Inspired by Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo," the 1976 "Assault" took place in an isolated, nearly abandoned Los Angeles police station, in which officers, staff and prisoners are forced to negotiate a partnership when a vengeful street gang lays siege to the building.

The new version transports the story to the present day, in a police precinct made obsolete by the industrialization of its surroundings. The premise is the same. A bunch of bad guys with serious firepower lay siege to an old police precinct on New Year's Eve, and the heroes inside the precinct (made up of cops and jailbirds) must join forces and stand together in order to survive.

The script I have is written by a dope writer named James DeMonaco (The Negotiator and the upcoming The Extractors) and is the second draft of the script dated Feb. 16, 2003.

As always, I will try to keep the script spolier free as much as possible witthout giving away any important twists and plot points.

The 1st nine pages establishes our hero, an undercover cop named JAKE ROENICK (Hawke) and his unit on a bust in some old dilapidated building. Shit happens and Roenick's crew is obliterated. Only Roenick survives. 8 months later it's New Year's Eve in Cleveland, a serious snow storm is approaching and now Roenick is now a desk sargeant and arrives for work...