September 5 (2024)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Director: Tim Fehlbaum
Writers: Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, Georgina Rich, Corey Johnson, Marcus Rutherford
Plot: Set during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, this tense historical drama follows an American sports broadcasting team as they are thrust into the harrowing live coverage of the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. As the world watches in shock, the journalists must navigate the ethical and emotional challenges of reporting on one of the most tragic events in Olympic history.
* * *
(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYING)
ANNOUNCER: The 1972 Summer Olympics!
Nine days ago, the nations of the world marched into the Olympic Stadium in Munich, West Germany.
And you were there live for this historical moment!
It was a starting signal for a peaceful post-war Germany…
(STARTING GUN FIRES)
…to share itself with the world and an Olympics full of sporting sensations.
Now that more than half of the competition days are over, we at ABC Sports, show you how these pictures make their way from here in Munich to your home overseas.
The games of ’72 are the first in history to be broadcast live via satellite across the world.
An unprecedented technical apparatus was set up by the German organizers, and ABC Sports has live cameras everywhere.
We even placed one on the Olympic Tower, which gives us a nice aerial overview of the entire Olympic Village.
Hey look, that’s us!
From here, we send everything to the bird, as we call this technical marvel orbiting Earth, allowing us to bring the Games to you live and in color.
But daytime for you means night shift for us.
And we’re operating around the clock here in Munich to ensure you don’t miss a single moment of the action.
Stay tuned for many more highlights in the final days of these glorious Olympics.
(STARTING GUN FIRES)
(CROWD CHEERS)
COMMENTATOR: That’s a good start for Mark Spitz.
DONALD: Okay, now cam two in position.
Cam two.
Cam six.
COMMENTATOR: Now Spitz takes the lead.
DONALD: Cam one.
Underwater cams.
COMMENTATOR: Look at that style. Those powerful moves.
DONALD: Cut to 1.
COMMENTATOR: Spitz leaves the German swimmer
far behind.
DONALD: Now 2.
COMMENTATOR: He is about to write Olympic history here
by winning his seventh gold medal.
DONALD: Cam one, tighten in.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(CROWD CHEERS)
COMMENTATOR: And he did it! Spitz wins!
Yes!
Get ready for Spitz’s closeup.
No, go to the German first.
Sure?
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
Cam two, change of plans. Give me the German swimmer.
COMMENTATOR: Werner Lampe is devastated.
He even shaved his hair for this.
DONALD: Cam two, pan to Spitz.
COMMENTATOR: But nothing stops history.
Spitz climbs out of the pool and runs towards his parents.
I can’t believe it! Solid gold.
Tighter.
DONALD: All right, six, run over there.
Back him up, Charley.
Put six in preview.
That’s it, hold it. Now take six.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(MUSIC FADES)
COMMENTATOR 1: Finland was well represented
at these Olympic Games.
(PENCIL SCRIBBLING)
COMMENTATOR 1: They were somewhat favorites
but they were not expected to do as well as they did…
(GEOFF SIGHS)
…as you will see…
(PHONE RINGING)
(NEWS REPORT PLAYING OVER MONITOR)
GEOFF: Hello?
RECEPTIONIST: Good morning, Mr. Mason,
this is your wakeup call.
GEOFF: Thanks, I’m already awake.
COMMENTATOR 2: …Virén immediately got up and began to run again.
Turned out to be a key moment. Because at the end of the race,
who was it? It was Virén, the man who fell,
not only racing to victory,
but setting a new world record for the event.
Lasse Virén, the policeman from Finland.
(“FORTUNATE SON” PLAYING OVER RADIO)
♪ It ain’t me ♪
♪ I ain’t no millionaire’s son No, no ♪
♪ It ain’t me, it ain’t me ♪
♪ I ain’t no fortunate one, no ♪
(BIRDS CHIRPING IN DISTANCE)
(CAR BRAKE SCREECHING)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
(PARKING BRAKE RATCHETS)
(SIGHS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
MARVIN: Would you please prep all captions
for, uh, swimming and basketball?
Hey, Geoff?
Hmm?
Thank you.
TECHNICIAN: Sure.
You were supposed to be here before the show ends.
Hey, I’m a minute and 30 seconds early.
MARVIN: Right.
Oh, in New York, I’m five hours early.
That’s funny, because if you screw this up,
I’m the one in trouble with Roone.
So we need to go over the schedule.
Day starts with volleyball, 09:30,
Group D, covered by C Unit,
while B preps for the soccer prematch at 10:30.
All right, all right. You got it.
(INDISTINCT DISTANT CHATTER)
What?
Are you going on a date?
Just got off one. Your wife says hello.
JIM: (OVER MONITOR) …Jim McKay speaking to you…
AC is broken.
Ooh.
JIM: …and this concludes our daily report here
at the 20th Summer Olympics.
It’s now 4:00 a.m. here in Munich…
(TAPE MACHINE BUZZING)
…and soon the competition will begin again.
DONALD: Jim, set up the Spitz presser.
Mark Spitz, the American athlete
who set an alltime Olympic record
by winning seven gold medals, will be interviewed tomorrow,
only here, on ABC Sp
(TECHNICIAN GROANS) Come on, not again!
Jacques, what’s going on? Is it our feed?
No, it’s not.
Then why are my screens black?
The feed is clean.
Close with the stinger.
TECHNICIAN: All right.
Roll tape five.
(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYING OVER MONITOR)
ANNOUNCER: (OVER MONITOR) The Summer Olympics. Up close and personal.
The ABC way.
And we’re clear.
(ALARM BUZZING)
All right. Okay, it’s back to you, New York.
Great job, everyone.
BUnit’s turn tomorrow.
Enjoy your day off.
CAMERAMAN: Good night, Jim. See you on Thursday.
Good luck on your day, Mase.
Thanks, Don, enjoy the Alps.
DONALD: I will!
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(PHONE RINGING)
Uh, Roone, excuse me,
I’d like to do a handover with Geoff here, who I…
Did you check out Jennings’ Dachau piece?
Not yet, no.
Would you watch it and see if it’s any good?
I do have some concerns
about cutting from sports to the Holocaust.
Spitz is Jewish, right?
Since when am I ABC’s expert on Judaism?
He is. Spitz, he’s Jewish.
What time’s the presser?
GEOFF: 4:00 p.m.
There’s your leadin.
MARVIN: So, you wanna ask a Jew
about the Holocaust on live television?
ROONE: Yeah.
Ask him what it’s like to win a gold
in Hitler’s backyard. Do you guys wanna follow me?
Talk me through the day.
The day starts with volleyball.
It should be a pretty good match.
No US team.
Uh, then it’s soccer,
intermediate round.
Who?
GDR versus Mexico.
Morocco versus Denmark. Burma versus Malaysia.
There’s boxing.
The Great White Hope, he’s in quarters with Teófilo.
The Cuban?
GEOFF: Yeah. He’s pretty good.
He knocked down Denderys in 30 seconds. First round.
So, we lose, and the whole thing’s over in 30 seconds?
Doesn’t matter. It’s America versus Cuba.
You sure you want to bring in the politics?
It’s not about politics, it’s about emotions.
How about “Cold War Heats Up Again,
Cuba Launches Missile at America’s Hope”?
It’s too long, but good direction.
Has he ever done live coverage before?
Yeah, I di
He’s done golf tournaments.
And, uh, minor league baseball.
I’ll be back for the boxing.
No calls until ten. I promised my daughters.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
MARVIN: All right, good.
So, you prep that tease while I contemplate the demise
of my fellow Jews. Oh, jeez…
Looks like I’m spending another night here. Whoohoo.
No calls before ten. I promised myself.
(GEOFF SCOFFS)
You fixed that?
Yeah, on it.
Only about nine miles lie between the Serene Games center
and Germany’s darkest chapter in history.
Unimaginable atrocities
were committed at the Dachau concentration camp.
And yet, 27 years after the war,
it has become a place of remembrance.
Of reconciliation.
Thanks to the Olympic spirit.
A spirit that makes images possible
that seemed impossible before.
That’s exactly what the Olympics are all about, you know.
Um, like our fencing coach Andrei says,
we’re here and we can talk to Germans, um,
chat with athletes from Lebanon or Egypt.
This is what we’ve been dreaming about,
you know, it’s not just sports.
(SPEAKING GERMAN)
MARVIN: You’re German, right?
Uh, excuse me? You’re the new translator, yes?
Uh, can you do me a favor?
What…
What… what is…
(TAPE MACHINE WHIRRING)
What is Hans saying here?
(HANS SPEAKING GERMAN)
He is saying that the Games are an opportunity
to welcome the world to a new Germany,
to move on from the past.
Yeah, sure.
I mean, it’s what we all hope for.
What else can we do but move on, try to be better?
(BUTTON CLICKS)
Are your parents still around?
Yes.
Let me guess. They didn’t know either, right?
Well, I’m not them.
No.
No, you’re not. I’m sorry. (CLEARS THROAT)
I’m Marvin Bader.
I know. Head of Operations.
Hmm.
