"HELLBOY"

by

Guillermo del Toro

PRODUCTION DRAFT

6/14/03



OMIT

INT. DARKROOM - INTERVIEW 1

In a photographic DARKROOM: old optical enlargers, porcelain
trays, timers, and stills hanging out to dry.

GEORGE MATLIN, a slightly obese, nearsighted man in his
seventies.

OLD MATLIN
Is he real? Oh yeah -- Absolutely.

Super: CPL. GEORGE MATLIN, combat photographer.

OLD MATLIN
I haven't talked about it for years,
you know?
(looks at the camera)
Everyone called me crazy...

Matlin smiles as he paws through a box of old negatives.

OLD MATLIN
But I have the negative.

Someone turns on the darkroom's red safety light for an eerie,
dramatic effect.

TECHNICIAN'S VOICE
Get ready, 3-2-1... Roll tape.

OLD MATLIN
It all started back in �44. I was a
Corps photographer aboard an allied
submarine...

CUT TO:

INT. SUBMARINE HALLWAY - NIGHT

YOUNG MATLIN's hands again paw through a bunch of negatives,
again under a red light. Now, at 21, he's wedged in a
submarine corridor, a crowded maze of pipes and gauges.

35mm still cameras dangle from his neck. He shrinks back as
a squad of MARINES hustles past him, loading weapons.

OLD MATLIN'S VOICE
...off the coast of Scotland.
Classified mission. I was 21...

SGT. WHITMAN, 44, tough as nails, pushes through, his uniform
soaked in sweat.

OLD MATLIN'S VOICE
We had an English civilian on board.
Not much older than me but already
an advisor to President Roosevelt.
"Paranormal" advisor, I kid you not --

Whitman continues down the passageway until he reaches a
small...

INT. SUBMARINE STATEROOM - NIGHT

Within, an incongruously proper young Englishman "reading"
an ancient set of Tarot cards.

OLD MATLIN'S VOICE
His name was Trevor. Profesor Trevor --

WHITMAN
-- Broom! Topside, now.

TREVOR "BROOM" BRUTTENHOLM is a gaunt, olive-skinned man in
his late twenties. In his hands, a tarot deck. He turns the
cards face up: THE FOOL, THE MOON...

WHITMAN
The sooner we're done, the better.

Broom grabs a worn-down wooden box full of books and amulets.
It has a leather strap that allows him to carry it, much
like a carpenter's tool box.

BROOM
This is an important mission, Sgt.
Whitman. I hope you realize that.

WHITMAN
Oh -- you don't wanna know what I
think. Topside, now.

He moves away. Broom takes a small box and a few amulets.

Before exiting, he pauses and tensely turns the last TAROT
CARD: THE DEVIL.

CUT TO:

OMIT

INT/EXT. SCOTLAND - TUNNEL - NIGHT

Super: OCTOBER 9, 1944, SCOTLAND.

It's raining like hell now. Soldiers move through a short
tunnel carved into the mountain.

Whitman signals his men to spread out, then comes alongside
Broom.

BROOM
Sgt. Whitman!! Sgt. Whitman!! May I
have a word??

WHITMAN
(impatient)
What is it?

BROOM
In private, if you don't mind...

EXT. SCOTLAND CHAPEL REMAINS

They enter the remains of a small chapel. Broom produces the
small box. It's full of rosaries.

BROOM
Your men -- They'll need these --

Whitman scowls and huffs. A life-sized wooden Christ
contemplates the scene from above.

WHITMAN
You are a Catholic??

BROOM
Amongst other things, yes -- but
that's hardly the point.

Whitman locks and loads an automatic.

WHITMAN
Here. You'll need one of these.

BROOM
I abhor violence.
(Whitman moves away)
Sergeant Whitman, I hope you don't
think me mad --

WHITMAN
Three days too late for that one,
"professor."

He moves away. Broom looks up to the wooden Christ: It has
no eyes.

EXT. DITCH

MATLIN hauls his tripod and gear and joins the troops on the
move. Broom catches up with Whitman.

WHITMAN
You're wasting our time: There's
nothing on this island but sheep and
rocks.

BROOM
Ruins. Not rocks. The remains of
Trondham Abbey. Built on an
intersection of Ley Lines, the
boundaries between our world and the
other --

WHITMAN
(interrupts him)
What a load of crap. Hell, a week
ago I hadn't even heard the word
parabnormal --

BROOM
"Paranormal"
(Whitman moves on)
But -- you read the transmission.

WHITMAN
Half transmission. Nonsense -- German
ghost stories!

BROOM
I have seen ghosts, Whitman.

WHITMAN
Oh, I'll bet you have.

Reaching a slope, Matlin sets down his camera. Turning, he
sees lights.