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byRoselyne BoschREVISEDSeptember 23, 1991 FADE IN:CREDITS AND MUSIC OVER:INT. AUDIENCE ROOM - GRANADA - DAYWe start on a mans elegant slipper. He is seated in asplendid chair. Moving up the stocking leg, we pass thegarter of Castile, coming to rest on a pair of delicatehands. His fore finge
AROJAZ
But you may have found new evidence
proving that these men of knowledge
are totally mistaken!
A ripple of mirthless laughter.
COLUMBUS
Your Excellencies are aware of the
statements of Marin de Tyr?
HERNANDO DE TALAVERA
We are.
COLUMBUS
Then you are also aware that his
theories contradict Ptolemeus... De
Tyr believes the Ocean to be only
750 leagues...
A murmur of protest spreads among the members of the
Commission. But Columbus is determined to press his
theories.
COLUMBUS
The Florentine Toscanelli and the
French Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly both
think that Marin de Tyr is accurate
in his calculations. And therefore,
that the ocean can be crossed.
Indignant and amused murmurs. DIEGO DE DEZA raises his
voice to quiet the assembly.
DIEGO DE DEZA
Gentlemen, let us suppose Marin de
Tyr is right...
(the laughter
subsides)
Are we here to examine this proposal
or not?
Silence.
DIEGO DE DEZA
(to Columbus)
In your opinion, how long would the
voyage be?
COLUMBUS
Seven weeks. Six, during the summer
months.
The murmur increases.
AROJAZ
Marin de Tyr is wrong -- and has
been corrected many times over the
centuries by the finest geographers.
Your voyage, Don Colon, would take a
year!
A MAN of simple bearing, that COLUMBUS identifies as
being a seaman, interrupts.
VICUNA
How would the crew survive without
being able to land for fresh water?
Water is undrinkable after six
weeks! You'd never be able to turn
back!
COLUMBUS
We wouldn't have to turn back! We
would find land at this point!
AROJAZ
Senor Colon, an experienced captain
such as yourself will understand our
concern with the crew. I am not
willing to have on my conscience the
loss of men who would have relied
upon our judgment.
COLUMBUS
Excellency, you are right.
Instantly, the protests stop.
COLUMBUS
I am a seaman, not a scholar... But
as a simple man craving for
knowledge, I have read all the work
of these renowned geographers and
discovered that none of them could
agree on the exact width of this
ocean...
He pauses, and starts walking in front of the experts, as
a lawyer before a grand jury.
COLUMBUS
Therefore, as a modest man, I
wonder: who is right?
The experts listen. CLOSE ON SANCHEZ'S FACE, impressed by
the boldness.
COLUMBUS
Who is right? This question remains
unanswered.
He walks and stops before TALAVERA, and catches the look
of SANCHEZ, sitting just behind him.
COLUMBUS
Your Eminence, there is only one way
to settle the matter. And that is
to make the journey.
(to the assembly,
with passion)
I am ready to risk my life to prove
it possible.
AROJAZ
Your life, and that of others!
COLUMBUS
If they agree to follow me, yes.
SANCHEZ (O.S.)
Suppose you cross this ocean.
Suppose you reach Asia. What would
Spain do there?
Conscious of a friendlier voice, COLUMBUS sees the
Treasurer SANCHEZ, an imposing man in his fifties.
COLUMBUS
Trade, Your Excellency. According
to Marco Polo, the Kingdom of China
is one of the richest of the world.
Even the meanest buildings are
roofed with gold.
AROJAZ
