[Okun, Levinson and two other scientists go down the ladder into
the spaceship.]
Okun: Come on down... watch your step.
Levinson: Right.
Okun: Yeah.
[They're now standing inside the ship and walking between the cockpit
seats which look like upside-down tuning forks that are bent at the
split point.]
Okun: Obviously, this, uh, this cockpit was designed to seat three...
'though how they sat on them...I don't know.
Levinson: [In low voice] Gently...
[Levison sits in front of the controls, with Okun standing next to him.]
Okun: Eh... you see these gizmos flashing?
Levinson: Yeah?
Okun: We've been working around the clock, trying to get a fix on all this
crap; some stuff, we figured out right away. Eh... *this*, we're pretty
sure, is the life support system for the cabin...
[Coughs] ...and that this doohicky is connected to... [Rips the
joystick-like control from the panel by mistake] oh... ...*was*
connected to the engine...
Okun: Here. [Hands the gizmo to one of the scientists] Take that, will ya?
Okun: [Pointing to the yellow and green pattens on the alien display screen]
These configurations...eh... [Leans over to Levinson and speaks in a low
voice, as if embarrassed] well, to be honest with you, we, we don't know
what the hell this crap is...
Okun: [Touching long handles] But, *this* is clearly what they use to guide
and navigate their crafts.
[The gadgetry makes whirling sounds, and some controls lock into position.]
Heh, heh. [Pleased with himself] Neat, huh?
Levinson: Good. [Turning toward the other two scientists who are standing
behind him and Okun, some distance back] Uh, somebody, go grab my
laptop there?
Levinson: [Pointing to his bag] Dr. Issacs, can I have the computer
inside there?
Okun: Wha...
[Levinson punches away on his Apple PowerMacintosh laptop, the fastest
and best portable computer in the world.]
Levinson: See, these patterns are repeating sequentially, just like
their countdown signal. They're using that frequency for computer
communications.
Okun: [Dumbfounded] Huh?
Levinson: [Pointing to the display on his Mac] See? That's how
they coordinate their ships.
Okun: Huh... You know... [Leaning his head toward Levinson]
you're really starting to make us look bad.
[Cut to outside of the alien craft.]
Somebody: We got one! We got one alive!
[Back to the craft's interior]
Issacs: [Looking toward Okun and Levinson] They got one -- alive!
Okun: Jesus. [Toward Levinson] Look, you be okay by yourself, Dave?
Levinson: Fine, fine.
Okun: [Stops in his tracks, and turns around] Uh, don't touch anything?
[Everyone, except Levinson, climbs out]
Levinson: Why is everyone always telling me not to touch anything...
Levinson: [Pats the dashboard three times, in defiance] There.
[Then looks at his palm; some stuff has rubbed off on his hand.]
(Devlin and Emmerich didn't have much to say on the commentary
track. They mentioned how, when they were writing the Okun character,
they thought of the special effects supervisor, who has
long gray hair; that when they told Brent about it, he wanted to
look just like the supervisor, too.
Devlin commented how Brent is the "kind of actor who brings much
more [to the character] than what is written." (But he said the
same thing of Harvey Fierstein who played Jeff Goldblum's newsroom
boss. You might remember him better as Robin Williams' brother in
Mrs. Doubtfire.)
Emmerich said the deleted Okun/Levinson-scene was one of his
favorite scenes and it set up for later scenes, but that it had
to be cut for time reasons.)
<-Back
