The Insider
THE INSIDER
written by
ERIC ROTH & MICHAEL MANN
11/5/99
NOTE: THE HARD COPY OF THIS SCRIPT CONTAINED SCENE NUMBERS
AND SOME "OMITTED" SLUGS. THEY HAVE BEEN REMOVED FOR THIS
SOFT COPY.
FADE IN:
All we can see is black filling the screen... Black on
black...
INT. A JEEP, LEBANON - DAY
And we're in a speeding SOVIET JEEP... Two men in front,
shouldering assault rifles. HEZBOLLAH SOLDIERS... And there
are three MEN in the back. A middle-aged Man wearing a tired
suit and tinted sunglasses trying to hold on. And on either
side of him, two Men, blindfolded. The man on one side is in
his forties, hands pressed in the pockets of a well-travelled
black-leather jacket... A stocky man, with the edge of a
J.D. Salinger character, he's seen everything at least once.
But even he has lost some of his self-confidence, here,
turning his head, sensing the wind, a blast of Arabic music
that disappears behind him... He's LOWELL BERGMAN. On the
other side of the man in the tired suit is a lanky Man with a
voltmeter around his neck, NORMAN.
EXT. THE BEQA'A VALLEY, BAALBEK, LEBANON - DAY
The Jeep races up narrow winding streets of a Lebanese
village. It's shadowed by a Jeep in front, and in back, each
carrying personnel armed with AK's and a few RPG's... And in
the third Jeep are two blindfolded, not very threatening
Lebanese soldiers. And as the speeding convoy passes a
captured Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier covered with
Arabic graffiti, looking down on them from huge murals are
the stern visages of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and a Hezbollah
religious leader, the Sheikh Fadlallah... And, suddenly the
convoy skids to a stop... And blindfolded Lowell and Norman
are roughly taken out, and pushed, stumbling, through the
cloud of dust without sight... The lanky cameraman is
stopped, told to wait, while Lowell is pushed past armed men
guarding a small stone house, and inside...
INT. A HOUSE IN LEBANON - DAY
A round-faced Man in his mid-forties, with large-framed
glasses, black hair and a grey-black beard, wearing a
dullbend, a turban, sits informally at a kitchen table...
It's the Sheikh Fadlallah whose face stares out at us from
walls. A Gunman cradling an AK-47 sits in an incongruous
purple armchair in a corner. A torn poster of the Seychelles
is on one wall. Another Gunman stands by a window. Lowell
is sat down in a chair at the kitchen table...
THE SHEIKH
Coffee?
LOWELL
Yeah... Thank you.
THE SHEIKH
How have you liked your stay?
LOWELL
(droll)
What I've seen...I've liked.
The Sheikh smiles. And the smile passes as quickly as it
came. A steaming cup of coffee in a small Arabic demitasse
is put down.
THE SHEIKH
Please to explain, why I should agree to
interview...with pro-Zionist American
media?
LOWELL
Because I think Hezbollah is trying to
broaden into a political party right now.
So you care about what you're thought of
in America. And in America, at this
moment in time, Hezbollah does not have a
face.
(confident)
That's why.
And we've first realized this man is not a hostage; he's come
here voluntarily.
THE SHEIKH
Perhaps you prove journalism objectivity
and I see the questions first. Then I
decide if I grant the interview.
LOWELL
(blunt)
No. We don't do that.
(beat)
You've seen "60 Minutes" and Mike
Wallace. So you know our reputation for
integrity and objectivity. You also know
we are the highest-rated, most-respected,
TV-magazine news show in America.
The Sheikh quietly looks out his glasses at him, studying
him. And Lowell "closes":
LOWELL (cont'd)
So. Mr. Wallace. Should he get on a
plane or not?
The Sheikh thinks it over and then...
THE SHEIKH
Tell him I will see him day after
tomorrow.
LOWELL
That's good. That works.
(after a beat)
Uh, you know, I want to ask you
something...I know it sounds odd...but...
It's quiet...too quiet...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
Hello, Sheikh...?
(no answer)
Hello, Sheikh...?
Silence. He hesitates, starts to lift his blindfold... He
lifts it. And he sees the Sheikh, and his gunmen, are gone.
The house empty. Only his Cameraman, the lanky man, left
there, standing by the door still in his blindfold...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
Norman.
NORMAN
What? What?
LOWELL
Take your blindfold off.
The lanky man does and we see the cameraman is Asian-
American.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
(sarcastic)
Welcome to the world.
Norman gives Lowell an ironic look and tests the local
current at an electrical outlet.
NORMAN
Fluctuating all over the place. Anywhere
we shoot, here, it's gonna be portable
gennies and we'll run cable...
Lowell nods and opens the curtains from this commanding
height. Baalbek and the Beqa'a Valley below gold-domed
mosques. A moment of triumph. He dials his cell phone...
MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
Hello?
LOWELL
(into phone)
Mike, it's me. We're on...
AND WE HEAR PEOPLE LAUGHING AND ENCOURAGING "GO AHEAD...
OPEN IT..."
INT. A LABORATORY, BROWN & WILLIAMSON, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
- DAY
We're in a SCIENCE LABORATORY... OUT OF FOCUS LAB
TECHNICIANS, in white lab coats, celebrating a heavyset Black
woman's birthday... Half her presents are opened. Balloons,
incongruous, floating above the lab... And there's a sense
that somebody is watching... And from the waist up, a
disembodied figure comes into FOCUS behind a glass partition,
as if quarantined, isolated, an expressionless MAN in his
late forties, watching them...
INT. JEFFREY WIGAND'S OFFICE - DAY
The office soundproofed, he watches the people laughing,
their lips moving. His hair not yet settled on grey, his
face is changing, always interesting. Born in the Bronx,
educated in Upstate New York, he retains little of the accent
and much of the directness. He's JEFFREY WIGAND. He turns
to resume gathering things from his desk...some technical
books, a medical text on asthma...putting them in his
briefcase. And as he leaves the office, the silent party
like a bizarre mime behind him...
INT. LOBBY, BROWN & WILLIAMSON BUILDING - DAY
Briefcase in hand, Jeffrey appears from the elevator from
ABOVE, from WIDE and in FRONT, his eyes, frozen pools... And
like a bad dream, a broad-shouldered Man, leaning against the
wall near the reception island in a suit he's not comfortable
in, wearing an earphone, saying something into a lapel
microphone after Jeffrey's passed.
INT. WIGAND'S CAR, LOUSIVILLE - DAY
Light mottled through trees reflects off the car window...
Jeffrey's face goes in and out of the tunnel of light and
shadow...down this tasteful, suburban Louisville street of
neat houses and manicured lawns... He pulls into driveway
behind a 3 series BMW. It's a grey French provincial
replica...
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, FOYER - DAY
Jeffrey comes in and a young Girl, six, is watching
television in the den...BARBARA.
WIGAND
Hi, honey.
BARBARA
Hi, Daddy.
WIGAND
What's new?
BARBARA
Ms. Laufer gave me a star today.
WIGAND
Yeah? What for?
BARBARA
For reading.
He pours himself a drink at a wet bar.
WIGAND
That's great... Little early for
cartoons, isn't it?
BARBARA
Okay.
Dutiful, she shuts off the TV, going upstairs.
BARBARA (cont'd)
Deborah? Debbie?
He looks outside. A Woman is sitting on the back porch
drinking wine, reading a paperback book, drinking wine.
There's something like a Hockney painting about her against
the manicured lawns. Right now the Woman comes in. She's
pretty, tall, languid, reserved, somebody it would be nice to
wear on your arm. LIANE WIGAND. She has an odd delay
between a thought and her speech...
LIANE
Oh, I didn't know you were home... It's
early... Isn't it?
He doesn't say anything...
LIANE (CONT'D)
Gotta take Debbie to ballet...
And it all feels suburban, familiar. Suddenly there's a
shout...
BARBARA'S VOICE (OVER)
Mommy!
Jeffrey goes quickly up the stairs into...
INT. WIGAND'S HOUSE - DEBORAH'S BEDROOM - DAY
And a little girl, eight, sitting on the floor in a ballet
leotard, her head back, wheezing, her neck muscles
contracting and bulging, her face pale, lips white, and her
eyes filled with fear as rapid, shallow breathing induces a
sense of suffocation. DEBORAH WIGAND is having a severe
asthmatic attack...
WIGAND
Sweetheart, c'mon. C'mon.
BARBARA
She was playing with my Pooh doll
again...
Jeffrey sits her on the side of her bed next to which is a
Nebulizer, an air compressor to deliver medication via a tube
into a circular mouthpiece.
The compressor whirs. Deborah breathes in the medication.
Jeffrey brushes the hair back from her face and wipes
perspiration from her forehead as...
WIGAND
Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.
Breathe deep. Breathe deep. Slow down,
honey. Slow down. Slow down.
Liane rushes in with rolled-up towels, kneels in front of
Deborah, smiling to mask anxiety, and goes into the bathroom
with the towels and turns on full blast the bathtub's hot
water. We don't know why yet...
Deborah's chest heaves. She's scared. Jeffrey gets in front
of her and talks to her to arrest her attention.
WIGAND (cont'd)
Here we go. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
BARBARA
She was playing with the Pooh doll.
WIGAND
Pooh's dusty, sweetheart...he's dusty,
and you breathed him in, okay? So what's
- what's happening to you now is... cells
called mast cells told your lungs "don't
breathe any more of that dust in."
(beat)
...and the airways in your lungs are like
branches. And when the branches close
up, you get an asthmatic attack. And, we
give you medicine, and you get better.
Huh? Okay? You're better already,
aren't you?
And the medication's taking effect and she's calmer.
Liane, hands clutched in her lap, smiles at Deborah. Now she
takes Deborah's hand and exchanges a look with Jeffrey.
Jeffrey's a good father, a natural caregiver.
WIGAND (cont'd)
Okay, baby?
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - EVENING
Jeffrey, Liane and the two Girls silently eating dinner,
Deborah in a bathrobe.
DEBORAH
Can I go to dance tomorrow? I'm
better...
LIANE
...if you are, then I'll take Barbara to
soccer and take you to dance after...
WIGAND
I can take her.
LIANE
Don't you have to be at the office?
WIGAND
(instead, getting up)
Is there any more rice...?
LIANE
(nods)
Yes, it's on the stove...
He goes into the kitchen, to the stove, seeing...
LIANE (cont'd)
Do you want more rice?
DEBORAH
Maybe later.
LIANE
How about you?
BARBARA
I'll take some.
WIGAND
Instant rice...?
BARBARA
Can I go over to Janeane's house?
LIANE
I'm sorry, darling, have you seen my
coffee mug...?
WIGAND
Try the car.
And Liane going outside...
EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - EVENING
She opens Jeffrey's car looking in the front seat at the cup
holders. She turns to leave and sees the backseat filled
with two boxes and the books we saw him take...
LIANE
Uh, what are those boxes?
WIGAND
I'm going to the store. You need
anything?
LIANE
What do you need at the store?
WIGAND
Soy sauce...
LIANE
Right now?
WIGAND
(meaning in the car)
That's my stuff from the office...
LIANE
Why did you take your stuff from the
office?
WIGAND
(simply)
I didn't want to leave it there...
LIANE
(confused)
I don't understand.
WIGAND
(matter of fact)
I got fired this morning... Where else
am I gonna take it?
LIANE
Why? Who said?
WIGAND
(specifically)
Thomas Sandefur...
LIANE
(stunned, fearful)
What are we supposed to do...? What
about our medical coverage; what about
our health? What about our car payments?
The payments on this house?
He looks at her. There's an unspoken moment when it seems
he's desperate for her to ask how he's feeling... But she
doesn't and now there's a wall up and the moment passes...
WIGAND
(a beat, specific)
There's a severance agreement... It
includes cash payouts over time and
continuing medical coverage...
(beat)
Sure you don't need anything?
LIANE
No, thank you.
She's stunned. He leaves. And as Liane's completely still,
her accessories seeming literally to weigh her down, she
wants to ask how he is, how he must be feeling, and she turns
into CAMERA towards him to do that. But he's driven off down
the street.
LIANE (cont'd)
Jeffrey...!
INT. ANOTHER HOUSE IN BAALBEK - DAY
The Sheikh, wearing a fresh white robe and skull cap, comes
into the room...
THE SHEIKH
I am very pleased to receive you as my
guest, Mr. Wallace.
MIKE WALLACE
Thank you for having us...
REVERSE: Norman's camera crew is setting up. MIKE WALLACE
is there. A dangerous combination of intelligence,
arrogance, and celebrity, there's a kinetic quality about
him.
Wallace sits across from the Sheikh on a dais of patterned
linoleum in incongruous armchairs against a wallpaper mural
of a French formal garden. A Sound Technician wires the
Sheikh and Mike with microphones. Norman says something to
Lowell and then goes out.
NORMAN
I think I've got a problem with the
gennie. I have to go outside.
LOWELL
(going outside)
Norman...?
Mike turns his chair to face and slides it closer to the
Sheikh's chair. The Head Bodyguard barks something in
Arabic. The Interpreter says something back in Arabic. The
Sheikh, absorbed in his notes for the upcoming interview,
ignores all of this.
INTERPRETER
He says you must not sit so close.
MIKE WALLACE
What?
(re: Bodyguard)
I can't conduct an interview from back
there.
The Bodyguard, bristling at Wallace's tone, barks more
confrontational Arabic.
INTERPRETER
You must move back your chair.
MIKE WALLACE
Will you tell him that when I conduct an
interview, I sit anywhere I damn please!
INTERPRETER
There is no interview.
As Mike leaps forward, moving inches from the Bodyguard's
face with such sudden ferocity, even the Bodyguard flinches.
MIKE WALLACE
You! I'm talking to you!
More armed men start to enter.
MIKE WALLACE (cont'd)
What the hell do you think I am? A 78-
year-old assassin? You think I'm gonna
karate him to death with this notepad?
(to Interpreter)
Are you interpreting what I'm saying?
INTERPRETER
Yes.
LOWELL
We're there.
MIKE WALLACE
Good, well ask him if Arabic is his
second language.
LOWELL
(to Interpreter)
Don't interpret that!
(to both)
Hold it. Hold it. Hold it! Slow,
slow!!
(to the Sheikh)
Sheikh, do you mind...if you would just
turn your chair a little bit to face Mr.
Wallace?
The Sheikh looks up from his notes, nods, fixes his chair,
goes back to his notes...
LOWELL (cont'd)
Is that okay?
INTERPRETER
Okay.
LOWELL
(Bodyguard assents; to Mike)
Are you ready? Or you want to keep
fucking around and warm up some more...?
MIKE WALLACE
No.
(wry)
...that's got my heart started.
They know each other well. Lowell smiles. Wallace sits
down.
LOWELL
Alright, Todd, give me the three-button
on Mike, please. Okay. We are rolling.
Okay, Mike.
They roll camera... "60 Minutes"... "Hezbollah"...
MIKE WALLACE
(charming)
Sheikh Fadlallah, thank you so much for
seeing us.
(changes)
Are you a terrorist?
The Sheikh didn't expect the Mike Wallace opening shot
between the eyes. He recovers...
THE SHEIKH
Mr. Wallace, I...am a servant of God.
That expression of incredulity...
MIKE WALLACE
A servant of God? Really...
Mike, tipping his glasses down while the hostile Gunmen,
cradling weapons, watch him through the doorway...
MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)
Americans believe that you, as an Islamic
fundamentalist, that you are a leader who
contributed to the bombing of the U.S.
Embassy.
The ballsiness of Wallace, asking these questions in this
place, is impressive...
EXT. BERKELEY - LATE MORNING
It's still. A MAIL TRUCK is stopped at an odd angle in the
street outside an older brick house with a bold redwood Big
Sur-like fence on a hillside. Beyond the truck is a forever
view of the Bay. A handle turns. Mail truck door opens.
Mailman, carrying a box, going through the gate. Doorstep.
Box is deposited there. It's quiet again. The BOX sitting
nakedly by the front door...
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BEDROOM, BERKELEY - LATE MORNING
Lowell, in sweat pants and an old tee shirt now, is on the
telephone, still in bed... Newspapers, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, are spread
all over...home as refuge. A tray with large cups of coffee
is on a side table.
LOWELL
...everyone thinks Canadian Mounties
ride horses and rescue ladies from
rapids, Mike. They backed locals in Oka
in a fight with Mohawks over building a
golf course on their burial site. They
beat up protesters at Kanasake...
(pause)
Where'd you hear that?
The other phone on a nightstand rings... A Woman in her
forties, SHARON TILLER, enters, in a bathrobe, brushing her
teeth. She answers it...
LOWELL (cont'd)
(droll)
Oh, someone took a poll? "Are all things
Canadian boring...?"
SHARON
(to Lowell)
It's Stuart...he's in Mexico City...
LOWELL
Let me call you back...
He takes up the line...listening...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
Yeah, Stuart... What New York bank?
A young Man in his early twenties wanders in...
JAKE
Hey Dad...Sharon...
Lowell waves at JAKE, his son.
SHARON
(to Jake)
No classes this morning?
LOWELL
Will he go on-camera and talk about the
Mexico City branch?
JAKE
I don't have to be there until ten-
thirty.
Lowell's son sits on the bed looking at part of a newspaper.
And another young Man, in his early twenties, with long hair
comes strolling in, Sharon's son, JOSIAH.
JOSIAH
Hi Mom, Lowell...
Lowell, still on the phone, waves to him.
SHARON
Hi, sweetheart...
Josiah sits on the bed too, reading the back of the sports
section Jake is reading... Another line rings, Sharon
getting it. The Boys, used to them, get up, and leave...
LOWELL
(into phone)
Will independent sources corroborate
that?
SHARON
Hello? Yeah...
EXT. THE BERKELEY HOUSE - MORNING
The Boys coming out of the house together... And seeing the
BOX by the door...
LOWELL'S SON
(shouts back inside)
Dad, you got a box out here...
And they go out the gate, talking, walking off along the
Berkeley street. The box left waiting by the door.
LOWELL
(looking at her itinerary)
Let me see this... No, 'cause I gotta
know where you're going at all times.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BEDROOM, BERKELEY - MORNING
SHARON
(into phone)
I can't... I've got to fly to Boston
tomorrow.
Lowell comes with the box back to bed. He's already
unwrapped it. Inside are stacks of papers... He looks at
the box cover. No return address. An anonymous sender; not
unusual for him. He casually looks through the papers.
SHARON (CONT'D)
Two p.m. Great. Bye-bye.
(hangs up)
LOWELL
(reading)
..."ignition propensity?"
(to Sharon)
...you understand any of this...?
He gives her some papers. We see formulas...scientific data
in tables...
SHARON
...no...this looks like a table of
temperatures... Who's this from?
LOWELL
(shrugs)
...it's anonymous. References to "P.M."
(motions)
It's got to be Philip Morris, huh?
SHARON
I have to take a shower.
As he looks at the papers, Sharon goes into the bathroom...
