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THELMA & LOUISE WORLD BUILDING

  • Note how Callie Khouri seamlessly works brief descriptions of the world throughout the entirety of the script, not just in one big block at the beginning.
Page 9
A huge semi-tanker carrying gas passes them on the highway and HONKS.
The mud flaps are the shiny silhouettes of naked women. There is a
bumper sticker on the back that says: "Lick you all over -- ten
cents."

Page 10
… There is a huge gravel parking lot with lots of pickup trucks and
older cars…

Page 24
The green '66 T-Bird pulls into a modern truck stop and parks.

Page 28
The T-Bird barrels down a fairly empty four-lane highway. A truck
passes going the other way.

Page 29
The motel is near farms and agricultural areas with crops.

Page 38
Louise and Thelma pull up in front of an old store, the kind with a
wooden front porch, the kind that sells bait and flannel shirts…

Page 48
Two Harley-Davidson bikes tool past, driven by a couple of ex-hippies
from the 60's. The Hitchhiker is on the back of one, and he waves to
them as they go by.

Page 67
MONTAGE of early morning stuff, a truck driver climbing into his cab
with a silver thermos, squirrels hopping around on the ground.

Page 82
The T-Bird is entering terrain that looks more like desert.

Page 85
As the sun sets, the T-Bird drives deeper into the vast desert.

Page 97
They are driving through Monument Valley. The T-Bird speeds through
the beautifully moonlit desert. It is almost like daylight.

SHOT OF FULL MOON RISING.

MONTAGE of silhouettes of cacti, huge rock formations, desert beauty
SHOTS, etc.

The sky is bright and expansive and the goes on forever.

Page 117
MONTAGE of driving shots as Louise and Thelma drive through the
intense beauty of the Arizona desert.

Page 125
WIDE SHOT of car speeding through the desert on an empty highway.

Page 128
EXT. DESERT GHOST TOWN – DAY

Louise and Thelma blow through a stand of buildings left from when
the train went through here.