#1 RANKED ORIGINS EASTER EGG PLAYER ACCORDING TO SOME JEWISH GUY
INCEPTION
By
Christopher Nolan
FADE IN:
DAWN. CRASHING SURF.
The waves TOSS a BEARDED MAN onto wet sand. He lies there.
A CHILD’S SHOUT makes him LIFT his head to see: a LITTLE
BLONDE BOY crouching, back towards us, watching the tide eat
a SANDCASTLE. A LITTLE BLONDE GIRL joins the boy. The Bearded
Man tries to call them, but they RUN OFF, FACES UNSEEN. He
COLLAPSES.
The barrel of a rifle ROLLS the Bearded Man onto his back. A
JAPANESE SECURITY GUARD looks down at him, then calls up the
beach to a colleague leaning against a JEEP. Behind them is a
cliff, and on top of that, a JAPANESE CASTLE.
INT. ELEGANT DINING ROOM, JAPANESE CASTLE - LATER
The Security Guard waits as an ATTENDANT speaks to an ELDERLY
JAPANESE MAN sitting at the dining table, back to us.
ATTENDANT
(in Japanese)
He was delirious. But he asked for
you by name. And...
(to the Security Guard)
Show him.
SECURITY GUARD
(in Japanese)
He was carrying nothing but this...
He puts a HANDGUN on the table. The Elderly Man keeps eating.
SECURITY GUARD
...and this.
The Security Guard places a SMALL PEWTER CONE alongside the
gun. The Elderly Man STOPS eating. Picks up the cone.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
(in Japanese)
Bring him here. And some food.
INT. SAME - MOMENTS LATER
The Elderly Man watches the Bearded Man WOLF down his food.
He SLIDES the handgun down the table towards him.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
(in English)
Are you here to kill me?
The Bearded Man glances up at him, then back to his food.
The Elderly Japanese Man picks up the cone between thumb and
forefinger.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
I know what this is.
He SPINS it onto a table- it CIRCLES gracefully across the
polished ebony... a SPINNING TOP.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
I’ve seen one before. Many, many
years ago...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES at the top mesmerized.
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
It belonged to a man I met in a
half-remembered dream...
MOVE IN on the GRACEFULLY SPINNING TOP...
ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN
A man possessed of some radical
notions...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES, remembering...
COBB (V.O.)
What’s the most resilient parasite?
CUT TO:
INT. SAME ELEGANT DINING ROOM - NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
The speaker, COBB, is 35, handsome, tailored. A young
Japanese man, SAITO, eats as he listens.
COBB
A bacteria? A virus?
Cobb gestures at their feast with his wine glassCOBB
An intestinal worm?
Saito’s fork pauses, mid-air. Cobb GRINS. A third man is at
the table- ARTHUR. He jumps in to save the pitchARTHUR
What Mr. Cobb is trying to sayCOBB
An idea.
Saito looks at Cobb, curious.
2.
COBB
Resilient, highly contagious. Once
an idea’s taken hold in the brain
it’s almost impossible to
eradicate. A person can cover it
up, ignore it- but it stays there.
SAITO
But surely-to forget...?
COBB
Information, yes. But an idea?
Fully formed, understood? That
sticks...
(taps forehead)
In there, somewhere.
SAITO
For someone like you to steal?
ARTHUR
Yes. In the dream state, conscious
defenses are lowered and your
thoughts become vulnerable to
theft. It’s called extraction.
COBB
But, Mr. Saito, we can train your
subconscious to defend itself from
even the most skilled extractor.
SAITO
How can you do that?
COBB
Because I am the most skilled
extractor. I know how to search
your mind and find your secrets. I
know the tricks, and I can teach
them to your subconscious so that
even when you’re asleep, your guard
is never down.
Cobb leans forwards. Holding Saito’s gaze.
COBB
But if I’m going to help you, you
have to be completely open to me.
I’ll need to know my way around
your thoughts better than your