INT. THE FEDERAL DRUG ADMINISTRATION AGENCY, CAFETERIA,
WASHINGTON - DAY
We see a MAN in his forties, eating a late lunch, getting
paged in a crowded cafeteria. An old 1930's WPA mural on the
wall... His pager goes off...
Doug Oliver walks across the cafeteria to a bank of pay
phones and dials.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, DEN - BERKELEY - MORNING
The phone rings. Lowell picks it up...
LOWELL
Yeah.
DOUG OLIVER
(into phone)
Hi, this is Doug Oliver...
LOWELL
Oh, hi, Doug...it's Lowell. I'm doing
this story on fire safety... People
burning up from falling asleep smoking.
I received a shitload of scientific
papers from inside Philip Morris...
Anonymous. You or anybody in FDA know
someone who can translate this stuff into
English for me?
DOUG OLIVER
(beat)
...uh, yeah...
EXT. A BERKELEY CAFE - CLOSE: PAY PHONE
There's the sound of a phone ringing. PULL BACK to reveal
Lowell outside a cafe with dry cleaning he collected over one
shoulder. A LITTLE GIRL'S VOICE OVER (Deborah's) answers.
"Hello."
LOWELL
Mr. Wigand, please.
There's a whisper..."Someone's calling for Daddy, Mom."
Behind Lowell is a humming Berkeley street. He gestures
familiarly to a Server, who brings out his two take-out
cappuccinos. Lowell nods his thanks, pays...
LOWELL (cont'd)
Thank you, Bob.
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
Who's calling?
LOWELL
My name's Lowell Bergman... I'm --
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
Did you say Berman?
LOWELL
No, Bergman...B.E.R.G.M.A.N.... I'm a
producer with "60 Minutes"...
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
"60 Minutes"?
LOWELL
Yeah.
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
"60 Minutes," the television show?
LOWELL
Yes.
Lowell waits for some moments, and...
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - DAY
LIANE
(on phone)
He doesn't want to talk to you.
EXT./INT. BERKELEY CAFE - DAY
LOWELL
How does he know he doesn't want to talk
to me? He doesn't know what I'm calling
him about...
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
He doesn't care to know.
And she hangs up. Lowell's motionless... And his interest
piqued, he sets down his cleaning. He calls back... The
phone rings and rings... A MACHINE picks it up... Jeffrey
Wigand's Voice: "This is the Wigands'... If you'd like to
leave a message or send a fax, start now..."
INT. THE WIGAND HOUSE, JEFFREY'S OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY
And we see Jeffrey Wigand, sitting at his desk in his office,
working on his computer, hearing Lowell...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(on the machine)
This is Lowell Bergman with "60
Minutes"... I'm doing a story on fire
safety and cigarettes... I have
scientific documents from a tobacco
company, and I could use your help as a
consultant explaining these documents to
me... My number is area code 510-555-
0199... I'll be there, at this number,
in 10 minutes.
He hangs up. Jeffrey doesn't react, quietly working on his
computer.
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY
Lowell's restless, waiting... And not getting a call back,
he tries another tact. He writes a FAX, "Please call me
at..." He writes his number down. He sends the Fax. He's
still. It's quiet. And not getting an answer he gets up,
starting to leave the room. And suddenly the fax machine
RINGS... He turns. He reads a message emerging from the
machine..."I can't talk to you..." He's quiet. He writes on
a piece of paper..."Can't talk to me?" "Won't talk to me?"
"Don't want to talk to me...?" As he faxes it back...
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY
Wigand reading the return fax from Lowell...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY
Lowell, waiting... The fax machine rings again... He reads
Jeffrey's answer. "Can't." "Won't." "Don't want to..."
He's quiet, more than just interested, now. There's
something beyond intriguing here. He turns. He looks
through a stack of phone books for something...a nationwide
800 directory. He looks through it and dials Wigand's phone
number again...
LOWELL
If you're curious to meet me...
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY
Wigand working on his computer... Lowell's VOICE on his
answering machine...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(on machine)
...I'm gonna be in the lobby of the
Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, reading The New York Times, tomorrow, at five
o'clock...
Lowell clicks off. And as Wigand sits at his computer,
giving no indication what he might do...
INT. THE SEELBACH HOTEL LOBBY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - EARLY
EVENING
An old hotel with faded carpets. Lowell in the lobby reading
a New York Times, waiting... And instead of looking up every
time somebody passes, he looks down at people's shoes. A
pair of black wing tips walking by... A woman's high
heels... A pair of men's tasseled loafers. A lace-up brown.
A pair of tennis shoes. A cordovan wing tip. The pair of
tasseled loafers walking by again... And Lowell looks up...
And the Man in the tasseled loafers, turns away... It's
Jeffrey Wigand in a suit and a tie with a Fortune 500,
corporate-executive bearing... Lowell crosses to the
elevators. Wigand looks around the lobby and follows Lowell
in, and as the doors close...
INT. A HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - EARLY EVENING
LOWELL (OVER)
Have you always lived in Louisville?
Brilliant late afternoon sunlight. We PULL BACK to see
Jeffrey, standing by a window, silently looking outside to
the left... Lowell, cool, waiting, hands in his pockets, in
the middle of the large room...
WIGAND
Mr. Bergman? What did you want me to
consult about?
A sudden KNOCK on the door...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(turns, suspicious)
Who's that?
LOWELL
(wry)
That's room service. They usually knock
first.
(calls)
Come on in... Over here, please.
Room Service brings in a tray with coffee. As Lowell signs
the bill, the Room Service Waiter waiting, looks at Wigand...
Their eyes meet... The Waiter looks away.
LOWELL (cont'd)
Thank you.
And the Waiter leaves...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
(pouring)
How do you like your coffee? Black?
WIGAND
Black, black...
Lowell gives him his cup of coffee.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
Look, I really don't have that much
time...
LOWELL
(nods)
Is there anything you want to know about
me, Mr. Wigand...?
WIGAND
Like what? Your sign?
Lowell smiles.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
I know what I have to know.
LOWELL
Just so I know you know, when I talk to
people in confidence, it stays that way.
WIGAND
(abruptly)
How did a radical journalist from
Ramparts Magazine end up at CBS?
Lowell looks at him, he does his homework...
LOWELL
I still do the tough stories. "60
Minutes" reaches a lot of people.
Wigand's quiet, measuring him.
WIGAND
(after a beat)
Let me see the documents...
Lowell gives him the box of papers... Wigand sits down, the
box on his lap, quietly looking through them...flips to a
different heading, consults a chart...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
...this is a Fire-Safety Product Study
for Philip Morris. Burn rates...ignition
propensity...things of this nature.
(after a beat)
I could very easily explain this to you
in layman's terms, because it's from
another company...
He puts the papers down...
WIGAND (cont'd)
...but that's as far as I go...
LOWELL
Far as you go where?
WIGAND
(a beat)
This issue is a drop in the bucket. I
can talk to you about what's in here.
But I can't talk to you about anything
else.
And Lowell knows something else is going on here...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(meaning Philip Morris
documents)
I signed a confidentiality agreement. I
honor agreements...
A lot more is going on here... Lowell nods, a good
reporter...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
Doesn't CBS have confidentiality
agreements, Mr. Bergman?
LOWELL
Between journalists and management, yes,
I believe they do...but I don't take that
seriously.
(after a beat)
Where do you work?
WIGAND
Did work.
LOWELL
(fast)
Did work.
WIGAND
(the bottom line)
How much would I get paid?
LOWELL
That, you have to discuss with CBS
Business Affairs. But, for something
like this, I would say anywhere between
10, 12 thousand.
Wigand nods "Okay."
WIGAND
Should I just take the documents now?
LOWELL
If you want to do it.
He turns to leave... Lowell gets the door for him... Wigand
momentarily slows...
WIGAND
I worked as the head of Research and
Development for Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Company. I was a Corporate Vice
President. Mr. Bergman...
And he goes out the door... Lowell's still. Wigand's job
title resonates. Lowell turns to the window, casually
looking into the early evening...and he comes face to face
with what Wigand was staring at, The Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Company Headquarters Building, lit up right across
the street...
INT. CBS, A SCREENING ROOM - DAY
MIKE WALLACE
(on screen)
"President Assad of Syria said that
difficult obstacles remain but that his
country, quote, 'looks forward to a
great, long peace with Israel.'"
TAIL LEADER. THEN BLACK. Suddenly lights come on.
Executive Producer DON HEWITT is suddenly on his feet. A
veritable dervish, in constant motion...
DON HEWITT
(kissing Mike)
It's a Peabody, Mike. When you're dead
and buried, Hezbollah is the one they're
gonna remember you for...
Mike, used to him, ignores him, getting up, turning to leave,
Hewitt on his tail...while...
LOWELL
(to his Editor)
...come in earlier on Mike's Marine
barracks line when he's talking to Sheikh
Mussawi...
MIKE WALLACE
You eating with us?
LOWELL
Yeah.
MIKE WALLACE
Bring a tie so they'll let us in the
front door...
And Lowell gestures for an olive-skinned Woman in her late
thirties, Lowell's assistant, DEBBIE DELUCA, to join them.
The eye contact on the way out says there's something
important he needs to tell her...
EXT. CBS - DAY
There's a blast of NOISE. The City. Lowell, Wallace,
Hewitt, Debbie, enter from the CBS lobby, moving through the
reflections. Lowell is about to say something to Debbie, but
BILL FELLING, Evening News' Assignment Editor, coming the
other way...
LOWELL
Debbie...
FELLING
Hey, Lowell.
Midstream, fast:
LOWELL
Oh, Bill... Main Justice is
investigating a major New York bank.
Laundering narco dollars out of their
Mexico City branch. You want it for the
Evening News?
FELLING
What about you, you got a crew already?
LOWELL
I'm gonna do a follow-up.
FELLING
Okay.
(leaves)
LOWELL
Catch ya' later.
EXT. 53RD STREET, NEW YORK - DAY
Lowell, crossing...
LOWELL
Debbie...
And, now, as they cross Madison...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
(to Debbie; finally)
I want you to get legal onto CORPORATE
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS. Boundaries
of their constraint. Kentucky state law
about. I want you to drop everything.
DEBBIE DELUCA
(cuts in)
Okay.
Hewitt stops to buy a newspaper. He doesn't have change,
Debbie does.
EXT. 55TH STREET (WESTBOUND), NEW YORK - DAY
And Mike, Lowell and Don bang into Michael's restaurant. We
SEE them through the glass, being greeted, people shaking
their hands, escorted by the maitre d' to their table as...
INT. THE BROWN & WILLIAMSON BUILDING, MAIN LOBBY,
LOUISVILLE - DAY
Meanwhile, it's static. Still, frozen. Jeffrey sits in the
RECEPTION AREA of The Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company
headquarters. Complimentary cigarettes are arranged on
tables. A dark quiet. The hush of big business. Standing
in the background by a wall next to the banks of elevators,
is an ever-present Man, another one, with an earphone and
lapel microphone...
UNIFORMED SECURITY
(to Wigand)
Mr. Wigand, you can go up now...
He gets up, crossing to an elevator.
INT. THOMAS SANDEFUR'S OFFICE, BROWN & WILLIAMSON - DAY
THOMAS SANDEFUR
(re: his distraction)
Sorry. I'm accepting an award from the
Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation. It's
going to kill the rest of my day.
THOMAS SANDEFUR is absorbed in spreadsheets of regional sales
figures. Dark pouches are under his eyes. He doesn't look
up. He doesn't look healthy. We're in a luxurious office
with a view of Louisville. Jeffrey is waiting in a chair.
Sandefur is Brown & Williamson's CEO. Two LAWYERS, their
briefcases, like weapons, close at hand, sit on a couch.
Their jackets are off. They wear expensive shirts.
THOMAS SANDEFUR (cont'd)
(finishing; looking up at
Jeffrey)
So. You had a chance to play golf?
Surprisingly affable, Sandefur prides himself on his
salesman's sunny manners. He has a mellifluous Georgia
accent...
THOMAS SANDEFUR (CONT'D)
(to the Lawyers)
Jeff's a premiere golfer... What are
you, a two handicap?
WIGAND
(precise)
Seven...
THOMAS SANDEFUR
(to lawyer)
And, he gets out there and he has five
strokes on us. He has more concentration
than anybody I've ever met. It's spooky
how he can concentrate.
WIGAND
I'd rather play than talk about it.
(beat)
What did you want to see me about? I
don't like being back here.
Sandefur smiles, used to him.
THOMAS SANDEFUR
Jeffrey says exactly what's on his mind.
Most people consider what they're
saying...social skills... Jeffrey just
charges right ahead.
(smiles, after a beat)
Now, I know you understood the nature of
the confidentiality portion of your
severance agreement with Brown &
Williamson, Jeff...
WIGAND
Chapter and verse.
THOMAS SANDEFUR
(nods)
Yeah, I know you do...
(beat)
You know, I came up through sales. One
of the reasons I was a great salesman,
was I never made a promise I couldn't
keep.
(beat)
I knew that if I ever broke my promise
I'd suffer the consequence...
And there's a warning behind it...
WIGAND
(contained)
Is that a threat?
THOMAS SANDEFUR
...we worked together for, what was it,
three years...?
Now, the work we did here is
confidential, not for public
scrutiny...any more than are one's family
matters...
WIGAND
(quietly)
You threatening my family, now, too?
THOMAS SANDEFUR
Now, don't be paranoid, Jeff.
(a beat)
About the direction of research here, we
may have had our differences of
opinion...
WIGAND
"Research..."
(smile + scorn)
You declare, as a badge of honor, you
don't even know what makes water boil...
THOMAS SANDEFUR
That's why we hire scientists...
WIGAND
(interrupts, direct)
Okay.
(a beat, honest)
I don't believe you can maintain
corporate integrity without
confidentiality agreements. I was paid
well for my work. The health and welfare
benefits are good. The severance package
is fair. I have no intention of
violating my confidentiality agreement
and disclosing that which I said I
wouldn't.
THOMAS SANDEFUR
I appreciate all that, Jeff. But, upon
reflection...we've decided to expand our
zone of comfort with you.
And there's a seriousness that weighs heavily on the room...
THOMAS SANDEFUR (CONT'D)
So we've drafted a supplement to your
agreement...it broadly defines and
expands in more detail what is
"confidential." Nobody will be able to
say, "Well, hell's bells, Margaret, I
didn't know that was a secret..."
(beat)
We're very serious about protecting our
interests.
(a beat)
We'd like you to sign it.
And he's acutely aware of the threat behind it...
WIGAND
(a beat)
And if I don't?
A LAWYER
(speaking for Sandefur)
If we "arrive" at the conclusion you're
acting in bad faith? We would terminate,
right now, payouts under your severance
package. You and your family's medical
benefits. And initiate litigation
against you, Mr. Wigand.
WIGAND
Dr. Wigand.
A LAWYER
(a beat)
Dr. Wigand...after you've examined the
document, you will see it is in your own
best interest and you'll sign it.
Jeffrey slowly turns to face the attorney. And we see on his
face the true nature of this man.
WIGAND
So, what you are saying is: it isn't
enough that you fired me. For no good
reason! Now you question my integrity?
On top of the humiliation of being fired?
You threaten me?! You threaten my
family?!
(beat)
It never crossed my mind not to honor my
agreement...
(turning, to Sandefur)
But I will tell you, Mr. Sandefur, and
Brown & Williamson, too... Fuck me?
(a beat)
Well, fuck you!!
And with that he gets up, and leaves... And it's quiet...
A LAWYER
I'm not sure he got the message...
THOMAS SANDEFUR
(with total confidence)
Oh, I think he did.
EXT. A PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY
Wigand picks up the phone and dials.
INT. THE NEW YORK RESTAURANT - DAY
They've finished lunch. Wallace and Hewitt are turned to
talk to Sam Cohn and an older writer as suddenly Lowell's
cell phone rings.
LOWELL
(answering)
Yeah...
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
...you fucked me!
LOWELL
Who is this?
EXT. A PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY
WIGAND
(crazed)
...protect your sources...! You screwed
me! You sold me out!
INT. THE NEW YORK RESTAURANT - DAY
LOWELL
What are you talking about? Where are
you?
EXT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY
WIGAND
Fuck you, too!
And he slams down the phone.
INT. THE RESTAURANT, NEW YORK - DAY
Lowell, holding the dead phone in his hand...
EXT. A GOLF DRIVING RANGE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
We see a brightly lit, golf driving range, empty, the wet
grass under the lights vibrant, emerald green... A caged
cart, with one big yellow headlight, like some kind of
strange insect, drives across the range, picking up golf
balls. And we see Jeffrey hitting golf balls, driving one
after another, after another... His swing is powerful,
angry, a lone golfer, trying to chill out. He pauses, spent.
Settling down, he exhales. Then, he looks down the way...
And he slows... He sees in the far distance, spot-lit, one
other lone golfer, a Stocky Man, incongruously in a suit and
tie, watching him... And the Man in the suit right then,
with great power and a tremendous follow through drives a
golf ball... The ball slamming into the steel net. And the
lights SUDDENLY go out. The range closing for the night.
The "insect" comes to a stop. And it's quiet, dark. Jeffrey
gathers up his clubs. He crosses, his golf shoes, the metal
cleats, clicking on the pavement, toward the PARKING LOT.
And there's the sound of the clicking of golf shoes behind
him. He turns. And the stocky Man in the suit, carrying a
golf bag walking some distance behind him, staring at him.
Jeffrey comes to the parking lot. It's empty. Just
Jeffrey's car, and despite all the empty spaces, another car,
purposely or otherwise, parked right next to his. He crosses
to his car, getting in...
INT. WIGAND'S CAR - NIGHT
He drops the three clubs in the rear seat and settles behind
the wheel. He turns. And he sees the Man in the suit has
gotten in the car next to his. They look at each other. The
Man, in no hurry, lights a cigarette, relaxes. It's
malevolent as hell. And Jeffrey, suddenly, grabbing a golf
club, jumps out of his car...
EXT. THE PARKING LOT, DRIVING RANGE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
Golf club in hand at the driver side window...
WIGAND
(motioning with the club,
threatening)
Stay away from me! You stay away from
me!
The Man starts his car, and drives off nonplussed. It's
still. And as Jeffrey with the golf club stands in the empty
parking lot, not knowing what's threatening him, something
real, something imaginary...
EXT. THE WIGAND HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - WIDE SHOT: WIGANDS'
HOUSE - EARLY MORNING
A violent rain's falling. And we see Jeffrey coming out of
the house holding an umbrella over his little Girls. They
start towards the car. There's the sound of a car door
shutting. Liane, carrying lunch boxes, comes after them...
LIANE
Jeffrey, you forgot their lunches --
She slows, seeing someone. Jeffrey turns: it's Lowell.
He's surprised.
LOWELL
Mrs. Wigand, how do you do?
WIGAND
(to the girls, protectively)
Jump in, quick, c'mon...