Yeah, I’m Marianne Gebhardt. Nice to meet you.
You too. Um, welcome to ABC.
(EQUIPMENT WHIRRING)
(SWITCH CLICKS)
I need to swap all cables.
Then do it.
Grumpy has no spares.
At least, not for a Frenchman.
(METALLIC RATTLING)
GEOFF: Hermann, we really don’t have any cables?
Hey! I’m talking to you. We need cables.
Your boss fills out paper. Gives it to my boss.
Then you get cable.
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING GERMAN OVER MONITOR)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Hey you.
(BUTTON CLICKS)
Has the old man already taken his nap?
Uh, I don’t know. He just left.
(SIGHS)
Any way I can help?
(IN GERMAN) Do you know what the Games cost us Germans?
Two billion Marks.
And then the Americans come along and complain the whole time.
I understand. You certainly have to deal with people’s whims all the time.
But you know what?
The whole world has its eyes on us
on our Munich.
And you contribute a great deal to making it happen.
(IN ENGLISH) You got this.
Yeah.
(HERMANN SIGHS)
(CABLES CLINKING)
Merci. Merci, Hermann!
(GUNSHOT IN DISTANCE)
(BREATHES SHARPLY)
(GUNFIRE IN DISTANCE)
Were those gunshots?
(IN GERMAN) Tell the Frenchman I still remember exactly what gunshots sound like.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
(LOW, OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(PHONE BUZZES)
(IN ENGLISH) ABC, Geoff Mason.
KENNETH: Hi, this is Kenneth Moore.
did you hear gunshots or something?
No, I haven’t heard anything.
KENNETH: Okay. You’ve got my number if you hear something.
Yeah, we’ll let you know, Mr. Moore.
Thank you.
KENNETH: Thank you. Goodbye.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
GEOFF: Hey.
Kenneth Moore just called.
Marathon runner?
GEOFF: Yeah.
He wanted to know if we heard gunshots.
So, it was gunshots.
GEOFF: What?
Uh, we heard gunshots. In the distance.
(ROTARY DIAL WHIRRING)
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
(MAN SPEAKING GERMAN OVER PHONE)
(IN GERMAN) Hello, Marianne Gebhardt speaking.
I’m calling from the studio of the ABC.
We heard gunshots…
(MAN SPEAKING GERMAN)
Do you already know more?
(MAN SPEAKING GERMAN)
I understand. Thanks.
(PHONE CLATTERS)
(IN ENGLISH) Police have already received several calls
and are investigating the matter.
And?
That’s all they said.
I could walk over to Bayerischer Rundfunk
and see what they know.
They are radio. They work late.
GEOFF: You know how these work?
I’m on channel two.
(RADIO STATIC CRACKLING)
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(BUTTON CLICKS, RADIO BEEPS)
(RADIO STATIC CRACKLING)
Uh, hey, sorry, can I borrow your receiver?
(MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO)
Sure.
And the headphones too, please.
Thank you, I’ll bring it back.
Thanks.
(JACQUES BLOWS AIR)
Still getting dropouts?
Yep.
JACQUES: How often?
GEOFF: Constantly.
(BUTTON CLICKS)
Jacques, can you sort this out on your Hey.
Morning.
Morning.
Gary, did you hear gunshots?
What?
Maybe it was just fireworks?
What did it sound like?
Like gunfire, Geoff.
What’s going on?
MARIANNE: (OVER RADIO) Anyone there?
You’re there, already?
MARIANNE: No, I’m walking over the bridge.
But I can see dozens of police cars already.
Where? In the Village?
MARIANNE: Yes. Whatever happened, it happened here.
I need to wake Bader.
(OMINOUS MUSIC GROWS LOUDER)
GEOFF: Marv. Get up.
(MARVIN MUMBLES)
GEOFF: Wake up. There’s been shots fired in the Olympic Village.
MARVIN: Shots?
Yeah. Fucking shots!
Gunshots?
GEOFF: Yeah.
I don’t know. Then they say that there’s a ton of police.
You serious?
GEOFF: Yeah.
Come on!
MARIANNE: Can you hear me?
Yeah, go ahead.
MARIANNE: The phones won’t stop at the Rundfunk.
A friend here heard the shots were fired
in the Israelis’ apartments.
Give it to me, give it. Uh…
This this is Bader. What are we talking about here?
Anyone hurt?
MARIANNE: Rumor is hostage taking.
Hostages? Wait, uh, who?
MARIANNE: I don’t know. Uh, but the BR will say something
on their six o’clock news.
Go to the control room, call Roone.
Roone?
MARVIN: Yeah, just Yeah, call him.
And I’ll get Jennings.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
Oh…
Jesus Christ!
(ROTARY DIAL WHIRRING)
(RECEPTIONIST SPEAKING OVER PHONE)
Roone Arledge’s room, please.
RECEPTIONIST: Mr. Arledge doesn’t want to be disturbed.
Trust me, he’s gonna want to be woken up for this.
RECEPTIONIST: I’m sorry, sir
Just connect me now, please.
(DIAL TONE CLICKS, RINGS)
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
(DIAL TONE RINGING)
ROONE: (OVER PHONE) Hello?
Roone, Geoff Mason.
ROONE: I said not to disturb me.
I understand that.
But… but there’s a hostage situation
going on right now in the Olympic Village.
ROONE: What’re you talking about?
I’m talking about a hostage situation.
And it gets worse. It’s in the Israeli quarters.
ROONE: Is this confirmed?
Not yet, but
Geoff.
(RADIO HOST SPEAKING GERMAN)
Wait, they’re about to say something on the German radio.
I’m gonna put you on the speaker.
(BEEP OVER RADIO)
(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING GERMAN)
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING GERMAN OVER RADIO)
Marianne.
Can you translate this?
MARIANNE: Let me check my receiver.
MARIANNE: There have been reports
of shots being fired inside the Olympic Village.
MARIANNE: Reports, that have not yet been confirmed by the police,
say that the Israeli team
may have been attacked by socalled terrorists.
(RADIO STATIC CRACKLES)
ROONE: I’ll be there in 20.
(DIAL TONE CLICKS)
Get the crew in.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
GEOFF: So, wake him up. I don’t know.
We need as many bodies as possible.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Priority are camera.
Tell them the bus leaves in ten minutes.
Okay? And don’t forget to bring Carter.
Is it confirmed?
Yeah. It’s definitely gunshots, definitely the Israelis.
And this is from?
German radio.
We can’t quote another station? A second source?
We got a wire.
“One, possibly two Israeli athletes killed at Olympic Village.”
“Arab guerrillas likely took hostages.”
Let me see that, Gary.
Peter, what are we dealing with here?
PLO. PFLP. Or…
worst case, Black September.
You know the political background.
You report from the inside. Okay?
PETER: Okay. Where are the Israelis housed?
MARVIN: Israel.
Connollystrasse 31.
They’re here.
Well, this…
should give us a good angle.
MARIANNE: (OVER RADIO) Geoff.
(CLAMOR OVER RADIO)
MARIANNE: Seems like the police will seal the Village.
REPORTER: (OVER RADIO) Hurry up!
MARIANNE: Reporters here are rushing to get in now.
Fuck.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Peter, what’s the situation?
I’m going in.
But we need a cameraman.
(DOOR OPENS)
MARVIN: This is the Israelis’ building…
Where’s the crew?
GEOFF: First shuttle is on its way.
So, when’s Jim coming in?
It’s his day off.
I didn’t call him.
We need Jim for this.
GEOFF: All right.
All Right?
(CLEARS THROAT)
What time do we have the bird today?
3:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
No. We need the breakfast slot.
Jim McKay’s room.
Then you need to sweettalk CBS.
GEOFF: Hi Margaret, is Jim there?
(MARGARET SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER PHONE)
He’s in the pool, he’s doing his morning laps.
Who’re you talking to?
His wife.
Give me that, would you?
Margaret, it’s Marv.
MARGARET: Hi, Marv.
MARVIN: Uh, would you please…
We’re all ready to go, but still no cameramen here yet.
What about him?
MARVIN: Thank you.
He’s just an assistant.
Hey, what’s your name?
BEN: Uh, Ben.
Ben, you ever hold a camera before?
Yeah.
ROONE: Know how to change film?
Sure.
Okay. There’s your guy.
News will want to take over soon.
I’ll talk to them.
MARVIN: As soon as he can,
would be
(MARGARET SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Thank you so much. I And I hope we didn’t ruin
(DIAL TONE CLICKS, BEEPS)
Jim’s gonna anchor.
Okay. We need someone at the press center.
Well, I doubt Hans is releasing anything
at this point.
ROONE: What about you?
You know him. If anything happens,
we’d be the first to know.
Yeah. Let’s… let’s have Geoff coordinate the setup while I’m gone.
Not on his first day with AUnit.
Right? How about Ohlmeyer?
He’s on a hiking trip in the Alps.
Maddock?
MARVIN: Keep trying him, no answer.
But it’s early, so…
ROONE: I’ll handle CBS and the satellite.
You get me something to feed the bird.
MARVIN: Okay.
