Script Dump - Percy Jackson Pilot

 Ephraim Belnap

PERCY JACKSON PILOT 

1 INT. A DARK ROOM 

We see a red, leather-bound book on a plinth, a single BEAM OF LIGHT illuminating it. Its title? PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF. 

PERCY (V.O.)

Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. It’s dangerous. It’s scary. If you think you’re one, you should run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. 

We slowly DOLLY IN to the book. 

PERCY (V.O.)

My name is Percy Jackson. And I’m what you’d call a troubled kid. And things were going bad, but they didn’t start going REAL bad until last May...

The book opens by itself to an early, illustrated page showing a crowd of STUDENTS outside a MUSEUM. 

PERCY

...when were on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The camera DOLLIES IN and we see the picture 

FADE TO:

2 EXT. OUTSIDE MUSEUM - DAY 

MRS DODDS

Keep up, children, keep up. 

3 INT. MUSEUM - DAY 

We see PERCY and GROVER at the front of a group of kids. Percy’s young and wide-eyed. Grover is dark-haired, and using a set of CRUTCHES. In front of them is MR BRUNNER, their history teacher, in his WHEELCHAIR. He stands before several Greek STATUES, and a VIDEO DISPLAY showing illustrations of Greek history. 

MR BRUNNER 

Gather round, children, gather round. 

The kids are energetic. Percy and Grover are actually trying to listen, though. 

MR BRUNNER 

Here, we see the Big Three of the Greek Gods - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Lords of Air, Sea, and Earth. They may seem like they had it all, but they didn’t always have it easy. 

(gestures to Percy)

Percy, can you remind us of where the Greek Gods came from? 

PERCY 

Um ... they were eaten by their father, weren’t they? 

MR BRUNNER

Correct. 

(gestures to the screen)

The father of the Olympians was the Titan Kronos. Fearful of his children overthrowing him, he devoured them as soon as they were born. 

As he speaks, we see an ILLUSTRATION rendering the Titan War play out. 

MR BRUNNER

Eventually, his wife gave him a fake baby and had the real one - Zeus - raised elsewhere, and eventually, he fed Kronos a mix of mustard and wine that made him vomit up all the other children. Since they were immortal gods, they had all been growing safely in his stomach. Led by Zeus, they then waged war on their father, cut him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. 

Percy lingers on the illustration. 

MR BRUNNER 

On that happy note, time for lunch. 

4 EXT. COURTYARD 

The students eat lunch outside. Thunder rumbles. 

PERCY 

The weather’s terrible. Been like that since January. 

GROVER

Yeah. 

A PEANUT-BUTTER SANDWICH comes flying into Grover’s lap. The boys look up and see a sour-faced redhead - NANCY BOBOFIT, the class bully. 

NANCY

Eat it. 

PERCY

Buzz off, Nancy. 

GROVER

It’s okay, Percy. I’m used to it. 

PERCY

No, you’re not. 

NANCY 

Why not? Listen to him, Jackson. He likes eating so much. He can eat this. 

Percy stands up and shoves her. She lands in the fountain behind her, upset. The students “ooh” in surprise. Mrs. Dodds appears. 

MRS DODDS

Percy Jackson! Come with me! 

She starts marching towards him but Grover gets to his feet despite his crutches. 

GROVER 

Wait, it was me who did it! 

MRS DODDS

Nice try, Mr Underwood. But you’re staying here. 

She takes him by the arm and drags him away, him looking resigned. As he does, he sees Grover looking oddly scared.

5 INT. MUSEUM 

Dodds walks him into the now-empty museum and faces him down. 

MRS DODDS

You think you’re real smart, don’t you, Jackson? 

PERCY

I don’t know. I guess. 

MRS DODDS

You’ve been putting on a good act, but you can’t fool me. 

She creeps a step closer. 

MRS DODDS

We’ve been watching you, Jackson. Tell us where it is! 

PERCY 

What? 

MRS DODDS 

Where the bolt is! Tell us! 

She steps closer and suddenly warps into a BAT-WINGED CREATURE! 

Percy panics and runs in the opposite direction. “Oh my god.” 

He runs down the hallway as she pursues, but at the end he suddenly sees ... Mr Brunner. Holding a BALL-POINT PEN. 

MR BRUNNER

Percy, catch! 

He throws the pen, and we see - in one SLO-MO SHOT - the pen transforming, melting like liquid metal, into a BRONZE SWORD, and into Percy’s hand. 

And Percy pivots on one foot, turns, and slashes Mrs Dodds in half, her body turning to SAND, a final cry piercing his ears. 

The sand washes over a still-nervous Percy, obscuring him and the screen for an instant, and when it clears, he’s standing by himself in the hallway, holding a pen, and Mrs Dodds is nowhere to be found. He looks around for a second. 