LOWELL
I'm Lowell Bergman. We spoke on the
phone, remember?
The Girls climb in the car. Lowell crosses behind the Audi
around the far side.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
C'mere. I want to talk to you.
WIGAND
Good. I want to talk to you.
Jeff closes the door on his daughters and joins Lowell around
the far side of the car.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(confronting him)
What do...
LOWELL
(running over)
I did not burn you. I did not give you
up to anyone!
WIGAND
(continuing)
This is my house... In front of my wife,
my kids?! What business do we have?
LOWELL
To straighten something out with you.
Right here. Right now.
WIGAND
So, you didn't mention my name? You
haven't talked to anybody about me?
LOWELL
Why am I gonna mention your name?
WIGAND
How did Brown & Williamson know I spoke
to you...?
LOWELL
How the hell do I know about Brown &
Williamson?
WIGAND
It happened after I talked to you. I do
not like coincidences!
LOWELL
And I don't like paranoid accusations!
I'm a journalist. Think. Use your head.
How do I operate as a journalist by
screwing the people who could provide me
with information before they provided me
with it?
WIGAND
(skeptical)
You came all the way down here to tell me
that?
LOWELL
No. I did not. Big Tobacco is a big
story. And you got something important
to say. I can tell.
(a beat, personal)
But, yes. I did.
I came all the way down here to tell you:
story, no story, fuck your story, I don't
burn people.
It starts to rain harder. They look at each other. Jeffrey,
without saying a word, gets in the Car. He backs out.
Lowell, left standing in the driveway with Liane in the rain.
Liane goes back into the house. And Lowell starts back
across the street to his car. There's a sound. He turns.
Jeffrey's car, having gone around the corner, has come back
and stopped in the street.
WIGAND
(after a beat)
Ride with me while I take the girls to
school...
Lowell hesitates, then gets into the car in the back seat.
INT. WIGAND'S CAR - MORNING
They drive away. Lowell, incongruously sitting in the back
seat with Barbara. Jeffrey and Deborah in the front seat.
And it's quiet, just the sound of the wipers on the window.
And as Lowell rides with them...
EXT. A RIVERSIDE PARKING LOT IN LOUISVILLE - WIDE REAR SHOT
- MORNING
We see the Car's parked in a weed-strewn empty lot. Rain,
pounding on it and the surface of the river beyond...
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
...and my little girl has acute asthma...
Deborah. My eldest daughter.
INT. WIGAND'S CAR, LOUISVILLE - REAR TWO SHOT - MORNING
The Girls are gone. We enter mid-scene. Lowell's still in
the back seat...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
And, I'm unemployed. So I have to
protect my medical coverage.
(the bottom line; turning to
look at Lowell in the rear
seat)
...so I left them a message this morning.
Their expanded confidentiality agreement?
I will sign it.
LOWELL
They're afraid of you, aren't they?
WIGAND
They should be.
The sound of the rain...
LOWELL
(after a beat, trying to make
it easier for him)
Talk to me outside the zone of your
agreement?
WIGAND
(guarded)
Like what?
LOWELL
Like where'd you work before Brown &
Williamson?
WIGAND
(a beat)
Johnson & Johnson. Union Carbide in
Japan. I was general manager and
director of new products. I speak
Japanese. I was a director of corporate
development at Pfizer. All health-
related.
(wry)
What else? Outside the "zone"...?
LOWELL
I don't know...you think the Knicks are
gonna make it through the semi-finals?
Wigand smiles...as their eyes meet in the rear view mirror.
A subtle connection... It passes...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. WIGAND'S CAR - WIDE FRONTAL - DAY
Jeff's car in the field, the giant Colgate-Palmolive clock
behind. The rain stopped. Steam rises from the weed strewn
empty lot. Lowell's in the front seat. And we get the
feeling they've been talking for hours...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Just give me an example...
WIGAND
For example. James Burke, the CEO of
Johnson & Johnson...when he found out
that some lunatic had put poison in
Tylenol bottles, he didn't argue with the
FDA... He didn't even wait for the FDA
to tell him. He just pulled Tylenol off
every shelf of every store right across
America. Instantly. And then he
developed the safety cap... Because,
look, as a CEO, sure, he's gotta be a
great businessman, right? But he's also
a man of science. He's not going to
allow his company...to put on the
shelf...a product that might hurt people.
(sarcastic)
Not like the Seven Dwarfs...
LOWELL
Seven dwarfs?
WIGAND
The seven CEOs of Big Tobacco...they got
up in front of Congress that time...it
was on television...
LOWELL
...and swore under oath that they know
nothing about addiction, disease...
WIGAND
It was on C-SPAN. Yeah.
LOWELL
Okay, so, here you are...you go to work
for tobacco.
(after beat)
You come from corporate cultures where
research, really, creative thinking,
these are core values. You go to
tobacco... Tobacco is a sales culture.
Market and sell enormous volume. Go to a
lot of golf tournaments. The hell with
everything else.
(beat)
What are you doing? Why are you working
for "tobacco" in the first place?
WIGAND
(deadly honest)
I can't talk about it. The work I was
supposed to do...might have had some
positive effect. I don't know...it could
have been beneficial.
(bitterness there)
Mostly, I got paid a lot. I took the
money. My wife was happy. My kids had
good medical. Good schools. Got a
great house.
(simply)
I mean, what the hell is wrong with
that...?
He looks at Lowell, as if needing validation...
LOWELL
Nothing's wrong with that. That's it;
you're making money...you're providing
for your family? What could be wrong
with that?
It's quiet. After some moments...
WIGAND
I've always thought of myself...as a man
of science. That's what's wrong with it.
LOWELL
Then...you're in a state of conflict,
Jeff.
Jeffrey doesn't say anything.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
Because, look, here's how it lays out: if
you got vital, insider stuff the American
people for their welfare really do need
to know...and you feel impelled to
disclose it and violate your agreement in
doing so, that's one thing. On the other
hand, if you want to honor this
agreement, then that's simple. You do
so. You say nothing. You do nothing.
There's only one guy who can figure that
out for you. And that's you. All by
yourself.
Lowell's evenhanded...is it too evenhanded? As Wigand
contemplates the edge he's standing on, they're quiet. Then
Wigand sees the time...
WIGAND
I've got to go pick up the girls. They
only had half a day...
Lowell nods. Jeffrey starts the car. The windshield wipers
screech on a dry window. Their eyes meet. As they drive
off...we HOLD on the Colgate-Palmolive Clock.
INT. A KITCHEN AREA, CBS OFFICES, NEW YORK - DAY
We've entered mid-scene... A monitor on a cart plays a 1/2-
inch VCR of a C-SPAN broadcast. Seven CEOs of Big Tobacco...
in front of a bas relief of the American eagle. Each in turn
swears nicotine is not addictive or he doesn't know anything
about health risks, they're not sure, maybe, maybe not,
etc....
LOWELL (OVER)
He referred to this...the Seven Dwarfs...
MIKE WALLACE (OVER)
What "Seven Dwarfs?"
LOWELL (OVER)
The seven CEOs of Big Tobacco... Referred
to this... Said they should be afraid of
him... I assume, afraid of what he could
reveal.
(to Staff Lawyers)
Now, you tell me. What does this guy
have to say that threatens these people?
And, now, we see Lowell, Mike Wallace and Debbie DeLuca with
two staff Lawyers, MARK STERN and JOHN HARRIS, sitting around
a workstation used as an improvised eating area.
Beyond them are the "60 MINUTES" offices, workstations, piles
of material, television monitors hanging from the ceiling,
all tuned to CBS programming...
MIKE WALLACE
Well, it isn't "cigarettes are bad for
you"...
LOWELL
Hardly new news.
MIKE WALLACE
No shit.
LOWELL
What's this?
MARK STERN
(re: video)
What that is is tobacco's standard
defense. It's the "we don't know"
litany: "Addiction? We believe not.
Disease? We don't know. We take a bunch
of leaves, roll 'em together. You smoke
'em. After that? You're on your own.
We don't know."
(beat)
So...tells me nothing.
(beat)
Besides, you'll never get what he's got.
LOWELL
Why not?
JOHN HARRIS
Because of this guy's confidentiality
agreement, he is never gonna be able to
talk to you.
LOWELL
That's not good enough. This guy is the
top scientist in the number three tobacco
company in America. He's a corporate
officer. You never get whistle-blowers
from Fortune 500 companies. This guy is
the ultimate insider. He's got something
to say; he wants to say it; I want it on
"60 Minutes."
JOHN HARRIS
Doesn't matter what he wants.
MIKE WALLACE
Am I missing something here?
JOHN HARRIS
What do you mean, Mike?
MIKE WALLACE
He's got a corporate secrecy agreement?
Give me a break. This is a public-health
issue, like an unsafe airframe on a
passenger jet or...some company dumping
cyanide into the East River. Issues like
that? He can talk, we can air it.
They've got no right to hide behind a
corporate agreement.
(re: his coffee)
Pass the milk...
JOHN HARRIS
(does)
They don't need the right. They've got
the money.
MARK STERN
The unlimited checkbook. That's how Big
Tobacco wins every time. On everything.
They spend you to death. $600 million a
year in outside legal. Chadbourne-Parke.
Ken Starr's firm, Kirkland and Ellis.
Listen. GM and Ford, they get nailed
after 11 or 12 pick-ups blow up. Right?
These clowns have never...I mean ever...
JOHN HARRIS
Not even once...
MARK STERN
...not even with hundreds of thousands
dying each year from an illness related
to their product...have ever lost a
personal-injury lawsuit. On this case,
they'll issue gag orders, sue for breach,
anticipatory breach, enjoin him, you, us,
his pet dog, the dog's veterinarian...
Tie him up in litigation for ten of
fifteen years. I'm telling you, they bat
a thousand. Every time. He knows that.
That's why he's not gonna talk to you...
Lowell's been quiet, thinking about something else... Now...
LOWELL
Okay, let's look through the looking
glass the other way...
MIKE WALLACE
What do you mean?
LOWELL
We got a guy...who wants to talk but he's
constrained.
(beat)
What if he were "compelled"?
MIKE WALLACE
(eating)
Oh, torture? Great ratings.
MARK STERN
What do you mean compelled?
LOWELL
(seriously)
I mean compelled by a Justice Department,
state courts, be a witness. That would
cut through any confidentiality
agreement, wouldn't it?
MARK STERN
Yeah...
DEBBIE DELUCA
What does that do?
LOWELL
What do you mean, what's it do?
DEBBIE DELUCA
What I mean is, like, how does it cut
through the confidentiality agreement?
LOWELL
Because he has to reveal it in a court of
law. It's on record, it's out. It's no
secret anymore. So how can they restrain
his speech or retaliate? It's out in the
world...
MARK STERN
(nods)
If you could engineer it into the court
record, you might have something. They
would have a helluva time trying to
restrain his speech then, wouldn't they?
Pause.
JOHN HARRIS
(still skeptical)
Yeah, but what venue? And where does he
get - does he have killer attorneys?
LOWELL
I don't think he's got any attorneys.
MARK STERN
He's gonna need attorneys who aren't
afraid of risking years of litigation.
And millions of dollars of their own
dough in legal costs...
LOWELL
What do you say, Mike? What do you
think?
MIKE WALLACE
(pause)
Even if he gets the defense team, will he
go for it?
INT. A HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA, LOUISVILLE - DAY
MRS. WATSON
...you're awfully overqualified, Dr.
Wigand.
The aftermath of a high school lunch. Tables, covered with
litter, as far as the eye can see. And we see Jeffrey
sitting with a formidable Black Woman in her mid-fifties, the
High School Principal, CYNTHIA WATSON, drinking cups of
coffee...
WIGAND
(after a beat, awkward)
I'm trying to...start a new career... I
believe I could be a good teacher...
She's quiet. She senses this applicant has a lot on his
mind.
MRS. WATSON
Let me give it some thought...
WIGAND
(selling)
...and not a lot of companies in the
health-care field hire ex-tobacco
scientists.
She nods, studying him. They get up.
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - DAY
The house is nearly empty. Liane, arms folded across her
chest, is quietly standing in the empty living room. Jeffrey
comes down the stairs...
WIGAND
That's it...
And it's quiet. And Liane holds herself, overcome...
LIANE
(beat)
That's where our babies were born...
Debbie took her first steps, right
there...in the grass.
And they're quiet.
LIANE (CONT'D)
I didn't plan on this...
Liane looks at him, afraid. And as he moves to hold her.
WIGAND
Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. C'mon. We can
make this work for us. Okay? It's
just...it's a smaller scale.
Simpler...easier...more time. More time
together. More time with the kids. More
time for us, okay? It's just... Can you
imagine me coming home from some job
feeling good at the end of the day? This
is gonna be better. This is gonna be
better.
And instead of this downturn turning them against each other,
it brings them closer together. And as they stand in the
empty house...
INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE - DAY
We see unpacked boxes in the small 1970's kitchen. Country-
western music is playing on a radio. And we see Liane busily
putting things away in a cabinet. And, then, stops and looks
out the window. She tightens a knob on a cabinet. There's a
moment of domestic peace for her as she sees...
EXT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, THE BACKYARD - DAY
Jeffrey with the Girls in a part of the backyard, kneeling in
the dirt, planting a vegetable garden, putting in some small
tomato trellises. We see the house, now. It's a small, one
story. Deborah sees her mom and waves. It's an image from
the 1950's post-war boom. Liane waves back from behind the
pane of glass...
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT
Jeffrey's asleep on his side next to Liane, her back to him.
His arm is draped over her, protectively. There's a sound.
He turns. And he sees Barbara in her nightgown, standing in
the doorway...
WIGAND
Hey, baby. What's wrong?
BARBARA
(terrified, whispers)
What's that outside, Daddy?
WIGAND
Did you see somebody or did you hear
them?
BARBARA
I heard them.
WIGAND
Where?
BARBARA
In the backyard.
Fast, soundlessly, he's out of bed into old moccasins and
trousers...
INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, BASEMENT - LATE NIGHT
Jeffrey goes into a corner of the basement, around the corner
from the furnace, where his "office" is now. Unpacked boxes
are on the floor. He fumbles with the combination lock on a
small gun safe, lifts the lid, taking out a hand gun.
Barbara followed him.
WIGAND
Sit at Daddy's desk, okay? Why don't you
just sit up at the desk. Get out some
paper and draw me a picture, okay? What
are you gonna draw me, baby? An animal,
something like that? You stay down here
until Daddy gets back...alright, Barbara?
You stay down here.
He keeps it hidden from Barbara. He goes up the stairs.
EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BACKYARD - LATE NIGHT
It's still. He steps further out onto the lawn with its dark
shrubs and small tree in the corner.
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BASEMENT - LATE NIGHT
Meanwhile, Barbara in the basement, starts as the water
heater comes on, scaring her. She goes up the stairs to
follow after her father...
EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BACKYARD - LATE NIGHT
Meanwhile, Jeffrey has crossed towards the darker back
corners. Sudden rustling. He spins, gun ready. And the
yellow eyes of a RACCOON stare at him.
WIGAND
(to himself)
You almost got your damn head blown
off...
The raccoon defiantly bares its teeth.
Jeffrey starts to go...but he sees something and stops...
Meanwhile, Barbara has come to the sliding glass door...
Jeffrey sees one of the tomato trellises is crushed, stepped
on...and in the vegetable garden's earth, are distinct,
fresh, deep FOOTPRINTS...
BARBARA'S VOICE (OVER)
Daddy...
Wigand steps between her and the garden, hiding it...
EXTREMELY CLOSE ON JEFFREY, as he covers, trying to keep from
his daughter the invasion, trying to control his emotions...
WIGAND
(reassuring her)
It's just a raccoon, baby...nothing.
He crosses to her, putting his arm, around her, walking her
back inside...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
They're nocturnal. You know what that
means? That means that they only come
out at nighttime.
He locks the sliding glass door, takes a last look outside.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE IN BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT
The Phone suddenly RINGS. Lowell asleep, alone... He gets
it...
LOWELL
(sleepy)
Yeah...
INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, HALLWAY - LATE AT NIGHT
It's dark, save a light from the living room. Liane, in bed,
seemingly sleeping. And we see Jeffrey, just outside their
door in the foyer, sitting on the floor against a curved
wall, a drink at his side on the telephone... A man with no
one to talk to...
WIGAND
(after a beat)
Lowell... Jeffrey Wigand...
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT
Lowell sits up...
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
Is it too late?
LOWELL
No. No, it's okay... How's - how's the
new place?
INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT
WIGAND
The new place? New.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT
LOWELL
(intuiting)
You okay?
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
Sure.
Lowell knows he isn't...
LOWELL
You know, I was thinking of calling you
tomorrow, anyway.
(beat)
How are your kids handling the new house?
INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE AT NIGHT
WIGAND
Good.
(beat)
You have kids?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
We have a couple. One's hers, one's
mine. Everybody uses a different name.
(wry)
Modern marriage.
(beat)
How's Liane?
WIGAND
She's okay.
He looks at Liane for beat. We SEE his POV in medium shot.
Then he moves and sits on the floor in the living room.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
Hold on a minute, Lowell...
(after a beat)
...somebody...may be following me. I
don't know. They came on the property...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
What do you mean followed you? Did you
call the police?
WIGAND
I don't want to be paranoid... I mean,
maybe it's a game. Some kind of mind
game.
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Well, what do you really think, though?
WIGAND
I don't know what the fuck I really
think! Are they doing it? Is some crank
doing it? Are they doing it to make me
feel paranoid? Are they doing it for
real and don't give a shit what I think?
I don't know! I don't fucking know.
And it's quiet again.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT
Lowell sitting in bed on the phone, alarmed, sharing Wigand's
fears.
LOWELL
Jeffrey, describe for me in detail what
happened.
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE NIGHT
And Jeffrey's emotions are back in check as...
WIGAND
Well, no, look...I mean, there was a
footprint. Forget it. It's probably not
important at all.
(beat)
You know, I got a job now. I'm teaching
high school. Japanese and Chemistry.
(beat)
So, what were you calling about?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
You called me.
He takes another drink...
WIGAND
No, you said you were going to call me
tomorrow. So, what about?
LOWELL
(after a beat)
Oh, yes, yes, yes, I did...I wanted to
talk to you. I wanted to hook up and
talk to you. About what we were talking
about in your car.
WIGAND
...okay.
LOWELL
(after a beat)
Makes you feel good? Putting what you
know to use?
Jeffrey's impressed by Lowell's perceptivity...
WIGAND
How'd you know that, Lowell?
LOWELL
It's obvious, isn't it?
He looks at Liane in the next room, asleep.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
Hello. You there
WIGAND
Yeah... Look, thanks for talking. I'm
sorry I woke you up.
LOWELL
It's okay.
Jeffrey hesitates, holding the phone, then he hangs up...but
the phone RINGS right away.
WIGAND
Lowell...?
But there's thick silence.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
Who is this? Do not call here! Do
not...
They hang up. And he realizes he's talking to a DIAL TONE.
