Traffic: The Shooting Script

by Stephen Gaghan, Steven Soderbergh

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Director (Steven Soderburgh), Best Supporting Actor (Benicio Del Toro), Adapted Screenplay, and Editing. Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. In the Newmarket Shooting Script ® format, the only tie-in to the new film by Steven Soderbergh ( Erin Brockovich , Out of Sight ), a contemporary thriller set in the world of drug trafficking starring an ensemble cast that includes Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Albert Finney, and Don Cheadle—from USA Films. From a border policeman in Mexico caught in a web of corruption, to the conservative judge appointed by the President as the new anti-drug czar, to undercover DEA agents fighting a drug cartel, to the wife of a drug baron and the judge's drug-addicted teenage daughter, Traffic evokes the high stakes and high risks of the drug trade, as seen through a series of interrelated stories, some of which are highly personal and some of which are filled with intrigue and danger. The Newmarket book includes the complete shooting script, an introduction in the form of a conversation between Steven Soderbergh and Stephen Gaghan written especially for this edition, 30 b/w film stills, and the complete credits.

Genres: Film

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2001

Reviews

[ناصر سليم · Rating 5 out of 5]

سناریو نویس: استیون کاگان
کارگردان: سودربرگ
فیلم قاچاق که براساس سناریوی استیون گاگان ساخته شده یک نگاه تلخ و سوزانده به مسئله قاچاق مواد مخدر و یک مجموعه هماهنگ و خارق‌العاده و خارق العاده با حضور ستارگان هالیوود مانند کاترین زتاجونز و مایکل داگلاس و بازیگران ارزشمندی چون بنیسیو دل تورو و دانشی دل دارد.

برنده جایزه اسکار بهترین فیلمنامه

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traffic by Stephen Gaghan, Steven Soderbergh is included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list – on my blogs you find more than five thousand notes on films and books, from the NYT, The Greatest Books of All Time and other lists https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...

There is another perspective on Traffic and here is the link https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Traffic is an astounding motion picture

Steven Soderbergh is a fabulous film maker, he launched his career with the mesmerizing Sex, Lies and Videotape https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... one of the Greatest Movies of All Time
Traffic is a complex, overwhelming feature: Robert Wakefield aka fabulous Michael Douglas is appointed drug czar, but he has a major addiction problem within his own family – his daughter is near breaking point, she is taking drugs, and then her condition drags her into prostitution, selling herself for shots and this is one of the dramas

Helena Ayala aka Catherine Zeta Jones is married to a drug lord, who is in jail in the first part of the narrative, while his wife is facing many issues, money used to be coming in vast quantities, but now she has to face shortages, however, resilient, ruthless and determined as she is, Helena will find a way out of her crisis
Such a nice woman, we may think, she offers lemonade to the agents, Ray and Montelo, aka Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman, who are sitting in a van, outside her palazzo, waiting to see if there is any incriminating evidence, in her calls, visits, etc. – this is the appearance, but then we get to see the real thing…

The Taming of The Shrew https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... comes to mind, for this is a formidable Medusa, she will demand the killing of the witness that would send her spouse to prison for a long time, if not forever, and then she meets with a cartel boss…
Helena brings to the meeting with this Trafficante a doll, made of cocaine, under high pressure, it is an invention, a way to elude the customs, for the dogs could not sniff it, it is devious scheme, and she wants this deal

- The witness has to die, exclusive distribution deal and more

Javier Rodriguez aka Benicio Del Toro is another one of the many characters that make this universe so enticing, he is an undercover agent, penetrating one of the cartels, cooperating with the USA DEA agents – I thing that is the name of the agency – but very suspicious, seeming as his life and that of others are on the line
Javier asks the American duo that are supposed to work with him to come to the…pool, they talk while they are standing in water, because this way, he knows he will not be compromised, he can control the situation…

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence
Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Christopher Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the script of the 2000 film starring Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The story has 3 strands to it that covers various levels of the drugs trade and the fight against it. At the highest level we follow Robert Wakefield who is appointed by the President of the USA to head up the fight against drugs, only to discover that his own daughter is an addict. Secondly, we learn the story of Helena Ayala whose husband is arrested for drug trafficking, but who attempts to carry on the business while he is being tried. The final strand concerns 2 DEA agents who are protecting an informer due to testify at the trial of Helena's husband. I have not seen the movie which means at times the script was a little difficult to follow for me. This wasn't helped by the narrative often shifting from one strand to the other. So as a reading experience it wasn't great, but of course it should really be seen on the screen. As a result I will certainly be checking on several streaming services and if it come up, I will be sure to watch.