What the hell do you know about

publicity? Outside of self-

promotion? Sucking up to reporters,

it's disgusting.

DANIEL

The woman from Wired? I was

selling her a story.

JULIAN

Why don't you leave that to me.

Julian grabs the laptop, stalks off. Daniel stands, NUMB.

MARCUS

I wouldn't take it personally.

He's scared. You should be too.

DANIEL

(catching his tone)

Our operating system is secure, our

other sources are safe, we're okay.

Really.

Marcus doesn't look impressed.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

You think the site is vulnerable?

MARCUS

I think you're taking on Presidents

and Kings and kingpins -- people

who can afford to hire the kind of

Black Hats that get off on breaking

into a so called secure operating

system. And, believe me, if your

O.S. is anything less than secure,

it's not gonna take long for them

to I.D. the rest of your sources

and hunt them down... to say

nothing of what they'll do to you

and Julian.

(then, serious)

Ask for my help, Daniel.

Off Daniel, FREAKED, convinced Marcus is right --

EXT. STATE DEPARTMENT PLANE - SOMEWHERE OVER EUROPE - NIGHT

A plane arcs through the night sky.

CNN NEWS ANCHOR

(PRELAP, ON CNN)

...Wikileaks commemorated 9/11 by

publishing a half million pager

messages originally sent on the

tragic day.

And now WE SEE the letters, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. And on

the wing, the SEAL of the SECRETARY OF STATE.

PUSH INTO --

INT. STATE DEPARTMENT PLANE - SOMEWHERE OVER EUROPE - NIGHT

A small conference room with an empty video screen. Sarah

Shaw, on the phone, eyes a monitor broadcasting CNN.

CNN NEWS ANCHOR

(ON CNN)

Many have hailed the messages as a

fresh level of insight into 9/11, a

vital addition to our historic

record...

SARAH SHAW

(INTO THE PHONE)

Okay. Okay.

(pause)

Yeah. Keep your man on them.

Sarah HANGS UP. An OPEN FOLDER is on the table, a PROFILE OF

JULIAN. As she eyes it, an AIDE walks in.

AIDE

You wanted the Deputy NSA?

Sarah nods and the aide pulls up a SECURE VIDEO CONFERENCE.

On screen, we see SAM COLSON, 32, perennially impatient.

SAM COLSON

(ON THE VIDEO)

I thought if I sent you to Cairo I

might get a minute to myself.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. WHITE HOUSE, SIT ROOM - WASHINGTON, DC - DAY

A LONG TABLE, several computers, TV monitors, military

display screens. Surprisingly quiet, a small skeleton crew.

SARAH SHAW

(ON VIDEO DISPLAY)

Turn on CNN.

Sarah is on a DISPLAY beside the long table... which is

empty, save Sam. He flips a TV to CNN, sees the 9/11 story.

SAM COLSON

This the site that skewered Palin?

SARAH SHAW

And the Iranian nuclear program,

Petroperu, Bank Julius Baer...

SAM COLSON

...right, we just indicted the

bankers. These guys have an agenda?

SARAH SHAW

Truth, justice... the American way.

(then, pointed)

They got the 9/11 texts from

someone monitoring the top pager

services.

Colson pauses as it DAWNS on him...

SAM COLSON

You think they got the leak from

us?

SARAH SHAW

The CIA's concerned, they've put a

man on it. And we think it's time

to get the Pentagon involved.

SAM COLSON

The Pentagon? This is a website,

right? Not a terror cell. Let me

call Justice.

Diplomat JAMES BOSWELL enters, cool and calm as in the OPEN.

SARAH SHAW

Justice will tell you there's a

first amendment issue. And even if

there weren't, the site has mirrors

outside the US, it's beyond the

law.

SAM COLSON

I don't even know what that means.

JAMES BOSWELL

It means information transfer is

too damn easy and we're not

prepared. Call the Pentagon, Sam.

Boswell ends the video conference.

SARAH SHAW

I had it under control.

JAMES BOSWELL

I know.

(sits, all business)

We're a half hour out of Cairo, you

want to brief me on this source?

SARAH SHAW

Sure.

Sarah reaches for a folder marked SECRET. She opens it, we

see a PHOTO: SIM SARNA from the open.

Off the photo --

EXT. BCC (BERLINER CONGRESS CENTER) - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

A FAMILIAR ROCKET by new signs: 26c3 - CHAOS COMMUNICATIONS

CONGRESS - HERE BE DRAGONS - DECEMBER 22ND, 2009.

ELECTRONICA HUMS and a LIGHT SNOW FALLS as we PUSH INTO --

MARCUS

(PRELAP)

The program code is a mess, the OS

has massive problems...

INT. BCC, LOBBY - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

The lobby is crowded with hackers registering for 26C3. In a

corner, Marcus huddles with Daniel, Birgitta and Julian.

MARCUS

...and there are ways to trace your

sources -- they aren't protected

nearly as well as you say they are.

JULIAN

(to Daniel, agitated)

You let him on the primary server?

DANIEL

He could have hacked it himself.

That's the point. We need help.

JULIAN

We need to be careful who we trust.

Julian glares at Marcus, it's awkward.

DANIEL

Julian, I've known Marcus for

years. We knew Birgitta all of five

minutes when you asked her to --

JULIAN

Yes, I asked her. I have experience

with these things, I don't make

mistakes. At least not usually.