He hangs up. And as he sits in the patch of light from a
street lamp, the gun in his hand on his lap, to be up all
night guarding his family...
INT. THEIR BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT
And past Liane's sleeping form down the hall into the living
room is her husband, his back to her, sitting in the
trapezoid of light. And as we DOLLY along her side, we come
upon her face and discover she's been up all along and her
eyes are pressed shut, her hands over her ears...her reaction
to his raging on the phone. She's far from "OKAY."
INT. A JAPANESE RESTAURANT, WASHINGTON D.C. - NIGHT
And we see Lowell and Wigand sitting in their stocking feet
at a traditional Japanese table in a private screened room...
A traditionally-dressed Japanese Waitress waiting to take
their order... Wigand conversing with her in Japanese...
The Waitress formally nods, and leaves...
LOWELL
What did you get us?
WIGAND
Tempura...
And Wigand drinks some more saki.
WIGAND (cont'd)
The internet said you did graduate work
in Wisconsin, then went to UC La Jolla
with Professor...Marcus?
LOWELL
Marcuse. Yeah. He was my mentor. He
had a major influence on the New Left in
the late '60s...and on me, personally.
WIGAND
Next to your father?
LOWELL
My father? What the hell's that got to
do with my father?
WIGAND
Is that why you became a journalist?
Then you get to ask all the questions?
LOWELL
You charge by the hour?
WIGAND
My father was a mechanical
engineer...most ingenious man I ever
knew.
LOWELL
Well, my father left us when I was five-
years old. He was not the most ingenious
man I ever knew... Let's get back to
Brown & Williamson. If you decide to go
on "60 Minutes," I got to know everything
about why you got fired.
WIGAND
Why?
LOWELL
They're gonna dig up stuff from your
past, they're gonna throw it at you. I
got to know what they're gonna throw.
You understand?
WIGAND
(concedes)
I drink. A couple of occasions more than
I should have.
(thinks)
I was cited for shoplifting once. But it
was a mistake...
(hesitant, after a beat)
I pushed Liane one time. We were both
stressed out because of the pressure.
She went to her mother's.
(out of the blue)
I got fired because when I get angry I
have difficulty censoring myself. And I
don't like to be pushed around!
LOWELL
I'm not pushing you around!
(after a beat)
I'm asking you questions.
WIGAND
I'm just a commodity to you, aren't I? I
could be anything. Right? Anything
worth putting on between commercials...
LOWELL
(honest)
...to a network, probably, we're all
commodities.
(beat)
To me? You are not a commodity. What
you are is important.
And he's begun to consciously or unconsciously "sell"...
LOWELL (cont'd)
You go public and thirty-million people
hear what you got to say, nothing, I mean
nothing, will ever be the same again.
Wigand doesn't react.
LOWELL (cont'd)
You believe that?
WIGAND
(skeptical)
No.
LOWELL
You should. Because when you're done, a
judgment is going to go down in the court
of public opinion, my friend. And that's
the power you have.
WIGAND
You believe that?
LOWELL
I believe that? Yes, I believe that.
WIGAND
You believe that because you get
information out to people...something
happens?
LOWELL
Yes.
WIGAND
Maybe that's just what you've been
telling yourself all these years to
justify having a good job? Having
status? And maybe for the audience, it's
just voyeurism? Something to do on a
Sunday night. And maybe it won't change
a fucking thing. And people like myself
and my family are left hung out to dry.
Used up! Broke, alone!
LOWELL
Are you talking to me or did somebody
else just walk in here?! I never
abandoned a source!
WIGAND
I don't think you really understand --
LOWELL
(running over)
No, don't evade a choice you gotta make
be questioning my reputation or "60
Minutes'" with this cheap skepticism!
WIGAND
I have to put my family's welfare on the
line here, my friend! And what are you
puttin' up? You're puttin' up words!
LOWELL
Words! While you've been dickin' around
at fucking company golf tournaments, I
been out in the world, giving my word and
backing it up with action.
Lowell is getting very close, in spite of the value of
Wigand, to telling Jeff to take his story and stick it up his
ass.
LOWELL (cont'd)
Now, are you going to go do this
thing, or not?
Wigand abruptly rises...
WIGAND
(surprisingly mild)
I said I'd call the kids before they went
to bed. Onisa...
And turning, he crosses the restaurant. And that's where it
hangs.
INT. A CBS EDITING SUITE, NEW YORK - DAY
And we see we're watching footage in an on-line editing bay
from what we will learn is Lowell's "N.O.P.D. Blue" on police
corruption in New Orleans.
Lowell, TONY BALDO (his editor), Debbie and an intense YOUNG
MAN wearing glasses, an Intern, looking at the cut. All the
police are on horseback, lots of cops on horses.
Lowell is waiting for a call to go through...
LOWELL
The stringer was supposed to be shooting
B-roll on street cops in New Orleans.
What's with all the horses?
TONY BALDO
Camera guy's got a thing about mounted
police.
LOWELL
(re: horses)
Don't any of these guys ride in cars or
walk?
TONY BALDO
How long did he stay on this?
LOWELL
What was he seeing?
DEBBIE DELUCA
(into phone)
Yes, hello... I'm trying to reach Mr.
Richard Scruggs...
INT. A LEAR JET - DAY
And we see the PILOT, a fit-looking, unassuming man, wearing
aviator glasses, in his late forties. A heavyset Man in his
forties, riding up in the co-pilot's seat we'll come to know
as RON MOTLEY. The Pilot's on a headset... He has a
distinctive Southern accent...
THE PILOT
This is Richard Scruggs...
DEBBIE DELUCA
Could you hold on one second, please?
(to Lowell)
Lowell, I got him on the phone.
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Hello, I'm Lowell Bergman.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Hold on... Mobile approach...this is
Lear November 643. Over.
CONTROL OPERATOR'S VOICE (OVER)
Go ahead 643.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(after a beat)
Request a flight level 220, on a heading
of 284 degrees. Over.
(after a beat)
Mr. Bergman?
LOWELL
Yes, I'm right here. Could you call me
back on a hard line?
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Alright.
LOWELL
Area code 212-555-0199.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
I'll call you then.
INT. A LOUNGE, PRIVATE AVIATION TERMINAL - DAY
Through the window, we see Scruggs' plane being refueled
while Scruggs and Motley in a run-down lounge are talking on
a SPEAKER PHONE with Lowell. They've taken over the
Secretary's office for privacy.
LOWELL
(re: footage)
What do we do with that?
The phone rings.
DEBBIE DELUCA
I don't know.
RICHARD SCRUGGS' VOICE (OVER)
Richard Scruggs...
LOWELL
...you filed a lawsuit against tobacco on
behalf of the State of Mississippi, did
you not?
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(nods)
That's right...
LOWELL
(after a beat)
Well, I'm working with someone, now, who
was the former head of research at Brown
& Williamson, a former corporate officer
there.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
What's your interest in this, Mr.
Bergman?
LOWELL
Well, he may tape an interview with us.
And, we believe if his testimony showed
up in a court record first, it would free
him up from his confidentiality agreement
and give him some protection.
MOTLEY
It could work. If it's public record,
it's public record.
LOWELL
Yeah, and he's going to need legal
representation.
MOTLEY
He sure as hell will.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(a beat)
Has he decided to go public? Because
let me tell you, we've been doing this
for three years now, and we've worked
with a lot of corporate cases involving
whistle-blowers, so we know... Big
Tobacco will do everything in their power
to stop him. So, is your man truly
committed?
LOWELL
Well, actually, no. Well, he's on the
fence. That's the point.
Scruggs and Motley exchange a look... Motley shrugs...
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Well, we'd certainly be interested in
making his acquaintance, but without
knowing what he's going to do...
LOWELL
Well, would you want him to call you?
Or, you want to call him? How do you
want to do it?
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(no nonsense)
It would be better if he called us.
LOWELL
Yeah.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Alright?
LOWELL
Okay. Thank you.
At this moment, these two attorneys are unsold on the
prospect of Jeffrey Wigand. Scruggs disconnects.
LOWELL (cont'd)
Shit...
INT. CBS EDITING SUITE, NEW YORK - DAY
LOWELL
(contemplating phone; to Debbie
re: show)
Oh, we need cops on the street. We don't
need them on horses.
DEBBIE DELUCA
I don't know what he was thinking.
LOWELL
Oh, for God's sake, what has this guy
got, a horse fetish?
DEBBIE DELUCA
Alright, alright.
LOWELL
Get me to New Orleans this afternoon.
I'll shoot the fucking thing myself!
TIGHTEN on mounted New Orleans police at crime scene, herding
crowd.
INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, KITCHEN - TWILIGHT
Liane cooking dinner, making pasta. Ingredients, diced
tomato, basil, are neatly ordered. She's waiting for water
to boil. The kids are doing homework on the round table in
the kitchenette. It's an idle moment. She's dazed-out
watching them.
DEBORAH
What are you cooking?
LIANE
I'm cooking pasta primavera.
DEBORAH
Oh, I love that stuff.
And now she hears from the basement the BELL RING on
Jeffrey's computer. It's a tiny bell, incessant... She
crosses to the basement stairs.
LIANE
I'm going to have to go downstairs.
INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, BASEMENT OFFICE - NIGHT
Liane down the stairs, approaching Jeffrey's computer. And
she SEES an incoming E-mail icon - a large letter with wings -
flying repetitively across the screen.
The bell RINGING is louder. She calls-up the E-mail... On
the screen in large RED letters:
WE WILL KILL YOU. WE WILL KILL ALL OF
YOU. SHUT THE FUCK UP.
And now Liane is shouting and running up the stairs and...
LIANE
Debbie, Barbara... Debbie!
EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - EVENING
Jeffrey, having arrived home from work, pulls the mail out of
the mailbox, now stands, frozen, staring at something... And
he sees, standing upright in the back of the mail box, like a
monument of threat, a single hollow point .38 CALIBER BULLET.
He freezes... And simultaneously...
Liane and the Girls are running toward him...like in a bad
fucking dream. He's looking at them. Liane is saying
something about E-mail, but his slow-motion attention is
still arrested by the statuesque bullet. As they close on
him...
EXT. NEW ORLEANS, THE FRENCH QUARTER - NIGHT
And we see Lowell lit by FLASHING POLICE LIGHTS. We're at a
crime scene. Uniformed cops on horseback. Just arrived, the
Cameraman's unloading his gear, preparing to shoot B-roll.
LOWELL
What happened?
COP
Dispatch received a call of shots fired
in the area. Uniforms arrived on the
scene and found this white male subject
shot to death.
LOWELL
Was it gang related?
COP
There's no indication as far as a tag or
an advertisement...
Police moving around as Lowell's cell phone RINGS...
LOWELL
(answering)
Excuse me. Yeah...
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT
WIGAND
They're terrorizing us. Death threats?!
To my family? My kids?!
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
What are you talking about?
WIGAND
Someone put a bullet in my mailbox.
LOWELL
Jeff, call the FBI right away...
WIGAND
They do this with impunity!
LOWELL
Jeff...
WIGAND
They get to go home at night. What does
it cost these people to do this to us?
Nothing?! My girls are crying, so fuck
them! I want to tape! I'm done thinking
about it.
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(frustrated)
I heard you. But I got to arrange a
legal defense first. I got to get you to
testify in court, get it on public
record.
WIGAND
(cuts in)
Then hold it off the air until you got
that. But I want to go to New York.
And I want to go on the record. Right
now!
LOWELL
Good. But Jeff...
WIGAND
I'll call them, Lowell.
INT. WIGAND'S HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And two older, local FBI AGENTS #1 and #2 are sitting with
Jeffrey in his living room...
FBI AGENT #2
Did you handle the round, Mr. Wigand?
WIGAND
Yes, I'm afraid I did.
FBI AGENT #1
We won't be able to lift usable prints.
FBI AGENT #2
Do you own a gun, Mr. Wigand?
WIGAND
A gun? Yes.
FBI AGENT #2
What caliber is your gun?
WIGAND
What caliber is my gun?
FBI AGENT #2
Yes, sir. What caliber is your gun?
WIGAND
(a dawning realization)
What does that have to do with the price
of tea in China?
Now one of the kids is crying, Liane trying to calm her,
takes her out of the room.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(a beat, realizing)
You think I put that bullet in the
mailbox myself...?
FBI AGENT #2
If we could take a look, Mr. Wigand...
And he gets up... They follow him into the bedroom. He
unlocks the side drawer on his night stand, taking out a gun,
giving it to one of the Agents.
FBI AGENT #1
Why do you keep this gun?
WIGAND
I don't think it's unconstitutional yet
to own a gun. I'm a target shooter.
FBI AGENT #2
That bullet was for a .38 caliber. Do
you own a .38?
WIGAND
Yes, I do. A .38 Target Master. In my
gun safe downstairs. A .45 Gold Cup. A
.22 target pistol. So what?
FBI AGENT #2
(after a beat)
Do you have a history of emotional
problems, Mr. Wigand?
WIGAND
Yes. Yes, I do.
(beat)
Yes, I get extremely emotional when
assholes put bullets in my mailbox...!
And we hear Liane's voice from downstairs...
LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
(upset)
I didn't tell you that so you could just
pick it up and take it away. Jeffrey!
And we see Liane following FBI Agent #3, coming up the stairs
from the basement, and the Agent is carrying Jeffrey's
computer...
WIGAND
What's going on?
LIANE
I told him that you had an E-mail death
threat that said if you didn't shut the
"F" up, they were going to kill you...
Agent #3 starts out of the house with the computer followed
by #2. Jeffrey runs out after them.
EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT
WIGAND
(outraged)
You can't take that... It's personal
property...!
FBI AGENT #2 (OR #3)
We have a search warrant, Mr. Wigand.
There's been a death threat.
WIGAND
(after him)
...my files! Personal correspondence...
Agent #3 ignores him, putting the computer in the trunk of
their car. And FBI Agent #1, the .38 bullet in a baggie,
comes out of the house.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
...letters to my brother...my will.
His shoes slip on the grass and he falls. And the FBI are
getting into their car. And NEIGHBORS have come out,
watching them. Liane and the girls, standing halfway down
the front lawn, the neighbors looking at them. She and
Jeffrey look at each other. Will she go to him or not? She
goes to him as he rises...
WIGAND (cont'd)
That computer has everything...
FBI AGENT #2
You alright, Mr. Wigand?
FBI AGENT #1
We need to take a look at your gun safe,
Mr. Wigand.
EXT. NEW ORLEANS, THE FRENCH QUARTER - NIGHT
LOWELL
(interrupts)
I'm telling you, your agents in that
office are acting improperly! Now, who
are they trying to protect?
And we see a Man in his early forties, a neatly-dressed man
who prides himself on his appearance, at his desk in the
Bureau (FBI). BILL ROBERTSON. He's completely distracted,
focused on agent travel orders...
BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
Let me tell you something, Lowell. Look,
look, look. You're talking about two
agents in a regional office in
Louisville. I got the goddamn Unabomber
threatening to blow up LAX! I gotta move
45 agents from all over the country into
L.A. Alright? When I get a chance, I'll
give it a look...
LOWELL
(heated)
You better take a good look! Because I'm
getting two things: pissed off and
curious! Now, any of these guys been
offered jobs in corporate security after
they retire? Either one of those guys
have ex-agent pals already in those jobs?
Like, for instance, their ex-supervisor,
who's already at Brown & Williamson as we
fucking speak?
INT. BILL ROBERTSON'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON - NIGHT
BILL ROBERTSON
(beat)
I'll give it a look.
LOWELL
You're getting my drift?
BILL ROBERTSON
I'll give it a look.
He hangs up.
INT. DINING ROOM, THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, NEW YORK - NIGHT
And we slide by some elegant diners to fall onto Lowell and
Mike Wallace with Jeffrey and Liane in the Hotel's dining
room, having ordered dinner.
LOWELL
So, is everything okay?
MIKE WALLACE
How are the rooms? Comfortable?
LIANE
(to Mike)
Yes, very. You know, I enjoy your work
so much...when you're talking to
somebody, I always feel like I'm right
there.
And she laughs...
MIKE WALLACE
Thank you got saying that...
LOWELL
Do you think we could talk about the
taping? Tomorrow's taping, just so we
can get it out of the way and order...
MIKE WALLACE
Yeah, well, questions will go toward what
work you did there, why you were fired.
And others will deal...
LIANE
(not sure she quite heard)
...taping?
(beat)
What are you taping?
WIGAND
I'm doing an interview.
LIANE
(whispers)
An interview! Do you know what they will
do to us...! I thought... Sorry.
But she suddenly gets up and leaves, hurrying out of the
dining room. And Jeffrey oddly doesn't move.
LOWELL
(trying to intervene)
Liane, this is a preliminary...
(after a beat)
You didn't tell her we were taping?
What did she think she was coming to New
York for?
WIGAND
...to talk about it. To think about it.
I had a plan to ease her into it. But, I
really - I didn't know how to do that...
Jeffrey abruptly crosses to the nearby Bar.
LOWELL
Oh, man.
MIKE WALLACE
Who are these people?
LOWELL
(frustrated)
Ordinary people! Under extraordinary
pressure, Mike. What the hell do you
expect? Grace and consistency?
And Lowell leaves the table. And as Mike Wallace sits at the
table, looking around, wondering what the fuck he's doing
there.
INT. THE BATHROOM, NEW YORK HOTEL - NIGHT
Liane folds her arms protectively across her chest...
INT. A STUDIO, CBS - MORNING
And we see a small TAPING STUDIO separated by flats and black
curtains from other CBS News sets. Cameras are set up.
INT. THE STUDIO, CBS - DAY
And we enter mid-scene on Jeffrey in a more formal demeanor,
sitting in a chair, Mike Wallace sitting across from him,
under the lights, taping an interview. Lowell, off camera.
MIKE WALLACE
You heard Mr. Sandefur say before
Congress that he believed nicotine was
not addictive...?
WIGAND
(nods)
...I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured
himself because I watched those
testimonies very carefully.
Lowell's reaction. Jeffrey's statements are stunning and
powerful revelations...and dangerous ones to make.
MIKE WALLACE
All of us did. There was this whole line
of people...whole line of CEOs up there
all swearing.
WIGAND
Part of the reason I'm here is I felt
that their representation clearly
misstated, at least within Brown &
Williamson's representation, clearly
misstated...what is common language
within the company...we are in the
nicotine delivery business.
MIKE WALLACE
And that's what cigarettes are for...?
WIGAND
A delivery device for nicotine.
MIKE WALLACE
A delivery device for nicotine. Put it
in your mouth, light it up, and you're
gonna get your fix...
WIGAND
You're gonna get your fix...
MIKE WALLACE
You're saying that Brown & Williamson
manipulates and adjusts the nicotine fix,
not by artificially adding nicotine, but
by enhancing the effect of nicotine
through the use of chemical elements such
as ammonia...