6 EXT. OUTSIDE MUSEUM

Percy runs outside to where everyone else is and sees Mr Brunner. 

PERCY 

Mr Brunner, did you see-?

MR BRUNNER 

Ah, Percy, thank you for bringing my pen back. Make sure to bring your own next time. 

He takes the pen from Percy’s hand, giving him a look. And Percy looks around. The sun is shining, everything seems perfectly normal. 

PERCY 

But Mrs Dodds-

MR BRUNNER 

Mrs Dodds? Who’s she?

PERCY

What do you mean, “who’s she?” Our algebra teacher, our chaperone for this field trip!

MR BRUNNER

Percy. There’s never been a Mrs Dodds at this school. 

Percy gives a look. 

CREDITS

ACT ONE 

7 EXT. YANCY ACADEMY - NIGHT

Lightning flashes. 

PERCY (V.O.)

You can see my frustration. 

(then)

For the rest of the semester, it seemed like no one had ever heard of Mrs Dodds. 

8 INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY 

Students walk the corridors. 

PERCY (V.O.)

It seemed like she’d never existed. But Grover knew. He’d hesitate before saying it. 

9 INT. DORM ROOM - NIGHT 

We see Percy studying in his DORM ROOM, looking for something, and realizing it isn’t there. 

PERCY (V.O.)

I knew something was going on him with him. But I didn’t know what. 

He gets up to retrieve what he’s missed. 

10 INT. YANCY ACADEMY HALLWAY - NIGHT 

We hear RAINFALL outside. Percy walks along an unlit hallway and stops, hearing voices. He gets close to an open doorway whose LIGHT spills into the hallway and hears voices. 

GROVER

- Worried about Percy, sir. 

Percy hears this and gets closer to the door. 

GROVER

I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know, and they know too- 

MR BRUNNER 

We would only make things worse by rushing him. He needs to mature more. 

GROVER

But the summer solstice deadline -

MR BRUNNER

- Will have to be resolved without him. 

GROVER

He saw her, sir. 

MR BRUNNER 

And we took care of it. The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him nothing happened. 

GROVER

I ... I can’t fail at this again, sir. 

MR BRUNNER

You haven’t failed, Grover. Let’s just worry about keeping Percy alive until next autum- 

Percy grunts in surprise and the voices stop. 

A beat. 

Percy starts backing down the hallway. An outline appears in the light. It’s a man’s top half, and he seems to be holding a BOW with an ARROW notched to it. 

Percy retreats back and steps into another classroom, ducking behind the door. He hears steps - CLIP CLOP, CLIP CLOP - and waits. The rainfall is still audible. Thunder rumbles. And then the steps retreat and go back down the hallway. He waits, stands up, and opens the door, seeing an empty hallway and the other classroom now unlit. He takes a second and then rushes out back to his dorm . 

11 INT. HALLWAY - DAY

PERCY (V.O.)

I’m not an especially great student. I have ADHD and dyslexia. It means it’s hard for me to pay attention, and it’s hard for me to study. Add on top of that the weird stuff that happens to me, and I’ve been through a lot of schools. This school has been better than some. But it’s not thrilling me. 

Nancy Bobofit throws some food at him and he stands up angrily before Grover pulls him back down. 

PERCY (V.O.)

And I think I’m not getting invited back. 

12 INT. BUS - DAY 

Grover and Percy sit on a school bus with LUGGAGE by their legs. 

PERCY 

So, what are you gonna do this summer? 

GROVER 

Oh, probably just horse around. You? 

PERCY 

I might be going up to Montauk with my mom to see our old cabin tomorrow. If her gross boyfriend isn’t around. 

GROVER 

Nice. 

PERCY 

Yeah. 

(then)

Grover, what were you talking about with Mr Brunner? 

Grover is surprised. 

GROVER

Wh-what do you mean? 

PERCY

That night. I overheard you talking about me. What’s going on? What’s a Kindly One? 

GROVER

(seriously)

Look, Percy, I can’t tell you right now. You’ve got to trust me. I need to ask someone for advice. I’ll get in touch soon. For now, take my card, and call me if anything weird happens.

Percy takes a CARD that reads, “Grover Underwood, Keeper. Half-Blood Hill, Long Island New York” and then a phone number. 

PERCY

You’re not gonna tell me anything else? 

GROVER

No. 

END ACT ONE

ACT TWO

13 INT. BUILDING HALLWAY - DAY 

Percy stands outside his apartment’s front door looking despondent, towing his luggage behind him. He sighs for a moment and then walks in. 

INT. APARTMENT - DAY 

He walks into a poker game. A scruffy, ill-kept man deals out cards to similarly shabby lowlifes. The man looks over his shoulder and sees Percy. 

GABE 

Ah, kid, you’re back. 

Percy trudges in. 