The implication is clear. Daniel's STUNG. And UPSET.

DANIEL

We make a promise to our sources...

JULIAN

You made a promise to me.

Julian's angry. But more than that, he's HURT. BETRAYED.

OTTO, the volunteer from the last Congress, walks up.

OTTO

You might wanna get backstage, a

couple of guys are sniffing around,

real Patriot Act types...

Otto nods towards two blond men in suits by the registration

desk. WATCHING THEM. They're calm, PROFESSIONAL. The team

TENSES, Julian quickly packing up. Birgitta leans in --

BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR

Daniel is right. You have real

enemies, no need to make ones up.

Julian considers as APPLAUSE and CHEERS take us INTO --

INT. BCC, MAIN AUDITORIUM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

The room is the same as two years ago but the contrast is

ENORMOUS. A ROWDY CROWD of HUNDREDS cheer Julian and Daniel.

DANIEL

According to The Guardian we've had

more scoops in three years than the

Washington Post has had in

thirty...

Daniel clicks a pointer. A MAP OF THE GLOBE, leaks appearing

by country, a presentation more polished than any we've

seen.

DANIEL

(CONTINUED)

...we've exposed corruption in

dozens of countries...

Again, we see Julius Baer and Scientology, but there's also

the Petroperu oil scandal (Peru), the Natanz nuclear cover

up (Iran), and toxic dumping by Trafigura (Cote d'Ivoire)...

Daniel catches Julian's eye, a moment of shared amazement as

they realize how much they've accomplished. WE HEAR a LOW

HUM... PULL BACK... it's the AUDIENCE. ON ITS FEET.

CHEERING.

It's POWERFUL. As the cheering fades and the audience sits,

an EAST BERLIN WOMAN moves to a microphone in the aisle.

EAST BERLIN WOMAN

I grew up in the East. We... if we

even wrote a letter about a broken

sewer pipe, we were watched. Maybe

interrogated. Thrown in jail...

(her eyes welling)

I think, Mr. Assange, that if we'd

had someone like you... the wall

would have come down years before.

Hard to say whether it appeals to his vanity or his

altruism, but Julian is clearly moved.

JULIAN

Yes, security. That's the essence.

Security guaranteed by anonymity.

(working something out)

Of course, as much as you try to

protect, there will always be those

who seek to destroy. But we, we

make a promise to our sources...

Julian glances over at Daniel. An admission.

JULIAN

(CONTINUED)

...which is why we're continually

adding qualified partners to

strengthen our team.

(and then)

You can change the world with a

good idea... but you can't do it

alone. You need people... willing

to put themselves on the line.

Off Julian, looking at Daniel --

EXT. KAHN EL-KHALILI SOUK - CAIRO, EGYPT - DAY

Men and women barter in the crowded, ancient BAZAAR. We

notice a FALAFEL PLACE at the edge of the market...

SIM SARNA

(PRELAP)

I copied it from memory.

INT. FALAFEL RESTAURANT - CAIRO, EGYPT - DAY

CLOSE ON A HANDWRITTEN DIAGRAM of the Teller-Ulam NUCLEAR

BOMB... the same diagram as we saw in the Open.

SIM SARNA

They're testing the explosive in

the next six months.

REVEAL a tense SIM SARNA with Sarah at a corner table in a

dingy falafel place.

SARAH SHAW

Shit. We thought they were at least

three years away from a bomb.

A beat. It's grim.

SIM SARNA

I had such hope this summer. Even

after Mousavi lost and the Basij

broke up the marches, you could

still feel something in the air.

The protest letters, the 'death to

Khamenei' graffiti in the very

heart of Tehran, it was

unimaginable ten years go. But if

Khamenei gets the bomb, if he

succeeds...

Sim trails off, upset.

SARAH SHAW

You remember that New Years party

in Sharm el-Sheikh? I'd just

started my Fulbright, I had a bit

to drink --

SIM SARNA

A lot to drink --

SARAH SHAW

Shida begged you to go home but you

stayed. You hardly knew me.

SIM SARNA

Someone had to keep an eye on you.

And on that short Egyptian doing

the bad Omar Sharif impression.

She smiles. Then looks at him, POINTED.

SARAH SHAW

DC's a nice place to raise a child.

SIM SARNA

I thought you believed in reform.

SARAH SHAW

(she does, but...)

You have a family now. I want you

to do what's best for your family.

SIM SARNA

(beat)

You know, they say that if a boy is

not given a proper kebab before he

hits puberty he'll lose his

manhood. Tell me, where have you

had proper chelo kebab outside of

Sa'adat-abad?

(then)

Tehran is our home, Sarah. I am

doing what's best for my family.

Sarah reacts. A beat, then she notices a WAITER taking an

interest. Cool and professional, she changes the subject...

SARAH SHAW

...so how are Shida and the baby?

Off Sim, switching gears --

INT. BCC, MAIN AUDITORIUM - BERLIN, GERMANY - DAY

The aftermath of a very successful talk, a LARGE CROWD

hovers around Julian. Reporters, fans, groupies...

DER SPIEGEL REPORTER

We'd love a bio piece.

CUTE WOMAN

Julian, are you still taking

speaking engagements?

H