All right.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
So, what do we air?
Whatever info I get from Klein.
GEOFF: I’m talking visual.
We’re just gonna show Jim talking?
We can’t do that.
The footage that Ben shoots
is gonna take 20 minutes to develop.
We have to have a live image.
Can we use that mobile unit? The guys with the backpack?
GEOFF: That’s only wideangle.
We need a long lens. Christ, it’s happening right there!
Wait, we’re…
We’re here?
MARVIN: Yeah.
So why don’t we…
just wheel out one of the studio cams?
You can put it right here.
Gives us a live shot of the apartment.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
MARVIN: Anything on the hostages yet?
Only mixed information.
Well, call around to get things doublechecked.
All right? And, you have a walkie.
Okay?
Yeah.
Channel four.
Okay.
Robert? Uh, coffee, aspirin,
and a list of today’s slots on the satellite.
Right away.
(ROTARY DIAL WHIRRING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
GEOFF: All right.
All right, you know what happened.
Let’s get to work.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
I need four men in the studio.
STAFFER: Yeah.
So, you’re the big boss now?
Come with me.
We’re gonna take cam two outside.
We’re gonna go live with it.
You… you do know how heavy those are?
CARTER: The wiring will be tricky.
I trust you’ll get it.
CARTER: Yeah.
You, too, Frenchie. C’mon.
Yeah.
(IN GERMAN) Hello, this is Marianne from the DOZ.
Could you put me through to Michael Korth?
(FEMALE VOICE SPEAKING GERMAN OVER PHONE)
CLAIRE: (IN ENGLISH, OVER PHONE) There’s nothing I can do.
CBS has had that slot booked for months.
Listen to me. It’s a public interest story.
And people are gonna want to see it live.
And we are the only people capable of doing that.
CLAIRE: I get that, Roone, but
Okay, hang on.
I got the schedule.
CLAIRE: Listen, I understand…
Aspirin?
We ran out of them.
…but there’s just no way I can give up
the afternoon slot. Never mind.
(BUTTON CLICKS)
Okay. (CLEARS THROAT)
This is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna swap.
So, you’re gonna take the three o’clock slot,
and we’re gonna take the noon time.
CLAIRE: You really think it will be done by then?
Yeah. The Germans are gonna have this taken care of in no time.
So, we have a deal?
CLAIRE: Fine.
Excellent. ABC owes CBS one.
MARVIN: (OVER RADIO) Geoff, are you there?
Talk to me, Marv.
MARVIN: I’m at the press center.
Hans Klein got word from the Olympic Committee,
the Games must go on.
Do they really think people
are gonna care about sports today?
MARVIN: Good news is two Israelis escaped
during the attack and Hold on a sec.
They just confirmed the injured coach died.
Moshe Weinberg.
Shot twice in the head, once in the gut.
Terrorists demanded Israel release
over 200 Palestinian prisoners by noon.
If not, they kill one hostage every hour.
Jesus Christ.
Are they negotiating?
MARVIN: I don’t know.
So, should I pass this along to Roone?
MARVIN: Geoff, you have to be the center of everything now.
Not just the control room. All communication, everything.
Geoff?
Yeah, I got it. All communication, everything.
ABC headquarters called. They want News to take over.
Tell them we’ll be in touch.
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
JACQUES: On the left…
What the hell are you guys doing?
Trying to get a live shot of the apartment.
Get the viewers right into the action.
Who are the hostages?
Uh…
Uh, Bader just… He confirmed that one of them died. Uh
Moshe Weinberg. I read the wire.
GEOFF: Right.
But who’s inside that apartment?
(PHONE RINGING)
We don’t know yet.
Then we find out.
Who are they?
What’s their background? Do they have a family?
There’s no point in aiming this thing at the building
if the viewer doesn’t know the people inside.
Okay.
ROBERT: Roone.
Headquarters on the line again.
I can’t hold them back any longer.
Right. Don’t fuck it up, Mason.
Okay.
I got the bird, live at noon.
GEOFF: All right.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Marv, do we have any more information
on who the hostages are?
MARVIN: No. Marianne is on it.
MARIANNE: (OVER RADIO) Yes, I’m on it.
Where are you?
MARIANNE: Editing room.
Okay, I’m coming to you. Great.
Get this sucker outside.
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING OVER PHONE)
MARIANNE: (IN GERMAN) You mentioned ten hostages in apartment one?
So there are five weightlifters left.
GEOFF: (IN ENGLISH) What do you got?
MARIANNE: (IN GERMAN) Thanks, Michael. I owe you one.
(IN ENGLISH) I need to confirm this first.
Mister Bader, do you read me?
MARVIN: (OVER RADIO) Marianne, what’ve you got?
My source at the BR told me
there are ten hostages. Five coaches and five athletes.
MARVIN: Okay. Lines up with my info.
Also, we’ve been told
the Palestinians attacked apartments one and three.
After crossreferencing that
with the housing plans and who slept where,
I think
JACQUES: (OVER RADIO) Hey, Geoff.
GEOFF: Yeah.
JACQUES: I think we found a good spot.
Coming.
Get that to me in the control room as soon as you’re done.
So, I’d say the five athletes being held
are Romano, Slavin, Friedman, Berger, and Halfin.
MARVIN: Wait. Berger? David Berger?
Yes. Why?
(ALARMS BLARING IN DISTANCE)
You guys think you’ll get it up there?
JACQUES: (OVER RADIO) Yes, almost done.
Okay.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GARY: (OVER RADIO) Geoff, we have Jennings on the phone.
Coming.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Jennings, it’s Geoff Mason.
PETER: (OVER PHONE) You’re running things?
Yeah. So, where are you?
PETER: I’m on a balcony in the Italian compound.
It’s a good spot.
JJ.
PETER: I’ve got a direct view of 31. And I’m not alone up here.
The other balconies are full of reporters and photographers,
all of us waiting for something to happen.
So, what, nothing’s going on?
PETER: No. Police are just milling around.
Doesn’t seem like they’ve even started negotiating yet.
There’s an eerie silence.
MARIANNE: Geoff.
PETER: You can actually hear the cameras clicking.
They’re too small.
Get those to Judy. Three times bigger.
All right.
And there’s a report Mr. Bader watched earlier
that has an interview with one of the hostages.
David Berger, a former American.
PETER: There’s movement at the apartment.
The door on the secondfloor balcony
is opening.
Someone’s peering out.
Jennings, what’s happening?
PETER: Someone’s on the balcony.
Wearing some kind of a mask.
Now he’s going back in.
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
PETER: Ben down there caught it all on 16 mil.
I wish you could get this shot, Mason.
Yeah, I’ll send a runner.
PETER: No chance.
Police sealed off the entire area.
Only athletes can get past.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
GARY: All right, now.
(ADHESIVE TAPE SCREECHING)
Good luck.
Thanks.
Nice, man.
So, we have loaded mags, sandwiches, walkies, long lens,
cigarettes for Jennings.
So, what if they search me?
Don’t worry. From now on, you are officially an athlete.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
PETER: (OVER PHONE) A man’s stepping out of the apartment now.
White suit, white hat, face painted black.
Must be the leader of the group.
He’s waving at the cameras.
STAFFER: Geoff.
PETER: A policewoman’s walking up now.
All by herself. Unarmed.
Looks like she’s handling the negotiations.
Good. Pin these up on there.
PETER: He seems to have a grenade in his hand.
God. (SIGHS)
Jennings, how close are you?
PETER: A hundred, 130 feet.
Maybe you should get away from there.
PETER: Kill radius is only 16 feet.
I’ve been in the Middle East.
All right, but be careful.
Gary’s on his way.
Do we have someone on the Tower yet?
Channel 6.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
(RADIO BUTTON CLICKS)
Tower cam, read.
CAMERAMAN: (OVER RADIO) Copy.
GEOFF: Can you give me an image?
Show me the entrance to the Village.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Push in on that.
There. Hah! Go, Gary!
GLADYS: Yes! He’s in.
(CREW CHEERS)
JACQUES: Yeah. He made it. (LAUGHS)
MARVIN: Hey, people. Get BR on the radio.
The police chief’s making
his first official statement right now.
(MANFRED SPEAKING GERMAN OVER RADIO)
Marianne.
(MANFRED SPEAKING GERMAN)
The perpetrators demand
that 200 persons be released…
who are in Israeli hands.
If these 200 persons are not released,
they will shoot one hostage every hour starting at noon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Can’t you tell us something we don’t know?
MARIANNE: Someone’s asking the chief of police
if he thinks it was a mistake
that the Olympic Village had no armed police.
Of course it was!
I guess they didn’t want the world to be reminded
of the last time armed Germans patrolled fences.
So, Germany’s makeover is more important than people’s safety?
C’mon. This isn’t our business. That is our business.
And in less than an hour, we go live.
ROONE: We’re not giving this story to News.
MALE VOICE: (OVER PHONE) But why?
Well, because we’re in Munich.
We’re a 100 yards… away from where it’s happening.
MALE VOICE: Roone, just leave it.