WIGAND
(nods)
The process is known as "impact
boosting..." While not spiking nicotine,
they clearly manipulate it. There's
extensive use of this technology, know
as "ammonia chemistry." It allows for
the nicotine to be more rapidly absorbed
in the lung and therefore affect the
brain and central nervous system.
INT. THE STUDIO, CBS - LATER
WIGAND
The straw that broke the camel's back for
me and really put me in trouble with
Sandefur was a compound called
"coumarin." When I came on board at B&W,
they had tried to transition from
coumarin to a similar flavor that would
give the same taste, and had been
unsuccessful. I wanted it out
immediately.
I was told that it would affect sales, so
I should mind my own business. I
constructed a memo to Mr. Sandefur
indicating I could not in conscience
continue with coumarin in a product that
we now knew, we had documentation, was
similar to coumadin, a lung-specific
carcinogen...
MIKE WALLACE
And you sent the document forward to
Sandefur?
WIGAND
I sent the document forward to Sandefur.
I was told that we would continue to work
on a substitute, we weren't going to
remove it as it would impact sales, and
that that was his decision.
MIKE WALLACE
In other words, you were charging
Sandefur and Brown & Williamson with
ignoring health considerations
consciously...
WIGAND
Most certainly.
MIKE WALLACE
And on March 24, Thomas Sandefur, CEO of
Brown & Williamson had you fired. And
the reason he gave you?
WIGAND
Poor communication skills.
MIKE WALLACE
And, do you wish you hadn't come forward?
You wish you hadn't blown the whistle?
WIGAND
Yeah, there are times I wish I hadn't
done it. There are times I feel
compelled to do it. If you asked me
would I do it again? Do I think it's
worth it? Yeah, I think it's worth it.
INT. A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASS, LOUISVILLE - AFTERNOON
Not too many kids paying attention. Meanwhile, Jeffrey has
written his name on the blackboard.
WIGAND
Hi.
KIDS
(in unison)
Hi.
WIGAND
My name is Jeff Wigand. You can call me
Mr. Wigand; you can call me Dr. Wigand--I
have a Ph.D. in biochemistry and
endocrinology; you can call me Jeff...
(beat)
Anything else you want to call
me...you'll have to do so in private...
(a few kids smile)
Okay... I find chemistry to be magical.
I find it an adventure. An exploration
into the building blocks of our physical
universe...
(beat)
So, how many of you have taken chemistry
before?
Nobody raises their hands.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(easy smile)
Okay...I've never taught it before, so
we're gonna be fine.
A couple of laughs... And we feel Jeffrey, for the first
time is in a milieu that suits him.
WIGAND (cont'd)
Our first experiment is...
(holds up cigarette lighter)
...going to be measuring the molecular
weight of butane...
INT. SCRUGGS' OFFICE
Scruggs' office is decorated with watercolors of Phantom jets
and A-6s as Scruggs takes off his glasses...
CHARLENE
He's on line three.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL CORRIDOR
Jeffrey Wigand is on a pay phone in the corridor crowded with
students...
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Hello.
WIGAND
Mr. Scruggs, Jeff Wigand. Lowell Bergman
said I should give you a call...
INT. SCRUGGS' OFFICE
RICHARD SCRUGGS
My co-counsel, Ron Motley, and I have
filed a lawsuit against the tobacco
industry on behalf of the State of
Mississippi to get the state reimbursed
Medicaid costs for treating people with
smoking-related illness.
(beat)
If you'd be interested in talking to us,
we'd certainly like to talk to you...
WIGAND
When should we do this?
EXT. WIGAND'S HOUSE #2, LOUISVILLE - TWILIGHT
Jeffrey drives up the block and onto his driveway. Seeing a
MAN in a suit, an ear piece in his ear, disappearing around
the corner of his house, Jeffrey leaps out of the car. But
the front door's open. So instead of chasing after, he runs
inside...
INT. THE WIGAND'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY/TWILIGHT
And he sees another Man is in the living room...
WIGAND
Who the hell are you?! What are you
doing in my house?!
And he sees Lowell enter from the dining room...
LOWELL
It's okay, Jeff.
SECURITY GUARD
Mr. Wigand, you need to speak to...
LOWELL
(wry)
It's okay. You got your own security
now...
Wigand catches his breath.
WIGAND
Lowell, I can't afford --
LOWELL
...they "volunteered." A friend owns a
large security company.
TALIFARO
How are you doing, Mr. Wigand? I'm Jon
Talifaro. There'll be three of us on
detail.
LIANE
(crossing through)
I'm going to the store. Please explain
our new "houseguests" to your children.
And Wigand looks at Lowell... Barbara comes into the living
room and holds onto her father's leg.
WIGAND
I called Richard Scruggs in
Mississippi...
LOWELL
I heard.
WIGAND
I'm going to be a witness for them in
their litigation. So I'm going to fly to
Pascagoula to give a deposition...
LOWELL
I know. I'm going to go there tonight...
WIGAND
Did you have a good day?
DEBORAH
Yes, I did. I had a great day.
WIGAND
Coffee, Lowell?
LOWELL
Yeah.
(to kids)
Want to play that game we were playing
before? You know, I think you got it up
to five. I was ahead of you.
She goes over and holds his hand. And as he holds her hand,
seeing what his life has become, he looks up and his glance
connects with Lowell...
INT. THE KITCHEN, THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT
We see out the window a Security Guard, incongruous, walking
by. And we see Liane, finished with the dinner dishes,
silently wiping off the sink. There's a pall you could cut
with a knife. A moment, and Jeffrey comes in the kitchen
door from the garden... He stops to wash his hands in the
sink.
LIANE
Please don't wash your hands in the sink.
WIGAND
Where should I wash them?
LIANE
Use the bathroom.
WIGAND
What's the difference...
LIANE
That's for food.
But he ignores her, washing his hands... And she turns the
water off. He turns it back on. He thinks, then turns it
off. Then she turns it on.
LIANE (cont'd)
Leave it on! Just leave it on, okay?!
And she turns and leaves the room, coldly, all her anger
repressed. For Jeffrey, everything else and now this? The
running faucet.
EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE NIGHT
The house on the quiet suburban street. A Security Guard,
incongruous, a noticeable bulge where his shoulder holster
is, sitting watch under the porch light on the small front
porch in a metal porch chair.
INT. THE BASEMENT, THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - LATE NIGHT
And we see Jeffrey, unable to sleep, sitting at his desk,
alone in the basement, listening to classical music. He
instinctively turns. And he sees Liane, in her bathrobe, has
come down to sit on the basement stairs. He looks over at
her. And he thinks she's come down to make up. And all she
really wants him to do is say, "I need you..." But he
can't... And like ships that pass in the night, nothing's
said. It's quiet. She puts her hands protectively in her
robe pockets. And she starts to cry...
LIANE
I don't think I can do this... I want to
stand by my husband... I really do,
Jeffrey. But I don't think I can do this
anymore. I am so sorry...
WIGAND
Can we talk about this when I get back?
LIANE
Yes...Jeffrey.
She goes back up the stairs. And as Jeffrey sits in the
basement, and the music plays.
INT. THE LOUISVILLE AIRPORT - DAY
We see Jeffrey and his Security Man. He passes a small
Filipino Woman in a nurse's uniform and a Man in clerical
garb, who hands him a small American Flag, asking for
donations. And, now, he passes through the metal detector.
He nods thanks and walks towards us, relaxing, looking behind
every so often to see if anybody is following him. As he
passes Gate 3, he HEARS over his shoulder...
THE MAN
(friendly)
Jeff...?
Jeffrey turns and the Man throws a sheaf of SUBPOENAS at his
chest...
THE MAN (CONT'D)
(nasty)
You've been served.
And he turns and walks off. And as Jeffrey looks down at the
subpoenas...
INT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' KITCHEN - 7:00 A.M.
Jeffrey is sitting with Scruggs and Motley in Scruggs'
kitchen around a semi-circular counter. Coffee and sweet
rolls. It's casual. No one's dressed for court. Scruggs
has been looking through the sheaf of subpoenas. About
Motley, we sense power held in reserve.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Now, what this one is, is a temporary
restraining order, a gag order, issued by
a Kentucky court.
Meanwhile, a movie-star handsome man in shirtsleeves and a
tie, a coffee cup in his hand, enters and sits casually on
the arm of a chair.
RICHARD SCRUGGS (CONT'D)
(introducing)
Jeff Wigand, Michael Moore.
MICHAEL MOORE
Good to meet you, Dr. Wigand.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Mike's our Attorney General down here.
(to Moore)
I was just explaining to Jeff, they got a
Kentucky court to issue a gag order to
stop his deposition today.
MICHAEL MOORE
Right.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Now, they tried to get the Mississippi
Court to honor it, but the judge threw it
out...
(to Jeffrey)
However, for you, there is a more
perilous effect to the Kentucky gag
order...
MICHAEL MOORE
(after a beat)
Dr. Wigand, you do understand what could
happen, don't you?
WIGAND
I'm not free to testify...here...?
MOTLEY
That's right. If you violate the
Kentucky order, when you step foot back
in Kentucky, they can find you in
contempt and they can incarcerate you.
And you ought to know that.
And Jeffrey fairly turns white, it's never occurred to him he
might go to jail...
WIGAND
Jail?
RICHARD SCRUGGS
Possibly, yes. That is one of the
possible consequences of your testifying
here today. That's right...
WIGAND
How does one..."go...to...jail?" What
does my family do? Go on welfare? If my
wife has to work? Who's going to look
after the kids? Put food on the table?
My children need me. If I'm not
teaching...there's no medical...no
medical...even on co-pay, that's like...
Tuition...
MICHAEL MOORE
Dr. Wigand, listen, you may not be able
to do this thing. As I understand from
Dick, you're our key witness. And, I
hope you don't withdraw. I guess we'd
all understand if you did...
(at watch)
Guys, I've got to go. I'm gonna be late
for court. I'll see y'all a little
later. Dr. Wigand, good luck.
He leaves. And Jeffrey's quiet, frightened. Having shaken
the departing Moore's hand, he now turns away from Scruggs
and Motley, thinking about consequences.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
I know what you're facing, Jeff. And, I
think I know how you're feeling...
Jeffrey's skeptical anybody could know "how it is"...
RICHARD SCRUGGS (CONT'D)
(low, personal)
In the Navy I flew A-6's off carriers...
In combat, events have a duration of
seconds, sometimes minutes... But what
you're going through goes on day in and
day out. Whether you're ready for it or
not, week in, week out... Month after
month after month. Whether you're up or
whether you're down. You're assaulted
psychologically. You're assaulted
financially, which is its own special
kind of violence. Because it's directed
at your kids...what school can you
afford... How will that affect their
lives. You're asking yourself: Will that
limit what they may become? You feel
your whole family's future's
compromised...held hostage...
(after a beat)
I do know how it is.
EXT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
A white, traditional, Southern house, with a veranda and
gables...a large front lawn with weeping willows. And we see
Lowell, hands in his pockets, not an insider or an outsider,
waiting alone on the expansive lawn. The front door opens.
A Mississippi State Trooper, putting on his round brimmed hat
comes out and crosses the driveway. Then Jeffrey coming out
with Motley. Motley talks to him on the veranda for a moment
and then heads towards his car. Meanwhile, Jeffrey comes
down over to Lowell on the lawn.
And Jeffrey looks off, across the street from the house, at
the Gulf. And we see the street is blockaded by Mississippi
State Police cars. An armed camp. Other men in suits,
Lawyers and state officials, wait. Ron Motley gets in his
car and drives away.
LOWELL
You attract a crowd.
WIGAND
(smiles, wry)
Yeah, great.
LOWELL
I heard about the Kentucky gag order...
WIGAND
I don't know what to do.
And they're quiet, a breeze of the Gulf ruffling their
coats... He looks out at the water, a cargo container ship
passing by. He watches its slow progress...
And Jeffrey quietly starts to walk off across the lawn, hands
in his pockets, shoulders bent, head down, thinking... And
Richard Scruggs comes out, tying his tie, to wait beside
Lowell...
EXT. COURTHOUSE, CANTY STREET, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI -
DAY
Motley's car parks, and he and an Assistant are approached by
a flurry of media from the parking lot behind us, crossing
Canty Street to intercept him. And we SEE the lot is jammed
with Mercedes-Benzes, Town Cars and limousines belonging to
the 150-200 Big Tobacco, Wall Street lawyers. Some hang out
by their cars, killing time. It's a tailgate party. Beyond
them are trucks and vans with satellite dishes supporting the
media circus. They're all here for Jeff's deposition. The
scale of it dwarfs the plebeian storefront with its sign
"Temporary Jackson County Courthouse"...into which Motley
enters...
EXT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
Jeffrey contemplating.
INT. COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
One TOBACCO LAWYER, an Edward Bennett-type while waiting is
on his cell phone...
TOBACCO LAWYER
(into phone)
Hold on a second...
(seeing Motley enter; to Jr.
Lawyer)
Would you please ask Mr. Motley if he
expects his witness to appear or not...?
JR. LAWYER crosses to Motley.
EXT. SCRUGGS' HOUSE, DOCK - DAY
Jeffrey alone on the jetty, looking out to sea. Trying to
decide, trying to untangle identity and consequence. A
moment. He turns, crossing to Lowell and Scruggs. Then.
it's the three men, standing on the lawn. Time seems to
slow...all of them aware it's a critical decision, personally
and historically...
WIGAND
(severely conflicted)
I can't seem to find...the criteria to
decide. It's too big a decision to make
without being resolved...in my own mind.
They're quiet. Jeffrey, getting nowhere. Lowell offers...
LOWELL
Maybe things have changed...
Long pause on Jeffrey as he contemplates his future. And
something just got resolved. He asks Lowell, rhetorically...
WIGAND
What's changed?
LOWELL
(unsure)
You mean...since this morning?
WIGAND
No. I mean since whenever...
Nothing's changed. Wigand looks at them. He found his own
answer.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
Fuck it. Let's go to court.
And Dick Scruggs and Lowell look at this normal, somewhat
flawed, very courageous man...
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(to unseen staff)
Dr. Wigand would like to leave now.
And there's a sudden flurry of activity. Jeffrey and Scruggs
walk to a Mississippi State Police car. Lowell gets into his
car and drives away, separately. Police, State Officials,
run to their cars. Cars starting, lights flashing, Wigand's
car pulls into position.
INT. SCRUGGS' CAR - JEFFREY - DAY
in the back seat with Scruggs. The driver's a State
Policeman. Jeffrey watches the small town of empty lots, old
buildings, a 1930's Deco school pass by. It's all
heightened, especially vivid to his eyes somehow. And he
exhales heavily to calm himself, to focus...
EXT. THE COURTHOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
Some of the Tobacco Lawyers, their jackets off, still hanging
across Canty Street by their cars. And now they see the
police lights turning, coming around a corner, moving towards
the courthouse. The caravan stops. First, Scruggs gets out.
A moment, then Jeffrey appears. And the Reporters pounce on
Jeffrey, cameras flashing...Mississippi Police leading him
through the crowd... Moore appears at courtroom door
(already there). And as he's whisked away into the
courtroom.
INT. THE COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
The tobacco lawyers become dead quiet. Cell phones are hung
up. Newspapers are put away. Jackets are donned. This is
now very serious business. Motley meets Jeffrey, all eyes on
him.
MOTLEY
Okay, Jeff, I'm going to sit you down at
that table over there. I'm going to
start as fast as possible. I don't want
to give them a chance to get another
restraining order, okay? Let's go.
MICHAEL MOORE
Good luck, Doc.
Motley calmly motions Wigand to take a chair. He settles in.
STENOGRAPHER
Please stand. Raise your right hand...
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?
WIGAND
I do.
STENOGRAPHER
You may be seated.
MOTLEY
You understand, Dr. Wigand, you are under
oath. This is a sworn deposition.
There's no judge. It's not a trial.
(understatement of the century)
Will you state your name for the record.
WIGAND
(after a beat)
Jeffrey S. Wigand.
He spells it for them...
EXT. THE COURTHOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
Lowell, waiting with the other journalists...
PHOTOGRAPHER
Got any idea what's going on in there?
LOWELL
No, I don't have a clue.
INT. THE COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
Motley still conducting the inquiry... And the tobacco
lawyers, like a pack of dogs, waiting to pounce...
WIGAND
That is correct.
MOTLEY
In other words, it acts as a drug?
TOBACCO LAWYER
Object to the form of the question!
MOTLEY
It acts as a drug on the body?
TOBACCO LAWYER
Object to the form!
MOTLEY
It acts as a...
TOBACCO LAWYER
Object!
MOTLEY
There an echo in here? Your objection's
been recorded. She typed it into her
little machine over there. It's on the
record. So now I'll proceed with my
deposition of my witness. Does it act as
a drug?
TOBACCO LAWYER
(shouts)
Dr. Wigand. I am instructing you...
(to Wigand)
...not to answer that question in
accordance to the terms of the
contractual obligations undertaken by you
not to disclose any information about
your work at the Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Company. And in accordance with
the force and effect of the temporary
restraining order that has been entered
against you to by the court in the State of
Kentucky! That means you don't talk!
(beat)
Mr. Motley, we have rights, here...
MOTLEY
(explodes)
Oh, you got rights and lefts! Ups and
downs and middles! So what?! You don't
get to instruct anything around here!
This is not North Carolina, not South
Carolina nor Kentucky. This is the
sovereign State of Mississippi's
proceeding. Wipe that smirk off your
face! Dr. Wigand's deposition will be
part of this record. And I'm going to
take my witness' testimony! Whether the
hell you like it or not!
(to Wigand)
Answer the question, Dr...
WIGAND
(slams it home)
Yes. It produces a physiological
response, which meets the definition of a
drug! Nicotine is associated with
impact, with satisfaction. It has a
pharmacological effect that crosses the
blood-brain barrier intact...
MOTLEY
Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.
EXT. THE SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - NIGHT
Lowell stands on the porch looking out at the rain. There's
a slight sound. He turns. And Jeffrey's come outside. He
stands leaning on the porch railing, looking out at the rain
and windswept trees. They're quiet. They share a look.
They nod to each other. The smallest nod of accomplishment.
And they're there on the porch, alone, outside the house in
Pascagoula, Mississippi.
INT. CBS EDITING ROOM, NEW YORK - AFTERNOON
We see Lowell, unusually buoyant in the same clothes as
yesterday. He's working with Tony Baldo on a cut of the
show, the net result of his architecture of events, his
combination of persuasion and integrity...
We see on the Avid monitor a single of Jeffrey...
WIGAND
(on monitor)
"Part of the reason I'm here is I felt
that their representation clearly, at
least within..."
LOWELL
Run that Sandefur piece on "nicotine's
not addictive." Run that on-camera.
Then cut right to Wigand with "I believe
they perjured..." Then go wide to the
CEOs all taking the oath. Back on Jeff
and play the pause after the word "felt"
on the B-side...
