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Noah Hawley is ready to pull back the curtain on Fargo.
The Emmy-winning writer behind the hit FX series will publish Fargo: This Is a True Story this fall with Grand Central Publishing, EW can exclusively announce. Featuring script selections (including all three pilots), candid photography, pitch documents, and interviews with cast and crew, it’s a complete behind-the-scenes guide to the show’s first three seasons. (Hawley and FX have announced that the fourth season will be going into production later this year.)
Among the tidbits fans will learn in the new book: what makes Lorne Malvo tick through an interview with Billy Bob Thornton, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons’ favorite scenes, what it was like for Ewan McGregor to play both brothers, and more. Oh, and the complete story behind the Unidentified Flying Object which made an infamous appearance in the series’ second season, which EW has an exclusive preview of.
Below, you can see an image from the book, as well as read an excerpt detailing the reasoning behind the UFO plot point — and, even better, the official script page that brought it to life. And be sure to check out the official cover above. Fargo: This Is a True Story publishes Oct. 8.
Excerpt from Fargo: This Is a True Story, by Noah Hawley
There will be two critical junctures in this season where a UFO plays an important role. The first is in the opening episode, after Rye Gerhardt has killed the judge and then sees a strange light in the sky. The light draws him out into the road, where he is hit by Peggy’s car.
The second will be revealed later.
The UFO represents not just a “Mike Yanagita” element (consistent with the UFO runner in The Man Who Wasn’t There), but also plays into a larger dread of the moment. This sense, in 1979, that there were forces greater than us at work. That there were secrets our government knew and was keeping from us. And that God had been replaced by something alien, something sinister.
The year 1979 is the morning after, when the drugs wore off and we realized that we weren’t in Nirvana after all. We were in a loony bin. Post Nixon, post Vietnam, post hippy.
Star Wars came out in 1977, as did Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Aliens and space travel were very much part of the American psyche.
SCRIPT EXCERPT
EXT. ALLEY ACROSS FROM THE MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—NIGHT.
The Gerhardt convoy pulls in—headlights off. The cars stop. The men get out. Floyd too. The motel is across the street.
HANZEE
Two rooms upstairs. Three down.
He points them out.
HANZEE (CONT’D)
They got Dodd on the bottom next to the office. That’s their man on guard. Milligan’s on the second floor.
Bear nods to Hanzee.
BEAR
Stay with ma.
Beat. Hanzee shrugs. Floyd hugs BEAR.
FLOYD
You fly like an arrow—straight and true—let nothing turn you from yer path. Or the next grave they dig’ll be for me.
Bear releases her, gestures to his men. They move out.
ANGLE ON THE STREET
As the Gerhardts cross, guns high.
CLOSE ON THE MEN
coming towards us in slow motion.
CUT TO: INT. HANK’S ROOM. MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
Hank sits up.
HANK
Screw this.
He stands and starts to put on his uniform.
CUT TO: EXT. MOTOR MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—CONTINUOUS
We are CLOSE ON the GUARD, asleep in his chair. A SHADOW falls on him. He stirs. But then a hand covers his mouth and Ricky stabs him, holds him while he dies.
ANGLE ON BEAR
He points to the stairs. FOUR MEN break off and move quietly (in pairs) to the two staircases.
TWO MEN move to a room on the first floor.
BEAR and Ricky move to the room beside the office.
ANGLE ON FLOYD
and Hanzee watching from beside Bear’s truck.
CUT TO: INT. LOU’S PROWLER (TRAVELING). RURAL SOUTH DAKOTA—SAME TIME
Lou has lost the Gerhardt convoy and he doesn’t know where the motel is. He prowls the streets looking.
CUT TO: INT. PEGGY AND ED’S ROOM. MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—NIGHT
Lying in bed, Peggy sees MOVEMENT.
ANGLE ON THE WINDOW
As two shadowy figures walk past towards their door. She sits up.
CUT TO: EXT. MOTOR MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
All the men are in position.
ANGLE ON BEAR
He sees this, lifts his arm to give the signal.
CUT TO: EXT. MOTOR MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
Bear drops his arm and RICKY KICKS OPEN the door.
ANGLE ON CAPTAIN CHENEY
and the other trooper. The Trooper sits up. RICKY shotguns him out of bed.
Cheney sits up, terrified.
CAPTAIN CHENEY
No.
Bear BLASTS HIM.
CUT TO: INT. MILCH’S ROOM. MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
Playing cards.
TROOPER MILCH
Yeah, but okay—why is pissin in the pool so much worse than pissin in a kitchen sink?
CHIEF GIBSON
Well, first of all, son, were there other people in the pool at the time?
Suddenly, they HEAR the SHOT, rise, as the DOOR FLIES OPEN.
ANGLE ON THE GERHARDT MEN who shoot.
ANGLE ON THE COPS
Milch falls, but the others dive for their guns. Gibson returns fire.
CUT TO: INT. LOU’S PROWLER (TRAVELING). RURAL SOUTH DAKOTA—SAME TIME
He passes the cross street of the motel, HEARS GUNFIRE, turns.
CUT TO: INT. HANK’S ROOM. MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
We are looking at the door, as it’s KICKED IN.
REVERSE ON HANK
Gun up. He fires.
ANGLE ON THE GERHARDT MEN
The first falls, shot. The second returns fire.
CUT TO: INT. CAPTAIN CHENEY’S ROOM. MOTEL. SIOUX FALLS, SD—SAME TIME
Bear steps inside, gun up—looking for Dodd. Ricky stays at the door.
BEAR
Brother?
He approaches the bathroom (door half open, light on inside)—and we realize he means to SHOOT DODD when he finds him.
Bear toes open the door open, goes in fast, gun up.
ANGLE ON THE BATHROOM
empty.
ANGLE ON BEAR
What the f—? Where’s Dodd?
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