We’re not giving it to anyone.
Yeah, Sports is keeping this.
MALE VOICE: Roone, this is just not your field.
It’s just that News…
That’s it.
(PHONE CLATTERS)
(PHONE RINGING IN DISTANCE)
PETER: (OVER PHONE) Now it looks like the negotiations are happening.
German politicians
and the leader in the white suit are talking.
Whatever they’re discussing,
honestly, I can’t imagine the Prime Minister Golda Meir
and the Knesset will respond in any way to blackmail.
It’s so ironic.
I’ve been the Middle East expert in Beirut for five years,
and yet, I have never gotten this close
to the ArabIsraeli conflict. Hang on one second, Peter.
Can we get his voice live when we go on air?
I’ll give it a shot.
MARVIN: Jennings, this is Bader.
Any idea how many Palestinians are inside?
PETER: We’ve seen a lot of heads popping out of windows.
These men are definitely professionals.
I suspect they’re deliberately trying
to create confusion.
There’s a second commando on the balcony now,
brandishing his submachine gun like a threat.
Fucking Arabs.
JACQUES: Hey, watch it.
My mother is from Algeria.
I’m not talking about your mother.
Hey. Come on.
Just the bad Arabs?
PETER: Whatever conception you have of Arabia or Arabs,
you need to understand how sensitive this situation is.
This is no longer the Olympics.
Thank you, Peter, for, uh, clarifying.
It does bring up a good question. (HESITATES)
What should we call them on the air?
PETER: In News, we would refer to them as commando guerrillas.
Commando? That sounds like we’re in Vietnam or something.
What was it they called them on German radio?
“Terrorists.”
ROONE: What was that?
They used “terrorists.”
Okay. Let’s… let’s go with that.
PETER: That’s a charged term.
PETER: Terrorism is the organized and systematic use
of violence against civilians to affect a political goal.
Isn’t that pretty much what’s happening here?
PETER: Nobody knows yet what is happening here.
So we have to be very careful about everything we say on air.
No offense guys, but you’re Sports.
You’re in way over your head. News should take over.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
(SIGHS) Peter, just call us back in a couple of minutes.
(GROANS)
He might be right.
Okay, look, I know this isn’t a responsibility
that everyone wants.
But does it make more sense
to have a talking head from News take over
from halfway across the fucking world?
Our job is to tell the stories of these individuals,
whose lives are at stake, 100 yards away.
And our job is really straightforward.
We put the camera in the right place,
and we follow the story as it unfolds in real time.
News can tell us what it all meant
after it’s over. And I’m sure they’re gonna try.
But this is our story.
And we’re keeping it.
All right, you heard the boss. We have 45 minutes left.
Do we have an opener yet?
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BAG UNZIPS)
GARY: It’s a 50 and a 250.
JUDY: All right.
STAFFER: Four fresh rolls, 50 daylight.
Okay.
(ZIPPER CLOSES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(STATIC FEEDBACK CRACKLING)
GEOFF: Ready?
JUDY: Ready.
(EQUIPMENT WHIRRING)
That’s our opener.
(PHONE RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Cam two, that’s good, but I need the balcony
to be at the very center of the shot, Charley.
CAMERAMAN: (OVER RADIO) You got it, Kubrick.
Tower cam, get nice and close on that roof.
You gotta push in.
Yeah, keep going in.
There you go.
ROONE: Okay.
Talk me through.
Yeah. So, we have Jim on cam one.
Cam two has a live shot of the balcony.
Tower cam has an aerial view
of the entire Olympic Village and can zoom in.
We got 16 millimeter footage
on tape machines three through six.
(STATIC FEEDBACK SHRILLING)
And we can now hear Jennings live on the air.
We also have an overview of the hostages.
Plus an interview with one of them. David Berger.
It’s ready for playback.
Good work.
Five minutes, everyone!
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Five minutes, take your positions.
Tower cam, I want you to start
with an establishing pan over the spectators.
And then push in.
I want a gutpunch closeup of that terrorist.
Uh, Geoff, can you… can you turn it down a notch?
It’s not track and field.
It’s They threatened to kill people.
Is the noon deadline confirmed?
Uh, yeah.
What do I tell the cameras?
MARVIN: (HESITATES) What do you mean?
I mean, can we show someone being shot on live television?
(BREATHES HEAVILY) We can’t control what happens.
No, wait, wait, wait.
We’re the only station going live with this.
Which means everyone will be watching us,
including the hostages’ families.
Okay, okay. Hallway.
(DOOR OPENS)
All right, everyone, stay on your headsets.
You don’t want anybody
to see their kid executed on live television.
Of course not, Marv
MARVIN: So, I… I don’t know about the Israelis,
but David Berger’s folks are in Ohio.
So I’m pretty sure they’ll watch.
Well, someone should tell them not to watch it.
But we have a bigger responsibility here.
What about the sponsors?
The sponsors are not gonna be concerned.
All they care about are viewers.
Guys. We have two minutes.
Okay.
So, uh, is that what we’re trying to achieve here?
Ratings?
No. We’re just…
We’re following the story
wherever it takes us.
All right.
Then let me ask you this, let me ask you this.
Black September,
they know that the whole world is watching, right?
That’s why they chose the Olympics.
If, I’m saying if, they shoot someone
on live television…
Right, whose story is that?
Is it ours, or is it theirs?
How about this? If things get tense,
we only leave the 16 millimeter running.
That gives us plenty of time to decide
whether we air it or not.
Yeah, that’s it.
Hmm?
That’s it. Yeah.
That’s it. That’s It.
Thank you, Geoff.
Thirty seconds to open.
(PHONE RINGING)
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: And here we go.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
GEOFF: Jim ready yet?
We’re last looks.
GEOFF: Comm check, one, two.
CAMERAMAN 1: (OVER RADIO) All set.
Cam one, tight on Jim.
CAMERAMAN 1: Right down on me.
Two on preview. Tower cam, stay wide on building 31.
CAMERAMAN 2: Got it.
Gladys, opening title on five.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Clear the frame, please.
TECHNICIAN: Fifteen seconds.
Title one ready for insert.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Okay, people. And…
ten, nine,
eight, seven…
GEOFF: Roll two.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: …six, five…
ROONE: If things do get tense,
go to the onlookers,
we’ll cut to reaction shots, right?
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: …two, one. We’re on.
Roll two. Opening title on five.
(TIMER TICKING)
GEOFF: Ready one. Take one.
Jim, you’re on.
JIM: (OVER MONITOR) Good morning, I’m Jim McKay
speaking to you live
at this moment from ABC headquarters,
just outside the Olympic Village in Munich,
West Germany.
Cam two on preview.
JIM: The peace of what had been called
the “Serene Olympics”…
GEOFF: Dissolve to two.
JIM: …was shattered just before dawn this morning
about five o’clock…
GEOFF: Ready three.
JIM: …when terrorists
armed with submachine guns…
GEOFF: Dissolve to three.
JIM: …faces blackened,
climbed the fence…
GEOFF: Ready one.
…went to the headquarters
of the Israeli team…
GEOFF: Dissolve to one.
…and immediately killed one man,
Moshe Weinberg, a coach.
Two shots in the head, one in the stomach.
They’ve been holding 14 others hostage since then,
and the latest report is that one more
has been killed.
Ready two. Take two.
Peter Jennings is inside the Village.
Let’s go to Peter now.
PETER: (OVER PHONE) Jim, I’m directly across
from the Israeli building.
It will be a famous number before long.
Thirtyone. It is on Connollystrasse.
The reports here vary dramatically
as to what is going on.
JIM: Peter, do we already know
who is responsible for the attack?
PETER: (BREATHES DEEPLY) There is a great deal of speculation
one could indulge in,
which would be risky, but if I were to guess,
I would most likely narrow in
on a group called Black September.
That, however, is pure speculation.
Back to one.
JIM: Something that is not speculation
is that one of the hostages
is David Berger, 26 years old, a former United States citizen,
we are told by the Israelis. Moved there about two years ago.
He’s in the light heavyweight class.
Roll tape one.
JIM: After receiving a law degree
from Columbia University…
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Five, four…
JIM: …Berger failed to qualify for the U.S. team.
…three,
two, one, ready to go.
JIM: To fulfill his dream of the Olympics,
he emigrated to Israel. Two days ago,
he was interviewed by Peter Jennings
for an ABC color piece.
Hit it.
That’s what the Olympics are all about, you know.
We’re here, we can talk to Germans, uh,
chat with athletes from Lebanon or Egypt.
This is what we’ve been dreaming about.
You know. It’s not just sports.
Back to one. Clean.
(BUTTON CLICKS)
I’m gonna get back to Hans Klein and wait for the latest.
GEOFF: Bird, caption on my cue.
And now.
JIM: Ladies and gentlemen,
these dreams have been shattered
by this terrible, terrible attack.
The terrorists have demanded the release of some 200
Arab guerrilla prisoners in Israel
in exchange for the lives of Israeli athletes.
And they had set a deadline of noon,
saying that they were going to kill
all of their hostages at that time.