Widen to include Debbie DeLuca, the Intern, two other
Editors, Felling. They have gathered behind Lowell in the
doorway. This is a hot show and it's generated excitement
among Lowell's co-workers. And while Baldo cuts, we see...
INT. CBS, CORRIDOR OUTSIDE EDITING ROOM - DAY
...the group has spilled out the doorway, watching Lowell's
story come together. Beyond them, approaching, is Mike
Wallace, coming to work...
BILL FELLING
(leaving)
...helluva show, Mike. Explosive
material.
People separate as Mike pushes in. Lowell sees Mike. While
Tony Baldo is making the edits on the Avid...
LOWELL
(to Mike)
It went great in Mississippi, Mike.
MIKE WALLACE
Good.
Don Hewitt enters from the corridor without jacket.
DON HEWITT
I heard Wigand's deposition got sealed.
LOWELL
Yeah, they argued he was going to reveal
the secret formula of "Kools" to the
world.
(seriously)
"Sealed" doesn't hurt Scruggs'
litigation, and since we're the only ones
with the story, I believe we're sitting
on an exclusive.
MIKE WALLACE
I like that...
DON HEWITT
Corporate has some questions. We've got
a meeting at Black Rock first thing in
the morning.
LOWELL
When's the air date?
DEBBIE DELUCA
(to Lowell)
Excuse me, Lowell. Sharon's on line 3.
LOWELL
Tell her I'll call her back in ten.
BALDO
Here we go.
Baldo now runs Lowell's edit of the above sequence. And we
SEE THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT.
Sandefur in CLOSE-UP states "I believe that nicotine is not
addictive." Wigand in matching CLOSE-UP states "I believe he
perjured himself." Then all seven CEOs of Big Tobacco stand
up and raise their hands and take an oath in front of
Congress to tell the truth while Wallace says "...the whole
line of people, the whole line of CEO's up there, all
swearing that." And Wigand says off-screen with great
emphasis "Part of the reason I'm here is I FELT"...and it
cuts to Wigand for a pause that makes the word "FELT" resound
and, then, he goes on to say on-camera "that their
representation clearly misstated what they commonly knew.
We're a nicotine delivery business." We see the combination
of art and truth woven into impact that has an audacity
that's stirring and beautiful...
EXT. LOUISVILLE - DUSK
We see an anonymous rental car moving through downtown
Louisville.
INT. THE RENTAL CAR - NIGHT
It's Jeffrey in the front seat, driven by one of his security
men. He's coming home under the cover of darkness. They
pass a FLAMING CAR on the freeway shoulder. Jeffrey turns to
stare at it. They turn off onto city streets and stop at a
light. Jeffrey's nervous. Jeffrey instinctively turns. A
Police Car stops alongside. The Policeman looks at him.
Eyes meet. Jeffrey looks away. The signal takes forever.
It changes. And as the Police Car moves off...
EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT
The car's stopped at the curb. Jeffrey gets out. He starts
up the walk, and the Second Security Guard quickly crosses
the lawn to intercept him...
And Jeff opens the door going inside, anxious to be home...
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT
The house is quiet, dark. Too quiet. Too dark. Something
isn't right. He crosses to one of the children's rooms...the
master bedroom. The lights are on. Both rooms are empty.
He goes into the kitchen and sees a note that's been left for
him... He opens it. He sits heavily in a chair, reading the
note. The Security Guard peers... And as Jeffrey sits in
the silent house, the hero come home...
INT. THE CONFERENCE ROOM, CBS - DAY
We're at a table. Mike and Lowell laugh at some joke while
HELEN CAPERELLI, CBS GENERAL COUNSEL, enters with the
President of CBS News, ERIC KLUSTER.
HELEN CAPERELLI
Shall I send for coffee? Sorry I'm late.
MIKE WALLACE
No, no, we're fine...
HELEN CAPERELLI
Are you sure?
Also there is Don Hewitt. Caperelli is too well put
together, too practiced, too polished.
They nod. They don't need coffee.
HELEN CAPERELLI (CONT'D)
Alright, I thought we'd get together
because there's a legal concept that has
been getting some new attention recently,
"tortious interference."
(beat)
If two people have an agreement, like a
confidentiality agreement, and one of
them breaks it because they are induced
to do so by a 3rd party, the 3rd party
can be sued for damages for
interfering...hence, "tortious
interference."
DON HEWITT
Interfering? That's what we do.
LOWELL
I think what we're trying to tell you is
that it happens all the time. This is a
news organization. People are always
telling us things they shouldn't. We
have to verify if it's true and in the
public interest... And if it is, we air
it.
MIKE WALLACE
After we corroborate it. That's why
we've never lost a lawsuit and run a
classy show.
(impatient, now)
Anything else?
HELEN CAPERELLI
And "60 Minutes'" verification is exact.
And precise. And I don't think it would
hurt to make sure you're right...on this
one.
DON HEWITT
Why? You think we have liability?
What's the CBS News' position, Eric?
ERIC KLUSTER
There's a possibility, it's rather
remote...
HELEN CAPERELLI
But one we have to check on, Mike. I've
retained outside counsel to do exactly
that. On a segment, I might add, that's
already rife with problems...
LOWELL
What does that mean? "Rife with -- ?"
HELEN CAPERELLI
I'm told unusual promises were made to
Wigand.
LOWELL
No, only that we would hold the story
until it was safe for him...
HELEN CAPERELLI
(cuts in)
And, I'm told there are questions as to
our "star witness'" veracity.
LOWELL
(trying to control his anger)
His "veracity" was good enough for the
State of Mississippi.
HELEN CAPERELLI
(historic)
Our standards have to be higher than
anyone else's, because we are the
standard...for everyone else...
Whatever that means...
LOWELL
(wry)
Well, as a "standard"...I'll hang with
"is the guy telling the truth?"
HELEN CAPERELLI
Well, with tortious interference, I'm
afraid...the greater the truth, the
greater the damage.
LOWELL
Come again?
HELEN CAPERELLI
They own the information he's disclosing.
The truer it is, the greater the damage
to them. If he lied, he didn't disclose
their information. And the damages are
smaller.
LOWELL
Is this "Alice in Wonderland"?
MIKE WALLACE
You said "on this one." What about "this
one"?
And Lowell hears a changed note in Wallace's voice. After a
beat.
HELEN CAPERELLI
(familiar, seductive)
If this holds up, and it very well may
not, Mike...but, if it did. And we aired
this segment? And CBS was sued by Brown
& Williamson? I think we could be at
grave risk.
MIKE WALLACE
(a beat)
How grace?
HELEN CAPERELLI
(and she's been waiting for
this)
Well, at the end of the day...because of
your segment...the Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Company...could own CBS.
As if on cue, the alarm on Helen Caperelli's watch beeps.
She glances at it.
HELEN CAPERELLI (CONT'D)
You know, I am sorry. But I'm due
upstairs.
She gets up, gathering her things.
LOWELL
Is CBS corporate telling CBS News do not
go to air with this story?
HELEN CAPERELLI
You're getting ahead of yourself. We're
all in this together. We're all CBS.
We'll find out soon. Thank you,
gentlemen.
And taking up her briefcase, she leaves. Don and Mike rise.
LOWELL
"Tortious interference"? Sounds like a
disease caught by a radio.
DON HEWITT
(to Mike)
Lunch?
MIKE WALLACE
Sure.
(to Lowell)
Don't worry, we call the shots around
here.
Lowell finds himself angry and alone. He crosses to the
window and pulls out his cell phone and goes to work.
DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE (OVER)
Hello?
LOWELL
(into phone)
Debbie, it's me. I want you to check
some filings and give me John Wilson's
number at Bear-Stern.
INT. CBS, HEWITT'S OFFICE - DAY
LOWELL
What now?
DON HEWITT
Kluster's coming over.
Hewitt's on an unrelated call. Lowell crosses to look out
the window, a manila folder (the filing) under his arm with
whatever he found out, like a bomb, feels distant from these
people. The door opens, and Eric Kluster, the President of
CBS News enters...
ERIC KLUSTER
Hello, Lowell, Mike, Don.
Hewitt hangs up the phone.
ERIC KLUSTER (CONT'D)
There has been so much soul searching
about this Wigand, I've decided we should
cut an alternate version of the show
without his interview.
LOWELL
So, what happened to Ms. Caperelli's
checking with outside counsel first, all
that crap?
ERIC KLUSTER
That's happening. And, hopefully we
won't have to use the alternate, but we
should have it in the can.
LOWELL
I'm not touching my film...
ERIC KLUSTER
I'm afraid you are.
LOWELL
No, I'm not...
ERIC KLUSTER
We're doing this with or without you,
Lowell. If you like, I can assign
another producer to edit your show...
Lowell's stunned. He looks like he's been hit with a
hammer...
LOWELL
Since when has the paragon of
investigative journalism allowed lawyers
to determine the news content on "60
Minutes"?
DON HEWITT
It's an alternate version. So what if we
have an alternate version? And I don't
think her being cautious is so damned
unreasonable.
ERIC KLUSTER
(wry)
So, now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen,
Mr. Rather's been complaining about his
chair again.
(laughter)
As they start to leave...
LOWELL
(mild)
Before you go...
And Lowell takes out...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
I discovered this. SEC filing...
(he gets their attention)
For the sale of the CBS Corporation to
Westinghouse Corporation.
MIKE WALLACE
What?
DON HEWITT
Yeah, I heard rumors.
LOWELL
It's not a rumor. It's a sale.
(rhetorical answer)
If Tisch can unload CBS for $81 a share
to Westinghouse and then is suddenly
threatened with a multibillion-dollar
lawsuit from Brown & Williamson, that
could screw up the sale, could it not?
ERIC KLUSTER
(serene)
And what are you implying?
LOWELL
(to Kluster)
I'm not implying. I'm quoting. More
vested interests...
(reading from SEC filing)
"Persons Who Will Profit From This
Merger...
(beat)
Ms. Helen Caperelli, General Counsel of
CBS News, 3.9 million. Mr. Eric Kluster,
President of CBS News, 1.4 million..."
DON HEWITT
Are you suggesting that she and Eric are
influenced by money?
LOWELL
Oh, no, of course they're not influenced
by money. They work for free. And you
are a Volunteer Executive Producer.
DON HEWITT
CBS does not do that. And, you're
questioning our journalistic integrity?!
LOWELL
No, I'm questioning your hearing! You
hear "reasonable" and "tortious
interference." I hear... "Potential
Brown & Williamson lawsuit jeopardizing
the sale of CBS to Westinghouse." I
hear... "Shut the segment down. Cut
Wigand loose. Obey orders. And fuck
off...!" That's what I hear.
DON HEWITT
You're exaggerating!
LOWELL
I am? You pay me to go get guys like
Wigand, to draw him out. To get him to
trust us, to get him to go on television.
I do. I deliver him. He sits. He
talks. He violates his own fucking
confidentiality agreement. And he's only
the key witness in the biggest public
health reform issue, maybe the biggest,
most-expensive corporate-malfeasance case
in U.S. history. And Jeffrey Wigand,
who's out on a limb, does he go on
television and tell the truth? Yes.
Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gonna air
it? Of course not. Why? Because he's
not telling the truth? No. Because he
is telling the truth. That's why we're
not going to air it. And the more truth
he tells, the worse it gets!
DON HEWITT
You are a fanatic. An anarchist. You
know that? If we can't have a whole
show, then I want half a show rather than
no show. But oh, no, not you. You won't
be satisfied unless you're putting the
company at risk!
LOWELL
C'mon, what are you? And are you a
businessman? Or are you a newsman?!
Because that happens to be what Mike and
I do for a living...
MIKE WALLACE
Lowell.
LOWELL
(runs on)
"Put the corporation at risk"...? Give
me a fucking break!
MIKE WALLACE
Lowell.
LOWELL
These people are putting our whole reason
for doing what we do...on the line!
MIKE WALLACE
Lowell!
LOWELL
What?
MIKE WALLACE
I'm with Don on this.
And there it is.
EXT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - AFTERNOON
We see Sharon in a vegetable garden in their side yard...
She turns, seeing him standing behind her...
After a moment. She knows.
SHARON
What's wrong?
LOWELL
They're killing the Wigand interview...
SHARON
What?!
LOWELL
They're pretending it's process.
Bullshit, it's foregone.
SHARON
(beat)
What are you and Mike going to do?
LOWELL
I'm alone on this...
SHARON
(beat)
Oh, baby...
And the phone RINGS... Sharon goes in the house to get it...
She comes back out...
SHARON (CONT'D)
(after a beat)
Jeffrey Wigand...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON
LOWELL
Jeffrey...
INT. A HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And we see Wigand looking rough, unshaven, sitting on a couch
in a hotel room. And we see his belongings, clothing, some
boxes, a bottle of vodka, his computer, what's left of his
world, are around the room.
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Jeffrey, how are you? How's the family,
okay?
WIGAND
There is - there is no family.
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
What do you mean there is no family?
WIGAND
Liane has filed for divorce...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON
And Lowell's dead quiet.
INT. THE HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
WIGAND
And, so, I moved out... I see the girls
a couple of days a week...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(concerned)
Where you staying now?
WIGAND
(sarcastic)
Our favorite hotel, honey... I checked
into Room 930. Odd choice? Huh?
And we don't know what he means by that...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON
The last of the daylight shadows his office.
LOWELL
(after a beat)
I don't know how to say this, Jeff,
except to just say it right out, so I'll
say it. They do not want to air it.
WIGAND
(stops)
What?!
LOWELL
B & W may have threatened litigation...
CBS is on the block...
(a beat)
But you, I mean, I know how...
WIGAND
No.
LOWELL
No? No, what?
WIGAND
I do not think that you "know" for
me...what it is to walk in my shoes...
(beat)
...for my kids to have seen it...for them
to know why I've put them through what I
did...the public airing of that...the
testament to why I did what I
did...you're telling me is not going to
see the light of day.
Lowell's quiet. And Jeffrey starts to hang up...
LOWELL
Jeff...
And Jeffrey hangs up.
INT. JEFFREY'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISIANA - (PROCESS) - NIGHT
Jeffrey silently sitting in the chair. We COME AROUND and
see why he's been purposely sitting there. Why he's chosen
this room. Directly across the street is the Brown &
Williamson Building. The lights are on. The building lit
up. And in an upstairs office Brown & Williamson lawyers,
moving around a conference room, talking. And as Jeffrey
looks out the window...
EXT. A SMALL TOWN, UPSTATE NEW YORK - DAY
A peaceful, suburban street. Small houses. A PRIVATE
INVESTIGATOR (P.I.) from IGI, in a raincoat, getting out of a
car, going up the walk. He knocks on the door. Some
moments. A Woman in her late forties, handicapped, in an
electric cart answers the door...
P.I.
Mrs. Wigand?
THE WOMAN
It hasn't been Mrs. Wigand for some time.
P.I.
Well, I'm an investigator and I was - I
was wondering if I could ask you a couple
of questions about that?
THE WOMAN
Alright...
INT. JOHN SCANLON'S PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM, A MEDIA ROOM,
NEW YORK - DAY
And on a TELEVISION SCREEN, SUSAN WIGAND, the woman in the
electric cart, giving a taped interview to the P.I....
SUSAN WIGAND
...seven months after we were married we
found out that I had multiple
sclerosis...
We PULL BACK to see John Scanlon and his Staff watching the
tape... His firm's logo, public relations campaigns for some
of his high-profile clients are on the walls. Scanlon's on
the phone talking with somebody as the tape runs...
P.I.'S VOICE (OVER)
(on television)
And, you had a daughter, Diane, with him,
is that correct?
SUSAN WIGAND
(on television)
Yes, in 1973.
JOHN SCANLON
(on the phone, whispering)
...come on, Tommy Sandefur told me
himself, he's not gonna allow Brown &
Williamson to be demonized to the
American public, so I told Peter Jennings
and I...hold on...
He stops, listening to the videotape...
P.I.'S VOICE (OVER)
(on television)
Would it be fair to say when he divorced
you he left you in a precarious
situation? You had multiple sclerosis;
you had a small child to raise.
JOHN SCANLON
(ignoring that part; to staff)
Mention that part in the executive
summary and in the chapters "First Wife"
and "Estrangement of Daughter."
(beat; into phone)
So, I was telling Pete, I said, "You've
been taken in by this guy...
SUSAN WIGAND
(on television)
Yes...
(beat)
But you have to understand, the divorce
was something that we both wanted...
JOHN SCANLON
He's a total bullshit artist. He's a
shoplifter. He's a convicted shoplifter.
And as we end in a sea of documents, affidavits, court
records, all from Louisville, all about Jeffrey. We
understand the war has only been begun...
INT. CBS, "60 MINUTES," CORRIDOR, LOWELL'S OFFICE - MORNING
Lowell, in his office, his door open for anyone to see him,
an immovable force, sitting behind his desk. Hewitt appears
in his doorway...
DON HEWITT
(after a beat, cold)
So, what are you going to do?
LOWELL
Well, what do you think I'm going to do?
Quit in protest? I'm not going to do
that.
DON HEWITT
(surprised)
You're taking "no" for an answer?
LOWELL
No. I'm not going to take "no" for an
answer. No.
DON HEWITT
Then what are you going to do?
Hewitt looks at him...
LOWELL
I'm staying right here. Doing my job.
Fighting to get my show on the air. You
don't like it? Hey, I'll tell you
what...fire my ass...
DON HEWITT
End up in a high-profile lawsuit with
Lowell, the First Amendment martyr? I
don't think so.
(laughs)
Take a look at this... This is a summary
of a dossier that's being prepared.
And he gives him a copy of it.
DON HEWITT (CONT'D)
He would lie about his whole life...?
Who's going to believe him about anything
he says...?
(a beat, and the coup de grace)
The Wall Street Journal's doing a major
story and I think the Post. You backed
the wrong horse...
He turns and starts off along the hall. As he goes...
DON HEWITT (cont'd)
(his parting shot)
The version without his interview is
going to air the week after next.
Lowell watches him walk away. Debbie enters.
DEBBIE DELUCA
What was that about?
LOWELL
Get me Wigand.
DEBBIE DELUCA
Sure.
LOWELL
...fuck is this? Fuck!
INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE - DAY
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(on the phone, upset)
You never told me you were married
before...that you had a daughter...
And Wigand is in the phone booth at the High
School...students walking by...
WIGAND
(outraged)
Well, how is that any of your business?!
That is not something that you people
need to know!
His voice carries, a student looks over...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE - DAY
LOWELL
(frustrated)
Oh, you know what we do or do not need to
know? Since when have you become a media
expert?
INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY
WIGAND
(upset)
What do you want to do, Lowell, look up
my ass, too...!
And he realizes he's said it too loud, a couple of passing
students stop, looking at him...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, CBS - DAY
LOWELL
Oh, my God.
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
(after a beat, lowering his
voice, but contentious)
You're not even on this anymore... What
do you care?
LOWELL
Jeff! Wake the fuck up! Everybody is on
the line here. If they can catch you in
a lie, they can paint everything with
that brush. Do you understand?
