Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Screenplay by BRIDGET O’CONNOR & PETER STRAUGHAN Based on the novel by John le Carré 1. 1 EXT. HUNGARY - BUDAPEST - 1973 - DAY 1 Budapest skyline, looking towards the Parliament building. From here the world looks serene, peaceful. Then, as we begin to PULL BACK, we hear a faint whine, increasing in volume, until it’s the roar of two MiG jet fighters, cutting across the skyline. The PULL BACK reveals a YOUNG BOY watching the jets, exclaiming excitedly in Hungarian. 2 EXT. BUDAPEST STREET - DAY 2 LATERALLY TRACKING down a bustling street, as the jets scream by overhead. Pedestrians look up. All except one man who continues walking. This is JIM PRIDEAUX. ACROSS THE STREET: More pedestrians. We’re not sure who we’re supposed to be looking at - the short stocky man? The girl in the mini skirt? The man in the checked jacket? A car driving beside Prideaux accelerates out of the frame. Across the street the girl in the mini-skirt peels off into a shop. The stocky man turns and waves to us. But it isn’t Prideaux he’s greeting but another passerby, who walks over, shakes hands. Now we’re left with Prideaux and the Magyar in the checked shirt, neither paying any attention to each other. Just as we are wondering if there is any connection, the two reach a corner and the Magyar, pausing to cross the road, collides with another passerby.