That deadline obviously has passed,
so nobody knows what is gonna happen now.
GARY: Same as last time.
JUDY: Got it.
(TAPE MACHINE WHIRRING)
HANK: I can’t believe she’s the negotiator.
She doesn’t strike me as the hardboiled type.
Well, if the terrorists underestimate her like you do,
she probably has a chance to get information.
Just look.
She’s asking him for a cigarette.
No, no, no. She’s earning his trust.
(SCOFFS)
I just wish I could hear what she’s saying.
(TAPE MACHINE CLICKS)
The Olympics, at this moment, are still continuing.
It’s a very strange atmosphere.
As I said, we’re only about 500 yards from this building here.
Roll tape four.
JIM: Within 200 yards from where that building is,
there is a kind of a manmade pond,
not a formal swimming pool,
but a very lovely pond, with a little dock,
where the athletes lie out and take sun.
And that’s what they’re doing right now.
They’re out there sunning themselves, they’re swimming,
talking about technique
with athletes of other countries.
And yet, this grim, terrible thing
is taking place inside the Village.
Three hundred yards closer,
well, take a look at this right now,
this is a live picture.
Action in boxing going on, a crowded arena.
Here at the Boxhalle in, uh… in… in Munich,
Volley… volleyball is also taking place, incidentally.
Duane Bobick…
I’ll make sure we still have the bird.
…who was scheduled to fight at just…
What’s he talking about? Don’t we still have three?
He swapped slots.
JIM: The Arab nations that are here
are Algeria, Saudi Arabia…
(STAFFERS EXCLAIM)
JIM: …Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon…
Guys!
JIM: …Sudan, Syria…
TECHNICIAN: Sorry, boss.
JIM: …Tunisia, Morocco. They’re all here.
No word from them as yet.
Uh, no indication if there will be any statement…
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
(STATIC FEEDBACK HUMMING, CRACKLING)
Can we get a cup of coffee, please?
(INDISTINCT GERMAN RADIO CHATTER)
CARTER: Great.
You just sent away the one person who could understand this.
PETER: (OVER PHONE) Something’s happening here in Connollystrasse.
It seems like they’re bringing in food now.
If you ask me, these are policemen
dressed as cooks.
Tower, keep tracking them.
My halfblind grandmother could tell these cooks are cops.
CLAIRE: (OVER PHONE) Roone, again. NBC has that satellite at three.
What’s your suggestion?
ROONE: Change it, that’s my fucking suggestion.
They can’t have the slot.
You guys will think of something.
I gotta keep going.
PETER: Looks like they’re proving
the food isn’t poisoned.
Now the cooks seem eager to carry in the food,
but the leader takes it from them…
goes in alone.
Whatever the Germans tried to achieve here, it failed.
NEWS PRESENTER: The longrange forecast said today
that high radiation level
To Smith’s illegal regime
(BOTH SPEAKING HEBREW)
(PHONE CLATTERS)
JIM: Peter Jennings is still in the Italian team’s…
GEOFF: Yeah?
I’m watching Channel 11, Israeli TV.
Um, who is that?
Give me Channel 11.
JIM: …but it is not yet clear
how they can handle this hostage situation…
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(SPEAKING HEBREW)
JIM: I think that’s Tuv… Tuvia Sokolsky.
He is one of the Israelis who escaped.
ROONE: Why don’t we have him?
Larry, run over to their lot, grab that guy,
bring him here.
I’m on it.
And tell JJ we’re hungry.
And not German food, please.
DISPATCHER: (IN GERMAN, OVER RADIO) All units around the Olympic Village, keep your position.
POLICE OFFICER: (OVER RADIO) Do you have any news from the negotiations?
DISPATCHER: The leader has postponed the ultimatum to 5 p.m.
What’s all that mean?
New ultimatum is 5:00 p.m.
JIM: And we’re moving in now on the windows,
behind which at this moment
nine terrified living human beings
are being held prisoner.
The demands have been many There is someone right now.
Uh, certainly has to be one of the guerrillas.
One of them is believed to be a woman.
And this has happened time and time and time again.
The door opening, the head coming out
to see what is going on.
Chuck, play that back in slomo, will you?
(TAPE MACHINE WHIRRING)
JIM: We see the moment again here in slow motion.
(PHONE RINGING)
JIM: It’s been such
a terribly tantalizing symbol…
Hmm?
JIM: …of this situation.
Okay.
Master Control wants a block of five. Now.
JIM: What’s going on inside that head?
Jim, commercial break in ten seconds.
JIM: We’re gonna take a very short station break
at this point. And hopefully, when we get back,
we have at least some answers for you.
Drop to commercial.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: And we’re clear.
ANNOUNCER: (OVER MONITOR) The Kodak XL Movie Camera.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Back in three.
ANNOUNCER: This is the camera and film that lets you take movies
without movie lights…
Let’s see what’s on the competition.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER TV)
Still the only ones providing live coverage.
Yeah, seems like it.
(IN GERMAN) The situation in the Olympic Village remains unclear.
Meanwhile, the pressure on the Olympic Committee
to halt the Games is mounting.
We asked athletes what they think.
(IN ENGLISH) My heart is very heavy today.
As an athlete and as an Arab,
I would like to express my solidarity
with my Israeli colleagues.
And I pray that everything ends well.
Excuse me, may I ask you if you heard anything…
Hey, this is Gary.
…this morning in the Village?
GARY: (OVER TV) Uh, no.
(ALL CHUCKLE)
REPORTER: What is your discipline?
Weightlifting.
(ALL CHUCKLE)
REPORTER: Any comment on the current situation?
(DOOR OPENS)
No, I gotta go.
Guys? Guys. He’s here.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Thirty seconds.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
TECHNICIAN 1: Okay, for me.
TECHNICIAN 2: Master Control, we are ready for take over.
Hey Jim, it’s Roone.
So, this is about as close as you’re gonna get
to the hostages. Make it count.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: And five, four, three, two, one.
Take one.
We’re coming to you live from ABC headquarters
in Munich, West Germany. I’m sitting right now
with a man who has just come into the studio.
His name is Tuvia Sokolsky.
He is on the extreme left here.
The gentleman in the middle is Nasim Javidi,
translator for the Israeli team.
Mr. Sokolsky does not speak English.
(PHONE RINGING)
He is the coach of the weightlifters…
(PHONE CLATTERS)
…and came out of that room today.
Roone.
JIM: Would you ask him just to tell us, briefly…
They wanna talk to you.
JIM: …what happened today.
(NASIM SPEAKING HEBREW OVER MONITOR)
(TUVIA SPEAKING HEBREW OVER MONITOR)
ROONE: Yeah.
CLAIRE: (OVER PHONE) Roone.
We need our slot back immediately!
I tried to negotiate for you.
(SPEAKING HEBREW)
“At about 4:30 this morning,
I heard I was fast asleep, when I woke up and…”
Geoff. Geoff!
Tell Jim we’re about to lose the satellite.
What? We’re in the middle of the interview.
In a couple of seconds, all anyone is gonna see
is a black screen.
You have to tell him to say something.
(CLAIR SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Jim? Jim, CBS is taking the satellite.
Look, we can keep recording, but wrap the segment up.
I’m sorry, we’ve run out of time.
We’d like to continue the interview on tape.
And we’ll have it later.
We’re losing the satellite right now.
The Arab guerillas are still in the Israeli quarters.
One man is dead, Mr. Javidi tells me,
another man is now definitely dead,
but we don’t know his identity as yet.
The tense battle goes on, the deadline, five o’clock,
that’s in an hour and 45 minutes.
Jim McKay, as the Olympics continue
in Munich, West Germany.
Dissolve to five.
(ALL COMPLAIN)
Goddamn it.
Five minutes?
We’re in the middle of something.
GEOFF: What are we doing?
What’s going on?
CBS insisted on the slot.
They said they’re keeping it, unless we share the feed.
Why can’t we share?
When do we get it back?
ROONE: Well…
What?
When do we get it back?
I don’t know.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Um, we could give it to CBS,
but we could show our logo in the stream.
What do you mean?
Well, just put “ABC” up there.
Um, and just leave it there constantly in the top corner.
GEOFF: What transmission are you talking?
Well, it’ll be output only.
So you just put a permanent superimpose on it.
Yeah. Do that.
Yeah?
ROONE: Mmhmm.
Okay.
Someone put on CBS.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Logo ready on four.
Back on the bird.
(PHONE RINGS)
Tell Jim to start the interview where we left off.
Take up the interview.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Five, four, three,
two, one.
Take one.
(SPEAKING HEBREW)
GEOFF: Fly logo in.
You own the story now.
(SPEAKING HEBREW)
NASIM: Well, he… he…
he hasn’t got any real practical suggestions.
He feels that one should not give in.
But And he leaves the whole affair to
in the hands of the security people,
the professionals.
On the other hand, he yearns for the moment
that his friends and all his colleagues,
these athletes whom he had known for so many years,
family men, will be out safely.
JIM: I can see the emotion that he’s feeling.
It’s very high in this room.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Mr. Sokolsky
taking the time to tell the story to us.