Everything you say!
WIGAND
I told the truth!
LOWELL
Everything...you...say! And I can't
defend you, man, with one hand tied
behind my back! Because you keep from
me...what they can discover. And they
will discover everything! Believe me.
INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY
Wigand's quiet. He looks out the phone booth. After some
moments...
WIGAND
(meaning his first wife and
their child, upset)
...I was young. I was
young...confused... We didn't handle it
the right way...
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, NEW YORK - DAY
LOWELL
(after a beat)
She sued you for back payments of child
support?
INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY
WIGAND
She did not sue me. We had a dispute
over money... I settled it, she dropped
the complaint...
(angry)
Any other questions?
And we'll go back and forth...
LOWELL
Yes. Did you lie about being on the
American Judo Team in the Olympics?
WIGAND
What?
LOWELL
Some public relations guy got a hold of a
tape of an interview...where you're
saying you were on the American Judo Team
in the Olympics...?
WIGAND
(explosive)
What kind of shit is this? I was not on
the team, I sparred with the Olympic
Team...okay?
And we see, unbeknownst to Wigand, the P.I. in the raincoat,
who interviewed his ex-wife, coming out of an administration
office, walking towards us along the hallways...
LOWELL
Alright...the ABC Telemarketing Company?
WIGAND
ABC...?
LOWELL
ABC Telemarketing Company.
WIGAND
(the absurdity)
A can opener! A $39.95 can opener. I
cancelled payment... It was junk.
(sarcastic)
You ever bounce a check, Lowell? You
ever look at another woman's tits? You
ever cheat a little on your taxes?
(a beat, angry)
Whose life, if you look at it under a
microscope, doesn't have any flaws...?
The P.I. in the raincoat passes Jeffrey, now, and doesn't
even glance at him...
LOWELL
That's the whole point, Jeffrey. That's
the whole point. Anyone's. Everyone's.
They are gonna look under every rock, dig
up every flaw, every mistake you've ever
made. They are going to distort and
exaggerate everything you've ever done,
man. Don't you understand?
WIGAND
(shouts)
What does this have to do with my
testimony?
LOWELL
That's not the point.
WIGAND
What does this have to do with my
testimony?! I told the truth! It's
valid and true and provable!
LOWELL
That's not the fucking point, whether you
told the truth or not! Hello...?
WIGAND
I told the truth... I told the truth.
And Wigand's quiet, a deep, dark depression. The school bell
RING snaps him out of it...
WIGAND
(after a beat)
I've got to teach class. I've got to go.
I've got to teach class.
LOWELL
(undaunted)
And I've got to refute every fucking
accusation made in this report before The Wall Street Journal runs.
(a beat)
I am trying to protect you, man!
Wigand's quiet.
WIGAND
(after a beat, the killer)
Well, I hope you improve your batting
average.
And he SLAMS the phone down. And as he stands in the phone
booth, like a man in a glass booth, all alone...
EXT. CBS BUILDING, ROOFTOP - DAY
ON the door to the roof. It SLAMS open. An enraged Lowell
enters and walks out into the cold rain. Like a prize-
fighter, shoulders hunched against the cold, he buries his
hands in his jacket pockets. He crosses to the edge of the
roof high above the city. He's pissed off. He takes out his
cell phone. He dials... Lowell hears background NOISE...
INT. WALL STREET JOURNAL - NEWS MEETING - DAY
Twenty sub-editors and section heads sit and stand in a clear
area... One of them, a large man, is CHARLIE PHILLIPS on a
cell phone.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Hello?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(cautious)
It's Lowell. Are you guys planning to do
a piece on a former top executive in Big
Tobacco?
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
You caught me in a news meeting.
LOWELL
Well, are you or are you not, Charlie?
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
You bet we are. And I can't talk to you
now.
LOWELL
We gotta hook up.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Sure. Where?
LOWELL
P.J.'s.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
I'll be there.
INT. A PHONE BOOTH, NEW YORK - NIGHT
A busy New York street. Light mist. And we see Lowell is on
the phone in a phone booth...
LOWELL
Yeah, I got it. 500 pages of it. They
looked in every corner of this guy's
life...from a spousal abuse charge, to
shoplifting, to a traffic ticket he got
once for running a red light. It's Terry
Lenzner's outfit, IGI. Jack, listen to
me. Their strategy: discredit this guy,
ruin his reputation in The Wall Street Journal, and then nobody will ever listen
to what he's got to say about tobacco.
He's dead. Unless I can get this thing
knocked down.
INT. A HOUSE IN SAN FRANCISCO - NIGHT
A townhouse with a commanding view of the Bay. And we see a
broad-shouldered man in his late forties sitting at a desk on
the phone. JACK PALLADINO. His wife, SANDRA SUTHERLAND,
sitting across from him on another phone. They're Private
Investigators...
LOWELL
To make it even a little more attractive,
I don't know if you're ever gonna get
paid.
SANDRA SUTHERLAND
Is there any truth to any of it?
LOWELL
That's a good question. "Is there any
truth to any of it?" I doubt it.
PALLADINO
What's their deadline?
LOWELL
Soon.
Palladinos exchange looks; she nods.
PALLADINO
Fax me the summary.
LOWELL
That's great, Jack.
Lowell hangs up and walks towards us to enter...
INT. BAR - NIGHT
CLOSE on Lowell entering, moving through the crowd of sports
writers, feature writers, sub-editors, etc. He comes upon a
rugged-featured man, JIM COOPER from The New York Times,
sitting next to Charlie.
JIM COOPER
Hey, Lowell.
LOWELL
How are you, Jim?
JIM COOPER
Hey, listen, I hear you guys are sitting
on something sensational over there.
Lowell looks at Cooper quizzically.
LOWELL
Really? Hi, Joan.
Just then Jim's wife enters. They exchange greetings.
JIM COOPER
Hi, baby.
LOWELL
Catch you later.
Cooper and his wife leave. Charlie and Lowell are alone in
the crowded bar.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
When's your deadline?
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Monday.
LOWELL
Push it.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
What? Forget it.
LOWELL
It's a smear campaign, Charlie.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
It's drawn from a selectively
circulated...
LOWELL
(cuts in)
Oh, it's real selective...about as hard
to get a hold of as the Manhattan phone
book.
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Well, it's authoritative and is
overwhelmingly documented.
LOWELL
And it's bullshit. And if I'm right, are
you going to put the Journal's reputation
behind a story that's going to blow up in
your face?
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
I'll take a look at what you got. But I'm
not moving any deadlines 'cause you say
so.
That's the way it lays. In a different, personal tone...
CHARLIE PHILLIPS (cont'd)
Are you all right?
LOWELL
Yeah. Catch you later.
INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY
And we see a Policeman sitting at the counter having a cup of
coffee...
SANDRA SUTHERLAND
Officer Murabchick?
He turns as Sandra Sutherland sits at the counter to the left
of him.
SANDRA SUTHERLAND (cont'd)
Officer Muravchick. How are you? I'm
Sandra Sutherland.
POLICEMAN
How do you do?
SANDRA SUTHERLAND
Fine, thank you. I'm doing a background
check. Mind if I sit down?
INT. COURTROOM, LOUISVILLE - LATE AFTERNOON
An older Man is on the bench. He's just recessed his court.
As everybody streams out, going against the tide is Jack
Palladino. He approaches the judge, crossing to a side
door...
PALLADINO
Your honor, could I have a word with you?
You presided in a dispute over support
payments...
INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY
POLICEMAN
Jeffrey Wigand? Yeah, I cited him.
INT. EDITING ROOM, CBS - DAY
DAN RATHER
(on monitor)
CBS is under criticism, because the CBS
News program "60 Minutes" will not be
presenting an interview...
Lowell's destroying his own work product, taking apart his
creation that we saw earlier to be so impactful. Tony gets a
call as Hewitt enters.
DON HEWITT
What the hell are you doing?
LOWELL
What does it look like I'm doing? I'm
editing.
DON HEWITT
No, not that. I'm talking about the
Associated Press. They got this story
that we pulled this interview and they
talked to Mike and I. Did you tell them
that we were lying?
LOWELL
No. I should have. I told them I
disagreed with you, Mike and Kluster that
this segment is as good as the original.
I'm not lying for you. I'm not gonna
shut up for you. Not on any of it.
DON HEWITT
Hey! I'm not going to fire you, okay?
Take a vacation. Now!
INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE - EVENING
A suitcase is on the floor. Lowell, finishing packing up his
things from his office.
MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
Lowell. I decided to preface Sunday's
show. I did three minutes on the
"Evening News." You'll want to see it.
(beat)
Where you going?
And he sees Wallace has stopped at his door...
LOWELL
I've been banished. In lieu of being
fired.
MIKE WALLACE
(disinterested)
I took off on Tisch. I took off on
corporate. They'll know they're not
going to see everything on Sunday
night...
LOWELL
I don't know. How does that get Wigand
on the air?
MIKE WALLACE
(goes up)
Do me a favor, will you? Spare me, for
God's sake. Get in the real world. What
do you think? I'm going to resign in
protest? To force it on the air? The
answer is "no." I don't plan to spend
the end of my days wandering in the
wilderness of National Public Radio.
(beat)
That decision I've already made.
VOICE
(from corridor; to Mike)
It just started, Mike...
Wallace waves Lowell's remark aside and exits. We dwell on
Lowell until he exits...
INT. CBS CORRIDOR - EVENING
...into the hall. Dan Rather introduced Mike. As Lowell
exits, we SEE Hewitt, Kluster and Caperelli outside of
Hewitt's office watching... Lowell, disgusted, takes a
cursory look and moves towards the elevator. But he hears...
MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
Where's the rest? Where the hell's the
rest?!!
Lowell turns to see Wallace shouting up at the monitors in
disbelief...
MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)
You cut it! You cut the guts out of what
I said...!
Wallace moves in on Kluster...
ERIC KLUSTER
It was a time consideration, Mike...
MIKE WALLACE
Time? Bullshit! You corporate lackey!
Who told you your incompetent little
fingers had the requisite skills to edit
me! I'm trying to Band-Aid a situation,
here, and you're too dim to...
HELEN CAPERELLI
(interrupts, familiar)
Mike... Mike... Mike...
MIKE WALLACE
"Mike?"
It was a big mistake. Now, he turns on her. Zeroing in,
getting closer...
MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)
"Mike?" Try "Mr. Wallace." We work in
the same corporation doesn't mean we work
in the same profession. What are you
gonna do now? You gonna finesse me?
Lawyer me some more? I've been in this
profession fifty fucking years. You and
the people you work for are destroying
the most-respected, the highest-rated,
the most-profitable show on this network!
EXT. THE EAST RIVER - NIGHT
A Range Rover pulls up. Charlie Phillips gets out. He
crosses to Lowell who's been waiting by his own taxi.
LOWELL
Here.
He hands Charlie a folder with the brown notebook inside that
is the partially complete Palladino/Sutherland/Lowell work
product.
LOWELL (CONT'D)
These are their leads, their sources. I
want you to have your reporters...
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Suein Hwang and Milo Geyelin.
LOWELL
Have them make their own calls. They'll
find that these sources have a different
story than the one that's in the
dossier...
(demands)
Push the deadline, Charlie...
Charlie starts looking through the Palladino/
Sutherland/Lowell work product. Meanwhile...
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
I'll push it for a week. Let Milo and
Suein go through it.
INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, KITCHEN - DAY
LIANE
What do you want to buy him for a gift?
BARBARA
He's into kind of little cars, that...
LIANE
That remote control thing?
BARBARA
Yeah.
LIANE
Alright, we'll do that tomorrow.
BARBARA
Mom.
LIANE
Yes, baby?
BARBARA
There's Dad, on TV.
INT. A BAR, LOUISVILLE - DAY
And we see Jeffrey in a quiet Bar. The television's on, the
sound low, the midday news. As Jeffrey looks up and sees his
photograph on TELEVISION. In his LOCAL WORLD the impact is:
LOCAL NEWSCASTER
And in local news, WLKO Louisville has
gained access to a five-hundred-page
dossier on former Brown & Williamson
research head Jeffrey Wigand detailing
charges of spousal abuse, shoplifting...
And Jeffrey looks as if something just detonated inside of
him.
WE'RE LOOKING AT MIKE WALLACE SITTING IN FRONT OF A BACKDROP
ON "60 MINUTES," ON A TELEVISION...
INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And Jeffrey sitting alone in the hotel, watching the show...
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...thousands of documents from inside
the tobacco industry have surfaced over
the past year, documents that appear to
confirm what a former..."
And as we look at Jeffrey's face, set in stone...
INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...US Surgeon General and the current
head of the Food and Drug Administration
have been saying. We learned of..."
INT. DON HEWITT'S HOUSE, THE HAMPTONS - NIGHT
And Don Hewitt in his house in the Hamptons, alone in his
bedroom, watching the show...
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...a tobacco insider who could tell us
whether or not the tobacco industry has
been leveling with the public..."
INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...that insider was formerly a highly-
placed executive with a tobacco
company..."
INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...but we cannot broadcast what critical
information about tobacco, addiction and
public health he might be able to offer.
Why? Because he had to sign a
confidentiality agreement with the
tobacco company he worked for..."
INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT
Mike Wallace is in his study, watching the show alone. As we
slowly move in on Mike, seeing himself on television...
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"The management of CBS has told us that
knowing he had that agreement..."
And the look on his face says: HE DOES NOT LIKE THIS.
INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT
Lowell silently watching the broadcast...
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"...if were to broadcast an interview
with him, CBS could be faced with a
multibillion-dollar lawsuit..."
INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
Jeffrey, watching the show...
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes," from the
interview with Wigand...)
"The fact is, we are not allowed even to
mention his name or the name of the
company he worked for and, of course, we
cannot show you his face... '...and your
confidentiality agreement with...(blip)
is still in force?'"
And all we can hear is an ELECTRONICALLY-ALTERED VOICE and
the BLANKED-OUT image of a man...
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
"Yes, it is."
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"So, what are they gonna do? Sue you for
making this appearance?"
WIGAND
"I would bet on it."
MIKE WALLACE
(on "60 Minutes")
"The former executive has reason to bet
on being sued, for major cigarette
manufacturers..."
Jeffrey, motionless... A man, no longer with a face or a
voice... And as he gets up, and quietly turns off the
television...
INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT, LATER
Wallace, hasn't moved, still in his chair. He stares,
ignoring the CBS programming, on the phone, making a call...
EXT. THE CARIBBEAN BEACH - NIGHT
Lowell, walking up the sand, his cell phone rings.
LOWELL
Yeah.
MIKE WALLACE
You disappeared on me. How long you
staying?
LOWELL
(absurd)
I disappeared on you?
MIKE WALLACE
(meaning the show)
Alright. What did you think?
LOWELL
(after a beat)
I think it was a disgrace.
The look on Wallace's face says he thinks so, too. It's
obvious. He hangs up the phone.
EXT. LOWELL'S BUNGALOW, THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT
Lowell is on the phone, now. The moon lights the water, the
empty beach. He listens as a phone, through STATIC, RINGS
and RINGS and RINGS.
INT. WIGAND'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And we hear the phone RINGING. We slowly PAN across the
hotel room. We see on the floor a pair of men's tasseled
loafers... A discarded sport jacket... And we see Jeffrey,
barefoot, sitting in a chair in the center of the room. He's
looking out the window at B&W. The curtains are blowing...
And he's still... The sound of the phone RINGING and
RINGING...
EXT. THE BEACH, THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT
AN OPERATOR'S VOICE (OVER)
Sir, there's still no answer in that
room.
LOWELL
Alright. Get me the manager's office...
INT. THE HOTEL MANAGER'S OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
HOTEL DESK CLERK
David? David, you've got a call on line
4. I think you better take it.
A thin Man answers the phone.
THE HOTEL MANAGER
This is David MacDougal. How can I help
you?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Mr. MacDougal, my name is Lowell Bergman.
I'm a producer for "60 Minutes"...
I'm concerned with a friend of mine who's
staying at your hotel right now.
INT. THE HOTEL CORRIDOR, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And we see the Hotel Manager, walking along with a Security
Guard, and now KNOCKING on Jeffrey's door...
And when there is no response, the Manager nods to the
Security Guard, the Guard using a pass key, unlocking the
door. But the door stops, the chain-lock drawn. The Manager
looks in through the chain...and he can see Jeffrey sitting
in the chair...
THE HOTEL MANAGER
Mr. Wigand? Mr. Wigand?
Jeffrey's still. The Manager quickly takes a cell phone from
the Security Guard.
EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT
Lowell, standing on the beach anxiously waiting.
THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE (OVER)
(upset)
I think I need to call the police. He
won't respond...
LOWELL
No, no. Don't call the police!
(urgent)
Just tell him I'm on the phone with
you... My name is Lowell Bergman...
Just tell him that.
INT. THE HOTEL CORRIDOR, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
THE HOTEL MANAGER
(through the door, frightened)
Mr. Wigand...Mr. Bergman is on the
telephone.
Jeffrey's quiet.
EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT
LOWELL
Did he hear you?
THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE (OVER)
You're breaking up. I can't hear you.
Lowell goes deeper into the water.
LOWELL
What about now?
THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE (OVER)
What?
LOWELL
Hello, can you hear me now?
INT. WIGAND'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
And now the walls behind MORPH into a green daytime garden,
the garden behind his house. And as we DOLLY AROUND Wigand,
more walls MORPH into the side yard, and, turning slowly, he
sees Barbara and Deborah in the emerald-green grass. They
stop and smile, then they stare at us, at their father. And
he looks at his children, at an idyll lost... The chair, the
man are the only real objects left in the view from inside
his head...
EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT
Lowell anxiously moves along the beach, trying to be heard,
the phone chattering with static...
LOWELL
(alarmed)
What's happening?!
THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE (OVER)
(afraid)
He doesn't seem to be listening...
LOWELL
(on the cell phone, shouts,
urgent)
Alright, now listen to me. I want you -
I want you to tell him, in these words:
get on the fucking phone...!
THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE (OVER)
I can't say that!
LOWELL
No, you can. Tell him to get on the
fucking phone!
INT. THE HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
THE HOTEL MANAGER
(at the door, to Jeffrey, loud)
He told me to tell you, to get on...the
fucking phone...!
And even he's surprised by his language. And suddenly
Jeffrey gets up, unlatches the door, grabs the phone from the
Hotel Manager. Wigand in the hotel corridor, Lowell standing
knee-deep in the water...
WIGAND
(on the phone, angry)
You manipulated me into this...!
LOWELL
That's bullshit, Jeff!
WIGAND
You greased the rails!
LOWELL
I greased the rails for a guy who wanted
to say yes. I helped him to say yes.
Alright. You're not a robot, Jeff!
That's all. You got a mind of your own,
don't you?