PERCY

Hey, Gabe. Where’s my mom? 

GABE

She’s at work. Lady doesn’t know how to chill out, right fellas? 

There’s a chorus of dumb laughter. 

PERCY 

Sure. 

He starts walking to his room. 

GABE 

Hey, hey. 

He gestures. 

GABE 

You got any money? 

PERCY

No. 

Gabe squints. 

GABE 

You bought a metro card at the station. Probably with a ten. You’ve gotta have three or six left over. 

Percy reluctantly reaches into his pocket and pulls CHANGE out. 

PERCY

Fine, take it. 

Gabe snatches it up. 

GABE

Good job, kid. Remember, this is OUR little secret. 

PERCY

Sure. 

13 INT. BEDROOM 

Percy slumps onto his bed. He closes his eyes for a second, but images flash through his head. Lightning, the sword, Mrs Dodds. He starts awake and hears a noise. 

SALLY 

Honey? 

A hand and head peek through the door. We see a sweet face. 

PERCY 

Mom! 

Sally walks in and Percy bounds up and gives her a hug. Sally is labored but beautiful in that sweet motherly way.  She hugs him back tightly. 

SALLY 

It’s good to see you! 

PERCY

It’s good to see you too! 

The two sit on Percy’s bed, Sally’s arm around him. 

SALLY 

How has school been? 

PERCY

Oh, it’s ... good. It’s better than it was. 

SALLY 

Yeah? 

PERCY 

Seriously. I didn’t blow up anything this time. 

SALLY 

Yeah? 

PERCY 

And I made a new friend - Grover. 

SALLY

Well, that’s good. Well, I’ve got good news. We’re going to the cabin. 

PERCY

Yes! When?

SALLY

As soon as I get changed. 

CUT TO:

END ACT TWO

ACT THREE

INT. CABIN

We see a living room with a COFFEE TABLE. A SURFBOARD hangs over the couch. Percy looks at it, touching it. A storm is raging outside. 

PERCY 

So, this is where you met dad, right? 

Sally comes in with some HOT CHOCOLATE, a BLANKET draped around her shoulders. 

SALLY 

Yes. 

She sits down on the couch. 

SALLY 

Almost thirteen years ago. He was walking along this beach holding that board. 

PERCY 

Was he hot? 

SALLY

Well, he was good-looking. Like you. And he was very gracious and friendly. He could light up a room just by walking into it. And we had a great summer together. 

PERCY

Yeah, I remember. 

He sits down with her. 

PERCY 

But then he died, right? 

SALLY

... Right. He had to go on a trip, and he was lost at sea. 

PERCY

Lost at sea. That’s what you always say. 

He looks down. 

SALLY

What’s wrong, son? 

PERCY

It’s just, I wish I knew more about him. I feel like I have some memory of him. Like this warm glow. But that can’t be real, can it? Because he died before I was born. So it’s all made up. 

He stands up and paces. 

PERCY

I just wish I could know more about him. I feel like I could understand everything about myself better if I just knew where I came from. Did he have the same problems as me? Did he have ADHD? Did he have dyslexia?

PERCY

I just got kicked out of school again, and now I’m just wondering if that would be happening if I had his help. 

A beat. 

SALLY 

Percy ... I think it’s time I told you something your father told me. 

PERCY

What? 

SALLY

... There’s a place he wanted you to go. When you were old enough. A place for people like you.  

PERCY

Like a school? 

SALLY

No, more like a summer camp. 

PERCY

A summer camp? 

SALLY

Yes. 

She stands up, still cradling cocoa. We hear the screen door outside SLAM. 

SALLY 

I’ve tried to do what was best for you, but it always involved sending you away. I thought the farther away you were, the safer you might be. But now it seems, nowhere is safe. This is the only place that’ll work. 

The screen door SLAMS again. 

PERCY

What do you mean? 

SALLY 

It’s the only place where someone like you will definitely be safe. But it might mean being away from you ... forever. 

Percy steps closer to her. SLAM. 

PERCY

What do you mean? 

SALLY 

There’s a place for you. It’s called - 

SLAM! The door bursts open! A brown hoof has kicked it in! And who steps through the door but Grover, serious as the grave. 

GROVER

I’ve been driving all night. You weren’t supposed to leave ‘til tomorrow! 

PERCY

Grover, what are you doing here?! 

GROVER

We have to go, quickly! They’re on our tail! 

PERCY 

Who? 

GROVER 

I’ll tell you in a second. 

(he turns to Sally)

It’s what we feared, Miss Jackson. It’s time to go. 

Sally looks sad for a second, then steels herself. 

SALLY

You’re right. It’s time to go. 

She casts the blanket around her shoulders off and pulls out her keys. 

SALLY 

We need to get to Long Island. 

 

END PILOT PART ONE