Thank you, too.
Thank you.
They’re suspending the Games.
DISPATCHER: (IN GERMAN) The competition has been suspended.
Spectators are leaving the stadium towards Connollystrasse.
POLICE OFFICER: Gate 6
confirmed. The situation is getting out of hand.
The important thing right now is that the Games
of the 20th Olympiad
have now been officially suspended.
And as you can see from this footage
that has just reached us,
the situation outside the apartment
is becoming increasingly confusing.
(INDISTINCT CLAMOR)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING)
(CROWD CLAMORING)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
DISPATCHER: (IN GERMAN) To all units, to all units: Green light for Operation Sunshine.
(IN ENGLISH) Uh, the police just gave green light for some action.
POLICE OFFICER: (IN GERMAN) Olympic police force to the surrounding buildings.
POLICE OFFICER: Clear area of all press.
MARIANNE: Damn it.
(SIGHS, IN ENGLISH) Police are clearing
all press out of the Village.
What?
The police are clearing all press out of the Village.
Where did you hear that? I’ve been listening
to the police scanner next door.
Jennings.
Jennings, you need to hide.
PETER: (OVER PHONE) What?
The police are clearing all the buildings.
POLICE OFFICER: (OVER RADIO) German police! Open up!
(YELLING IN GERMAN)
(DIAL TONE CLICKS)
JACQUES: Guys, check the Tower cam.
GEOFF: Get back to the police scanner.
Jennings?
(LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(CLATTERING OVER PHONE)
PETER: All good, they moved on.
Okay, great.
It looks like the police are about to make a move.
Can you get back to the balcony?
PETER: Yes, give us a minute.
Preview cam three.
Jim, check your preview.
We are told that there are men with guns,
beginning to train those guns…
Take Tower cam.
…on the rooms where the two heads were sticking out
a moment ago, the Arab guerillas lookouts.
GEOFF: Tower cam, push in.
JIM: Now, I don’t…
Now, I’m not sure these men have guns or… or cameras.
That’s a gun, all right.
PETER: That’s a gun, yeah.
One man with binoculars, another with a gun.
Peter… Peter Jennings is in the Village.
Peter, can you see this going on?
PETER: They’re walking cautiously on the roof.
Hopefully, not being heard in the rooms below.
JIM: This is happening now,
if you can possibly believe that.
At the Games of the 20th Olympiad.
Within a few hundred yards,
some athletes are still training on the running track.
Volleyball competition is going on.
Look at this, this is right now.
Volleyball competition going on in the Olympic Games.
As we said, the Games have been interrupted,
but only at the conclusion of competition that was going on
when the announcement was made.
Now, back to the (SCOFFS SOFTLY)
Now, back to the…
real world, I guess you’d call it at this point.
Although this seems like the unreal one.
Go bird, caption.
(TAPE MACHINE CLICKS)
They don’t seem prepared at all.
Yeah. They don’t.
POLICE OFFICER: (IN GERMAN, OVER RADIO) We are removing the bars.
These cops have no idea what they’re doing.
No wonder they lost the war.
(CHUCKLES, SIGHS)
What a shame that most people see this in black and white.
Not in America. Every bus driver has a color TV nowadays.
And the athletes here.
Germans put a color TV in every apartment.
So, are they seeing what we’re seeing?
What are you talking about?
Are the terrorists seeing this?
They’re not receiving ABC here.
Yes, they are.
Inside the Olympic Village…
every athlete can access any international station.
(MONITOR BUZZING)
Cam two, pan a bit down.
Push in.
That’s a TV.
POLICE OFFICER 1: (IN GERMAN, OVER RADIO) I have a clear view of the window.
There’s a light flickering. Could be from a television.
POLICE OFFICER 2: Is the power not off?
DISPATCHER: Negative. A unit is on its way to ABC.
(IN ENGLISH) Uh, did… did they just say ABC?
(IN GERMAN) The control room?
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Police!
Stop broadcasting!
(CREW CLAMORING)
(IN ENGLISH) What’s going on?
Off! Cameras off!
What?
(YELLS IN GERMAN)
Hey! Are you fucking nuts?
You do not point a gun at my crew!
Jesus Christ! All live cams off!
Three, Charley, that’s you too, turn the Tower cam off.
Happy?
ROONE: Hey! Hey, hey. What’s going on here?
They just took us off the air.
ROONE: Who’s in charge? This guy?
You in charge? Yeah? You speak English?
Get the fuck out of my studio! Out!
Out!
(IN GERMAN) Abort.
DISPATCHER: (OVER RADIO) Israel: Abort operation. All units back to base.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER IN GERMAN)
PETER: (IN ENGLISH, OVER PHONE) The police are climbing down from the roof now.
They seem to be calling off the attack.
Looks like this was yet another failed attempt
to get the situation under control.
Was that our fault?
(LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(CREW MURMURING)
Let’s just go We’ll take a commercial, okay?
Commercial break, five minutes. Get on that.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Here we go.
(CLEARS THROAT)
TECHNICIAN: Master Control…
Bader, can we talk?
Then they should’ve cut the electricity
to the apartment.
It’s not up to us to doublecheck on them.
That Marv, it’s not okay if we made it worse.
You know that.
We don’t even know why they called it off.
The Germans seem generally pretty overwhelmed.
They are.
I’m listening to the police radio.
It’s local cops doing things
they have never done before.
The German Army gave them sniper rifles
and had to instruct them on how to use them.
Why doesn’t the German Army just do it itself?
They’re not allowed to operate here.
German constitution.
That’s ridiculous.
The rumor is Israel offered to send a special unit
to help them out. And that Germany refused it.
They are just making one mistake after another.
And trying to act
like they’ve got it all under control.
Let’s keep going.
Marianne, I want you with me, in the control room.
Bring the radio.
Okay.
JIM: Ladies and gentlemen…
PETER: (OVER PHONE) The Germans are back to negotiating.
This time, Interior Minister Genscher is joining them.
The leader only seems willing to talk to Gensch
Wait.
Wait, put me live! Put me live!
Jim, Peter has some breaking info. We’re going to him.
JIM: I just got word something is happening at Connollystrasse.
Peter, you have news?
PETER: Thanks, Jim. Yes. Moments ago, a window opened.
And, for the first time, now we’re seeing some of the hostages.
No, we’re not.
We might as well be listening to the fucking radio.
Cam two, Tower, either of you have an angle on this?
CAMERAMAN 1: (OVER RADIO) Clear shot, Mase.
CAMERAMAN 2: Clear as crystal.
JIM: …and also how many terrorists are visible.
PETER: We’ve seen two hostages so far.
They were led to the window one after the other.
One guerrilla with an AK47 behind them.
This is ridiculous.
PETER: It’s a terrible sight.
JIM: Now, that sounds very dramatic, Peter.
Ladies and gentlemen…
(PHONE BUZZES)
JIM: Um…
We’re sorry that we can’t show you a live image…
Yeah?
Geoff, turn the cameras back on.
You got it, Roone.
All right, we’re back in business.
All cams back on.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Cam two, back on. Cam three, back on.
(BUTTONS CLICKING)
(EXHALES SOFTLY)
Anyone know who that is?
(CLICKS TONGUE) The fencing coach.
Andrei Spitzer.
Twentyseven years old.
Gladys, I’m gonna need you to make a caption.
Andrei Spitzer.
Caption ready.
Insert Spitzer graphic.
(LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
PETER: It looks like Spitzer wants to tell
Genscher something.
Now he’s dragged away from the window,
and the curtains are closed again.
Genscher is talking to the leader.
He seems furious.
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
GEOFF: What is she saying?
Um, Genscher offered to swap himself
with the Israeli hostages,
but the terrorists refused the offer. Um…
Genscher insists on going inside to see how the hostages are.
PETER: The leader’s taking Genscher
and another official into the apartment now.
MARIANNE: Someone asked, um, if they already know
the destination for the flight.
CREW: What flight?
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Flight?
There’s talk of flying them out of the country.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Well, where could they fly them to? What airport?
Everyone shut up, please! Shut up!
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
They’re giving orders.
The… the policewoman…
“Tell… tell the leader that it takes time
to prepare the plane.”
They mentioned two helicopters to fly the hostages
and the terrorists to the airport.
What airport?
Uh, they didn’t say.
PETER: They’re coming back out.
Genscher seems shocked.
God only knows what horrors he saw in there.
Uh, Cairo They… they said Cairo as their destination.
Okay, listen up. We need to find out
where in the Village these choppers can land,
and what airport they’re gonna go to for transfer!
JIM: Sun is beginning to sink behind the buildings.
(CARTER SIGHS) Great, thanks.
JIM: There’s some way from darkness here.
But I can’t help but think what a difficult task
this would be if the commandos got out in the Olympic Village
after dark.
You got it?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
CARTER: Yeah.
Riem’s the obvious choice, but probably not,
there’s too much air traffic.
Augsburg?
It’s too far away.
JIM: …nations around the world…
They just mentioned a flight time
of five to seven minutes with the helicopters.
What was the name of that little airport
in the middle of nowhere,
where we picked up the equipment that time?
Um, it was something…
Feld… Furst
Furstenfeldbruck.
Furstenfeldbruck.
HANK: Yeah. That was it.
That’s a military airport.
JACQUES: Furstenfeldbruck.
That’d make sense. No one is out there.
Hmm.
Guys.
Do you hear that?
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER MONITOR)
(EXHALES SHAKILY)
What’s going on?
Do we have eyes on these choppers?
Come on, show me something.
Tower? Do you have eyes on the choppers?
CAMERAMAN: (OVER RADIO) Negative.
Guys, I’m blind here. Come on.
HOWARD: (OVER RADIO) Gentlemen, can you read me?
Yeah, Howard, we got you loud and clear.
HOWARD: I see them! Two choppers.
Approaching from southeast.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Howard, where exactly are you? Are you inside the Village?
HOWARD: Yes. I’m at Gate 6.
They let me in after the boxing match.
Ran into Gary here. I’m taking over his channel.
MARIANNE: Uh, they’re talking about a bus now.
A bus escorting them to the helicopters.
Howard, are the police clearing out the area?
HOWARD: No, it’s packed.
There are people with cameras everywhere.
It’s like Elvis has landed.
They’ll use the, um… (CLICKS TONGUE)
…parking level below the apartments, um…
There’s the next staircase. Building 12.
Howard, look behind you. Do you see a staircase?
HOWARD: Uh, yeah.
Okay, go down it and look for a bus.
HOWARD: Got it.
PETER: The light in the hallway’s on.
Looks like they’re leaving the apartment
using the inner staircase.
HOWARD: I’m in the parking area,
and it’s a complete madhouse down there.
Police and press are everywhere.
There’s men with cameras next to men with guns.
Put him on the air.
There’s no connector.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GEOFF: Patch this mic through to the air.
Get him on the air.
HANK: Uh, yeah.
ROONE: You got it?
HANK: Yeah, yeah.
Uh, Jim, Pete. I’m just looping Howard in here.
GEOFF: Good?
HANK: Go!
Howard, we’re putting you live on the air with Jim and Peter.
JIM: Word is they’re flying out
both the hostages and the terrorists.
Let’s hear Peter Jennings on this.
PETER: Thank you, Jim. My colleagues and I
are scrambling to put the pieces together.
But Howard Cosell is currently on location.
Howard, this is Peter.
Do you have something to report from there?
Howard, go ahead.
HOWARD: I certainly do, Peter. I’m in the parking garage.
Terrorists and hostages are arriving,
their hands tied together.
The police are here in almost platoonlike numbers.
We’re building up to what I think
will be quite the climax.
Okay, the bus just came in!
They’re bringing the hostages to the bus.
The terrorists have submachine guns.
Pushing the young athletes onto the bus.
JIM: According to unconfirmed reports,
Cairo was named as the flight destination.
There are helicopters waiting to bring the hostages,
um, and the terrorists to a military airport
for the changeover.
Take three.
CAMERAMAN: (OVER RADIO) Geoff, this is Tower, I have eyes on the bus.
HOWARD: Jim, I just ran onto the bridge. I can see them.
One Arab is getting out.
Flashes from the cameras are hitting him
from every direction.
He almost looks like a rock star walking on stage.
Now I can see the Israelis.
I hear something.
(CROWD SHOUTING)
HOWARD: People shouting from the windows and balconies,
but I don’t know what it is.
ONLOOKERS: Shalom! Shalom!
HOWARD: It’s “shalom,” the Hebrew word for peace.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWARD: The propellers are turning
and the chopper is lifting off.
These Israeli athletes are leaving the Olympic Village,
not as free and proud competitors of their country,
but as victims of a brutal act of terror.
PETER: The first helicopter now proceeding out
over the main Olympic stadium,
flying around this tremendously high Olympic Tower.
Flying to what seems like the last chapter
of a nerveracking day.
Stretch the show with sports
until we have news from the airport.
GEOFF: Sports?
ROONE: Yeah.
Jim will smooth over the transitions.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MUSIC FADES)
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
Screw it, I want to see it, too.
Sorry.
Jacques, get right back here.
JACQUES: Two minutes!
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)
Carter, grab a 16 mm. Get footage from the airport.
You’re gonna go with him. Take my car.
You’re the only one who speaks German.
Okay.
Where is it parked?
GEOFF: Back lot.
Blue BMW.
Okay.
Are they gonna really fly them out?
I don’t know.
So then, how does this end? In a shootout?
You’ll need sound.
Hank.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
JIM: (OVER MONITOR) The 10,000 meter run
was nearing the halfway mark
and out in front was Dave Bedford of England,
followed by little Miruts Yifter of Ethiopia,
and Mariano Haro of Spain.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING OVER MONITOR)
JIM: Back of the pack, Lasse Virén,
in the dark jersey…
PETER: Hey guys,
I don’t think there’s anything left to do here.
So, how about I just come back to the studio,
provide some analysis?
That’s a great idea, Jennings.
Get back here as soon as you can.
Charley, might as well roll cam two back into the studio.
GLADYS: Uh, Geoff? Geoff, you gonna wanna see this.
I think it’s David Berger’s father.
REPORTER: (OVER TV) Have you gotten any help
from any of the governments or any of the agencies?
No.
All the information we have
has come from the news on television.
I just hope they get the situation under control…
and we hear from our son soon.
REPORTER: Is there anything you wanna say
to your son right now?
Marianne, you read me?
BENJAMIN: I just want him to come home.
JACQUE: Forget it, they are too far away.
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER MONITOR)
Marv, you got anything?
MARVIN: (OVER RADIO) Hold on just a second.
Supposedly all hell has broken loose at the airport.
There’s shooting.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
Oh, God.
Carter?
It’s crazy out there. Massive traffic jams,
hundreds of people blocking the road.
The police couldn’t even get through with their tanks.
Tanks?
Yeah.
(PANTS)
(TAPE WHIRRING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MARIANNE SPEAKING GERMAN)
(MALE VOICE RESPONDING IN GERMAN)
You see those lights?
That’s the airport.
Everyone just left their cars behind and walked there.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(DOG BARKING)
How did you get back here?
Marianne convinced some guy to lend us his moped.
There they are!
(POLICE OFFICER YELLING IN GERMAN)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(SIRENS WAILING)
This is great stuff, Carter. We gotta get more of this.
Okay.
(INDISTINCT CLAMOR)
This is useless there.
I saw some pay phones.
We’ll call as soon as there’s any news.
(HEAVY GUNFIRE IN DISTANCE)
MALE VOICE: Can you hear the shots?
How many more clips in the package?
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Uh, two. About ten seconds.
Okay.
Ready one. Take one.
JIM: With me now is Peter Jennings,
who reported the whole day for us
directly out of the Village.
Standby two. Take two.
JIM: Peter, what conclusions
do you draw from these recordings?
PETER: Clearly, the German authorities
want to end it here and now, Jim.
But now, they have to improvise.
(PHONE BUZZES)
PETER: And so far,
they haven’t proven themselves to be very good at that.
JIM: There’s no further reports…
(GARY) Hello?
Marianne’s on the phone.
JIM: But the head of the Olympic…
GEOFF: Patch it through.
(PHONE RINGS)
GEOFF: Yeah?
MARIANNE: (OVER PHONE) Can the footage be used?
Yeah, yeah, we’re watching it right now.
We have it on the air. Why?
MARIANNE: Listen, there’s a rumor going around here
that the hostages are free.
(HESITATES) What?
MARIANNE: The hostages are free.
That’s amazing news! That’s Hold on.
Everybody! Listen to this!
Marianne, say what you just said to me.
(CLAMOR OVER PHONE)
MARIANNE: For the last hour, we’ve been hearing gunshots.
A few minutes ago, the shooting suddenly stopped.
Then a man from Hans Klein’s office
came up from the airport
and said the hostages are all free.
(CREW CHUCKLES)
(RELIEVED CHATTER)
Is this confirmed?
MARIANNE: I don’t know, Geoff.
People here are celebrating.
Everyone is
MARIANNE: (IN GERMAN) Damn it! Find your own damn phone booth!
(PHONE BUZZING)
(IN ENGLISH) Hello?
ROONE: (OVER PHONE) Check the Germans. ZDF. Now.
I don’t know what they’re saying, but they sound damn happy.
Turn that up. Right there.
MARIANNE: I have to go.
No, no, no. Stay on the line.
MARIANNE: Everyone wants this phone.
I need you to translate something. Okay? Translate this.
(IN GERMAN) Fritz Hattig is on site at Fürstenfeldbruck airport.
And he has just confirmed, and I quote:
“During a quick but intense shootout,
it seems all hostages managed to escape.”
MARIANNE: (IN ENGLISH) He says it, too. They’re all free.
ZDF is saying that they’re all free.
ROONE: Then have Jim announce it.
Yeah, I’m gonna check with Marv, okay?
Hold on.
Marv?
MARVIN: (OVER RADIO) Yeah. We’re watching it.
Is… is it confirmed?
MARVIN: Not yet.
I see Klein’s press staff on the phone.
It seems that they have serious doubts.
Don’t air it yet. Wait for the confirmation.
Marv says that it’s not confirmed yet.
ROONE: Then we have Jim use the phrase,
“as we’re hearing.”
(DIAL TONE CLICKS, BEEPS)
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER MONITOR)
(SIGHS) Look, Marv, we… we’re gonna go with it.
Uh, but we’re gonna use the phrase “as we’re hearing.”
MARVIN: Where’s Roone? Let me talk to him.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
MARVIN: Geoff, don’t air it. We need two confirmed sources.
Marv, we have to go now.
MARVIN: If we air it, then everybody else will.
So what? We let CBS or NBC take the scoop?
MARVIN: This isn’t a competition.
Wait for confirmation.
(LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
MARVIN: Geoff? Do you read (RADIO SWITCHES OFF)
Jim.
We… we’re getting good news.
It sounds like all the hostages are free.
But we need to use the phrase “as we are hearing,” okay?
And…
As we are hearing now,
it appears that the Germans were able to free all hostages,
but we don’t know just yet what exactly happened there.
(DOOR SLAMMING OPEN)
(HAND SLAMMING) Everybody’s reporting it now.
They’re all just following our lead.
Then it’s good we got it out there first.
Yeah, you know, Klein can’t even find
the guy at the fence who broke this.
We’re talking worldwide news
based on the word of one mysterious man,
no one has been able to confirm.
Oh, come on.
Roone wanted me to get it out there.
No, no, no.
Geoff, Geoff, no. You pulled the trigger.
Not Roone!
It’s on ZDF, Marvin!
That’s German state television.
And this is ABC! (HAND SLAMMING)
And I vouched for you, Geoff! I vouched for you.
We never said it was a fact. We used “as we are hearing.”
Yeah, that’s a fucking technicality, Geoff.
(TELEPRINTER WHIRRING)
(TELEPRINTER CLICKS)
STAFFER: Geoff?
Geoff! Here.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
It’s official. They’re free.
(CREW LAUGHS, CHEERS)
Let me see that!
(CREW APPLAUDS)
(SIGHS)
GEOFF: Marv…
Yeah.
Forg… forg… forget it.
(SIGHS)
(CHEERFUL CHATTER)
(PHONE RINGING)
(PANTS)
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING OVER PHONE)
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
It’s Starger.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Cheers!
Cheers! Good work, everyone.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Cheers! Good job, everyone.
CREW: Cheers.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Really good.
GEOFF: We’re not done yet, though.
We need access to the cops on the airfield.
I’m talking interviews, behind the scenes,
anything like that.
And maybe we can even talk to the hostages.
(PHONE CLATTERS)
What?
He said that we’ve made broadcast history.
Probably more people have seen this
than watch Armstrong land on the moon.
(MARVIN SIGHS)
So, you’re gonna get a big bonus. (CHUCKLES)
I need a fucking drink.
You?
MARVIN: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
(EXHALES)
Mason on deck?
Yeah.
That kid’s good.
MARVIN: Right?
Yeah.
(JIM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(DRINK POURING)
Lehayim.
JIM: Now in our studio
is Chancellor Brandt’s press secretary, Conrad Ahlers.
It’s an honor…
Ahlers is here.
JIM: When was it agreed, do you know,
to allow the guerrillas to go
from the building to the helicopters?
Well, just two hours ago.
But of course, that was part of the game.
We never meant to let them go free out of this country.
I’m very glad that as far as we can see now,
this police action was successful.
“As far as we can see”?
AHLERS: Of course,
it’s an unfortunate…
What is that?
AHLERS: …interruption of the Olympic Games,
but, I mean, if all that comes out
as we hope it will come out.
“As we hope”?
AHLERS: I think it will be forgotten
after a few weeks.
(LOW, OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
JIM: And if the reports, as we hear them, are true,
the Games will continue probably by tomorrow.
Well, I’m quite sure,
and you must understand that for us Germans,
it was a tragic situation
that all this happened to Jewish people.
You know, after all our past,
of course it was our main…
our main idea to get these Israelis free,
otherwise, you know… (CLEARS THROAT)
…some of the old memories might have come back.
That doesn’t sound right. Hmm?
JIM: I think the people of the world are well aware
that those volunteers…
Can I use your phone?
…who were trying to free the Israelis today were Germans.
Yes, I hope that they don’t forget.
(ROTARY DIAL WHIRRING)
That they won’t forget it.
Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
Thank you very much.
JACQUES: And we’re clear.
Any word from the airport police?
Can’t get through.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Same here.
Been on hold for 20 minutes.
GEOFF: How about the hostages?
(SIGHS) Don’t you think we should give them a break?
Maybe.
(PHONE RINGS)
Guys, what about the bus drivers,
helicopter pilots? Come on, we gotta get creative here,
we have a story to tell.
Let me talk to Hans.
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING OVER PHONE)
MARVIN: Why can’t I
MALE VOICE: Please understand, we can’t confirm anything yet.
(MARVIN CHUCKLES)
What do you mean?
Conrad Ahlers just announced it on live television.
In our studio.
MALE VOICE: The office is not corroborating with others.
Shooting is still going on.
MARVIN: What’d you just say?
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
There’s still shooting going on at the airport.
There’s still shooting at the airport!
CREW: What?
We were wrong. There’s still shooting at the airport.
GEOFF: Who’s shooting?
Jim has to go on air and say something.
I know it wasn’t true!
‘Cause I got a fucking TV set too!
Just tell me what happened!
Jim, Peter. Listen, this is gonna be tough.
Hans, I’m asking you. I’m asking you as a friend.
Please just tell me what happened.
JIM: The latest word we get from the airport
is that, quote, “All of Hell has broken loose out there,”
that there’s still shooting going on,
that there’s a report of a burning helicopter,
but all seems to be confusion. Nothing is nailed down.
We have no idea what’s happened to the hostages.
But one of the men, by the way, who was a hostage,
as far as we know, is still alive.
Roone.
JIM: David Berger,
who went to Columbia University.
Geoff.
JIM: Uh, he was the only Americanborn member…
Hallway. Please.
…of the Israeli team that was being held captive.
Uh, he was a weightlifter,
moved to Israel just about two years ago.
PETER: Well, we’ll keep you up to date…
GEOFF: Stay with it.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
What happened?
All… all of them.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(SCOFFS) What if this is just a rumor?
We don’t What did they say?
They said that there were gunshots.
Did they
Klein heard it
from three separate sources.
It’s over.
It’s bullshit.
We still have a team out there. They haven’t even called us yet.
(PHONE BUZZING)
We… we have to do some
We’ll send another team out there.
I’ll go with them this time.
And we have to get this right.
This is our chance to get it right, Roone.
Come on.
JACQUES: Geoff.
Marianne is on the phone.
(LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
Yeah. Marianne?
(MARIANNE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Okay, thank you.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(SIGHS)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
Cam one, close on Jim. Only Jim.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Jim?
…so many, um, other people.
GEOFF: (OVER HEADSET) All the hostages are dead.
It’s over.
Ready one.
Take one.
JIM: I’ve just gotten the final word.
When I was a kid, my father used to say, “Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.”
Our worst fears have been realized tonight.
They’ve now said that there were 11 hostages.
Two were killed in their rooms… this morn yesterday morning.
Nine were killed at the airport tonight.
They’re all gone.
But it’s all over.
The Israeli Olympic team is destroyed.
Much of it.
But what will happen to the Games of the 20th Olympiad? (SNIFFLES)
None of us know what will happen to… (SCOFFS) the course of world history.
We don’t know. (MUSIC FADES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Hey. You all right?
Uh…
Mm. No, um…
Innocent people died in Germany. Again.
And we failed. Germany failed.
Marianne, I’m sorry I sent you out there.
I can only imagine the things you saw.
Uh, I saw nothing.
I… I was there with hundreds of people, we stared into the night.
We were waiting for something to happen, because we wanted to take a picture of it.
(SIGHS HEAVILY)
(SOBS SOFTLY)
Uh, Geoff? Roone would like a word.
See you tomorrow.
Yeah.
(DOOR OPENING)
(DOOR CLOSING)
ROONE: Hmm.
(MALE VOICE SPEAKING OVER PHONE)
ROONE: Mmhmm.
Hang on one second.
(PAPER RUSTLING)
There’s gonna be a commemoration at the stadium tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.
I got us the bird.
Jim and Jennings are gonna anchor and I want you to be in charge.
I know it might not feel like it, but you did a hell of a job today.
But… (INHALES SHARPLY)
But it was a catastrophe.
Get some rest.
Roone?
We need to talk about a onehour special for tomorrow.
Okay. I’ll call you right back.
And I have an approach.
We take a flash unit out to the airport.
Helicopters will still be there.
We’ll see them in daylight. Well, what’s left of them.
(GEOFF SNIFFLES, CLEARS THROAT)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(SIGHS)
(MUSIC FADES)