WIGAND
(running on)
"Up to you, Jeffrey. That's the power
you have, Jeffrey. Vital insider
information the American public need to
know." Lowell Bergman, the hot show who
never met a source he couldn't turn
around.
LOWELL
(running on)
I fought for you...and I still fight for
you.
WIGAND
You fought for me...?!
(running on)
...you manipulated me...into where I am
now...staring at the Brown & Williamson
Building. It's all dark. Except the
10th floor! That's the legal department.
That's where they fuck with my life!
LOWELL
(beat)
Jeffrey, where you going with this? So
where you goin'?
(quiet)
You are important to a lot of people,
Jeffrey. You think about that. You
think about them.
CLOSE ON JEFFREY: standing in the room with the blowing
curtains...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
I'm running out of heroes, man...
(after a beat)
Guys like you are in short supply.
And for the first time, Wigand smiles.
WIGAND
(a beat, wry)
Yeah, guys like you, too.
And the grave situation passes.
WIGAND (CONT'D)
(after a beat)
Where are you, anyway?
LOWELL
I'm on a leave of absence. Forced
vacation.
WIGAND
(a rare laugh, his sarcasm)
You try and have a good time.
LOWELL
(droll)
Yeah. Yeah, I will.
INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT
Sharon's cooking across the room... And there's just the
sound of the ceiling fan turning.
LOWELL
"I'm Lowell Bergman, I'm from '60
Minutes.'" You know, you take the "60
Minutes" out of that sentence, nobody
returns your phone call. Maybe Wigand's
right. Maybe I'm hooked. What am I
hooked on? The rush? "60 Minutes"?
What the hell for? Infotainment. It's
so fucking useless, all of it.
SHARON
(a beat)
So, it's a big country with a free press.
You can go work somewhere else.
LOWELL
Free press? Press is free...for anyone
who owns one. Larry Tisch has a free
press.
SHARON
Get some perspective, Lowell.
LOWELL
I got perspective.
SHARON
No, you do not.
LOWELL
From my perspective, what's been going on
and what I've been doing is ridiculous.
It's half-measures.
SHARON
You're not listening.
(beat)
Really know what you're going to do
before you do it.
And as the fan squeaks, turning... Lowell stares at Sharon.
WE SEE SNOW IS ON THE GROUND.
EXT. LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY
Between two curved colonnades of SNOW-covered trees drives a
rental car. CLOSER, it's Lowell. His POV spots a dirty SUV
and he pulls into park across from a coffee shop in this out-
of-context mountain town. His pager beeps. He looks at it.
He detours from the coffee shop to a pay phone on the corner
of the Moose Lodge.
DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE (OVER)
I've got Richard Scruggs on the phone...
LOWELL
Patch him through.
RICHARD SCRUGGS' VOICE (OVER)
Well, Lowell, you are not going to
believe this...
INT. A COURTROOM + ROTUNDA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
And we see the back of a crowded courtroom. Richard Scruggs
is standing in the rear amongst bailiffs an witnesses,
talking on his own cell phone.
RICAHRD SCRUGGS
The Governor of Mississippi is suing his
own Attorney General...to abandon
litigation against Big Tobacco...
LOWELL
Oh, good...
Waiting media are relaxing as Scruggs continues to Lowell...
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(after a beat)
But, now that the version without Jeff
ran...what's the chance of getting his
interview on the air...?
(beat)
Hello?
Sudden STATIC. Scruggs now exits the building, past the
metal detector, seeking better reception.
LOWELL
Yeah, I'm here.
EXT. COURTHOUSE STAIRS, MISSISSIPPI - DAY
RICHARD SCRUGGS
What chance is there of getting Jeff's
interview on the air...?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(droll)
Less than great.
And the courthouse doors suddenly burst open, Michael Moore
and his attorneys coming out. Scruggs comes further down the
steps so he can hear, away from Michael Moore who begins
answering questions from the Press.
RICHARD SCRUGGS
(after a beat)
...I'd be lying to you if I did not tell
you how important it was in the court of
public opinion...
EXT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY
LOWELL
(a beat)
...and I'd be lying to you if I didn't
tell you, I'm about out of moves, Dick...
RICHARD SCRUGGS
All right. See you...
INT. CAFE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY
Lowell walks right in and up to a booth and a COUPLE in
hiking pants and hiking boots. They look up at him...
LOWELL
Hi. So, what are you folks doing here in
Lincoln?
And we sense something is all wrong here.
MAN GEOLOGIST
(affable)
Geology survey.
LOWELL
(nods)
Geology. Yeah? Really?
WOMAN GEOLOGIST
How about you?
LOWELL
(direct)
I work for CBS News.
MAN GEOLOGIST
(after a beat)
Oh, yeah?
Lowell nods. They look at each other and they both know
there's a lot more than meets the eye. And as Lowell gets up
and leaves...
EXT. A PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY
And we see Lowell on the PAY PHONE again.
LOWELL
Just ran into two of your "geologists."
Geologists whose hands aren't all chewed
up...?
BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
Lowell?
INT. THE FBI, BILL ROBERTSON'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON - DAY
And we see Bill Robertson's on the phone...
BILL ROBERTSON
Do not...screw this up. We are a week
away from an arrest...
EXT. THE PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY
LOWELL
So, I'll hold it... And...
BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
(on the phone)
We'll give you a heads up before we
launch.
LOWELL
How long?
BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
Three hours.
LOWELL
You got a deal.
(hangs up)
INT. LOWELL'S ROOM, MOTEL, MONTANA - NIGHT
Lowell is in a T-shirt and sweat pants, sitting in an old, re-
upholstered-one-too-many-times chair in a room barely big
enough for a chair, a bed and the TV/VCR combo on the cheap
dresser. It's playing Lowell's cut of the full Wigand
interview. He watches the show that will never see the light
of day.
MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
"...like the testimony before Congress of
Dr. Wigand's former boss, Brown &
Williamson's Chief Executive Officer,
Thomas Sandefur."
THOMAS SANDEFUR
(in CLOSE-UP)
"I believe that nicotine is not
addictive."
WIGAND
(in matching CLOSE-UP)
"I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured
himself... Because I watched those
testimonies very carefully."
Then it cuts to all seven CEOs of Big Tobacco raising their
hands and taking the oath in front of Congress to tell the
truth while...
WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
"All of us did...there was this whole
like of people, the whole line of CEOs up
there, all swearing that."
WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
"Part of the reason I'm here is I
FELT..."
And the PAUSE after the word makes "FELT" resound, and as it
CUTS TO Jeffrey ON CAMERA saying...
WIGAND (CONT'D)
"...that their representation..."
And Lowell FREEZES after the image... He gets up, looking
out the window through the curtain with the spill from the
neon motel sign. Outside are horse trailers. He goes back
to watching the show...standing there...in touch with his
own creative work product and the ideas inherent in it in
this decision-making process that we feel is critical to him.
Turning, he dials the phone and we intercut with...
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
Hello?
LOWELL
Jim, it's Lowell.
INT. NEW YORK TIMES - NIGHT
JIM COOPER
Hey! Where are you?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
(doesn't answer)
Remember that night at P.J.'s? You asked
me if we were sitting on something
"explosive"?
(beat)
Well, we're not "sitting on" it.
(beat)
CBS corporate leaned on CBS News which
yanked an interview we did with a top-
ranking tobacco scientist. A corporate
officer. They are trying to close down
the story.
JIM COOPER
(sarcastic)
You mean, "60 Minutes" is letting CBS
corporate decide what is or is not news?
(beat)
What's Wallace think about this, or
Hewitt, or...?
LOWELL
How prominent? What kind of placement?
JIM COOPER
Oh, c'mon, Lowell. This is The New York Times. I don't know...
LOWELL
Well, until you do, all I can tell you is
what you already know...they will not air
an interview.
JIM COOPER
Call me back in ten.
Lowell hangs up. Re-dials.
INT. DEBBIE DELUCA'S APARTMENT - NEW YORK - LATE NIGHT
Debbie answers, intercutting with above...
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Debbie. It's me...
DEBBIE DELUCA
Hi. What time is it?
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Oh, it's late.
DEBBIE DELUCA
That I know. When are you coming back?
LOWELL
I can't get out of here til mid-morning.
I'll be in tomorrow night...
(beat)
Listen, could you call a number for me,
it's in Mississippi...
DEBBIE DELUCA
Okay. Hold on a second... What is it?
INT. NEW YORK TIMES - NIGHT
Jim Cooper's workstation. His phone rings. He grabs it.
JIM COOPER
Hello?
(beat)
LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
Lowell.
JIM COOPER
Alright, Lowell. Page one. Editorial's
interested. Let's talk.
INT. MOTEL, LINCOLN, MONTANA - NIGHT
LOWELL
Here's how it works. You ask me
questions. I tell you if you're wrong.
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
Okay.
(pause)
Lowell?
LOWELL
Yeah?
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
You're sure you want to do this?
LOWELL
Why?
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
Hey, it doesn't work? You've burned your
bridges, man.
LOWELL
You ready...?
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
Okay... About this whistle-blower...
Did Mike and Don go along with the
corporate decision?
No answer.
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)(cont'd)
Lowell?
LOWELL
Did I tell you you were wrong?
JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
No.
(beat)
I'm assuming the cave-in begins with the
threat of litigation from Big Tobacco.
Are we talking...are we talking Brown &
Williamson, here?
MOVING CLOSER into the face of Lowell. His gaze falters.
His eyes go back to the motel TV mutely frozen on the show.
Whatever he's seeing there, his gaze is steadfast.
EXT. STREET, NEW YORK - 5:30 A.M.
Newspaper box is loaded with The New York Times.
EXT. HOTEL, NEW YORK - 5:30 A.M.
Cab pulls to curb and a raincoated Man emerges. We SEE he
carries a copy of this morning's New York Times.
INT. A HOTEL ROOM, NEW YORK - DAWN
A suitcase is half-unpacked on the floor...a sleeping
figure... There's a knock. Irritated, a sleeping Lowell
gets up to answer it. He looks through the security peep
hole. He opens it. And Mike Wallace, a newspaper under his
arm, is standing in the doorway.
MIKE WALLACE
Did I get you up?
LOWELL
No, I usually sit around in my hotel
room, dressed like this at 5:30 in the
morning, sleepy look on my face.
There's an awkward quiet. Mike enters. He slows, looks
around.
MIKE WALLACE
How many shows have we done? Huh?
C'mon, how many?
LOWELL
Oh, lots.
MIKE WALLACE
Yeah, that's right.
LOWELL
But in all that time, Mike, did you ever
get off a plane, walk into a room, and
find that a source for a story changed
his mind? Lost his heart? Walked out on
us? Not one fucking time! You want to
know why?
MIKE WALLACE
I see a rhetorical question on the
horizon.
LOWELL
I'm going to tell you why. Because when
I tell someone I'm going to do something,
I deliver.
MIKE WALLACE
Oh, how fortunate I am to have Lowell
Bergman's moral tutelage to point me down
the shining path. To show me the way.
LOWELL
Oh, please, Mike...
MIKE WALLACE
(beat)
Give me a break!
LOWELL
No, you give me a break! I never left a
source hung out to dry, ever. Abandoned.
Not 'til right fucking now! When I came
on this job, I came with my word intact.
I'm gonna leave with my word intact.
Fuck the rules of the game! Hell, you're
supposed to know me, Mike. What the hell
did you expect? You expect me to lie
down? Back off? What, get over it?
MIKE WALLACE
In the real world, when you get to where
I am, there are other considerations...
LOWELL
Like what? Corporate responsibility?
What, are we talking celebrity here?
MIKE WALLACE
I'm not talking celebrity, vanity, CBS.
I'm talking about when you're nearer the
end of your life than the beginning.
Now, what do you think you think about
then? The future? "In the future I'm
going to do this? Become that?" What
"future"? No. What you think is: how
will I be regarded in the end? After I'm
gone.
He trails off. They look at each other.
MIKE WALLACE (cont'd)
Now, along the way I suppose I made some
minor impact.
(beat)
I did Iran-Gate and the Ayatollah,
Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Saddam,
Sadat, etcetera, etcetera. I showed
them thieves in suits.
(beat)
I've spent a lifetime building all that.
But history only remembers most what you
did last. And should that be fronting a
segment that allowed a tobacco giant to
crash this network?
(beat)
Does it give someone at my time of life
pause?
(simply)
Yeah.
And the look on Wallace's face is "It did. Whether it should
or should not...what difference does that make? It did."
And we realize only now that he has not come to argue.
LOWELL
Mike...in my...
MIKE WALLACE
(low)
You and I have been doing this together
for fourteen years.
And he gives Lowell a copy of The New York Times.
MIKE WALLACE (cont'd)
This is today's New York Times.
(beat)
In it is the whole sordid story of what
went on inside our shop.
Lowell looks down at the page. The headline is "'60 MINUTES'
ORDERED TO PULL INTERVIEW IN TOBACCO REPORT."
MIKE WALLACE (cont'd)
And in the editorial... It accuses
us...of betraying the legacy of Edward R.
Murrow.
Turning, he walks out and down the hallway. Lowell looks at
the newspaper.
INT. THE COMMUTER HELICOPTER - MORNING
The helicopter approaching Manhattan. John Scanlon sitting
with Hewitt, both of them reading The Wall Street Journal
Wigand article.
DON HEWITT
(troubled)
They conclude most of it seems pretty
unsubstantiated...
(looking at him, sickened)
You're full of shit, John.
INT. COFFEE SHOP, NEW YORK - MORNING
Lowell at a table littered with New York Times, New York Daily News, etc. His phone rings...
LOWELL
Yeah.
INT. A CITY BUS, NEW YORK - MORNING
Broadway backgrounds streak past Debbie DeLuca's head as she
rides, talking on a cell phone, The Wall Street Journal in
her hand.
DEBBIE DELUCA
...front page. There's a picture of
Wigand. Article's entitled, "Getting
Personal," by-lined to Suein Hwang and
Milo Geyelin. Wait, hold on a second,
Lowell.
Debbie hits "call waiting."
DEBBIE DELUCA (cont'd)
Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll see if I can
find him. Hold on...
(beat; to Lowell)
Yeah, Don's looking for you...
LOWELL
Good.
DEBBIE DELUCA
The sub-heading is, "Brown & Williamson
Has a 500-Page Dossier Attacking Chief
Critic."
It quotes Richard Scruggs calling it "the
worst kind of an organized smear campaign
against a whistle-blower."
INT. COFFEE SHOP, NEW YORK - MORNING
EXTREMELY CLOSE Lowell.
DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE (OVER)
"...a close look at the file, and
independent research by this newspaper
into its key claims, indicates that many
of the serious allegations against Mr.
Wigand are backed by scant or
contradictory evidence..."
EXT. STREET, NEW YORK - MORNING
As Lowell hails a cab in a WIDE ANGLE and runs towards us,
jumping into the cab...
INT. DON HEWITT'S OFFICE - DAY
DON HEWITT
The news division has been vilified in
The New York Times, in print, on
television, for caving to corporate
interests!
We PULL BACK and we see that Lowell's with Hewitt in Hewitt's
office...
DON HEWITT (CONT'D)
The New York Times ran a blow by blow of
what we talked about behind closed doors!
You fucked us!
LOWELL
(shouting)
No, you fucked you! Don't invert stuff!
Big Tobacco tried to smear Wigand; you
bought it. The Wall Street Journal,
here, not exactly a bastion of anti-
capitalist sentiment, refutes Big
Tobacco's smear campaign as the lowest
form of character assassination! And
now, even now, when every word of what
Wigand has said on our show is printed,
the entire deposition of his testimony in
a court of law in the State of
Mississippi, the cat totally out of the
bag, you're still standing here debating!
Don, what the hell else...do you need?
And Hewitt, looking around.
DON HEWITT
Mike, you tell him...
MIKE WALLACE
(simply)
You fucked up, Don.
And Don's taken off stride...
DON HEWITT
(recovers fast)
Hey, it's old news! Stick with me. Like
always, we'll be okay. These things have
a half-life of fifteen minutes...
MIKE WALLACE
No, that's fame. Fame has a fifteen-
minute half-life...
(droll)
Infamy...lasts a little longer.
Lowell looks at Wallace.
MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)
We caved. It's foolish. It's simply
dead wrong.
(in his face, so there's no
doubt)
Now, this is what we're going to do.
We're going over to Black Rock...
INT. A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASS, LOUISVILLE - AFTERNOON
Jeff is in front of his class, teaching...
WIGAND
Okay, so let's get back to it. Alright,
now, what we saw there was...
INT. LAX - ECU: LOWELL - NIGHT
Tired, his suitcase at his feet. We don't know if he's
coming or going. He's at a pay phone in the more-deserted-
than-not airport.
LOWELL
(into phone)
They cancelled the six o'clock.
(beat)
I don't know why. I'm on the 8:10. I
should be home...9:30. I'll see you
then. Love ya'. Bye...
He hangs up and ambles over to a lounge with a few travellers
sitting in it.
MIKE WALLACE
"CBS Management wouldn't let us broadcast
our original story and our interview with
Wigand because they were worried about
the possibility of a multi-billion dollar
lawsuit against us for tortious
interference... But now things have
changed."
INT. JEFFREY WIGAND'S APARTMENT, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT
A small apartment. Jeffrey dishes out second helpings of
pasta primavera into two pasta plates and brings them into
the kitchenette to his girls, Deborah and Barbara. And now
we SEE AND HEAR the small television on the table playing "60
Minutes" and...
MICHAEL MOORE
(on television)
"...in my opinion, is an industry that
has perpetrated the biggest fraud on the
American public in history."
Deborah looks proudly at her father.
Wigand's gotten up and gone out of the kitchenette. He has
stopped for a moment around the corner in the hallway. His
kids can't see him. We can. And he watches them and his
eyes get shiny and start to tear. And as he stands there,
watching his girls at the kitchen table witnessing their
father's hard-earned "truth" on television, we realize that
of all the audiences, his girls are the one he cares about
most...
INT. AIRPORT LOUNGE
And Lowell in his moment of victory is watching his "60
Minutes" double segment on a departure lounge television with
his feet resting on his suitcase, next to a Chicano woman
with two kids and her mother and an older man with a beard
and cane. An airport cleaner stops to watch, too. Lowell
glances at him...
Unbeknownst to these viewers, arrested by the content on the
television screen, is that the man who made it sits casually
among them, watching his work.
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, KITCHEN, BERKELEY - NIGHT
Sharon sits at the kitchen table. She watches in a far
corner a small countertop television. It's "60 Minutes," the
full show entitled "Jeffrey Wigand, Ph.D." and on the top
right, "PRODUCED BY LOWELL BERGMAN." As Sharon continues
watching the television playing on the counter, the emotional
currents within her remaining unrevealed...
INT. MIKE WALLACE'S STUDY - ON MIKE WALLACE - NIGHT
watching the show. He sees himself...
MIKE WALLACE
(to Wigand)
"You wish you hadn't blown the whistle?"
WIGAND
(on television, hesitating)
"There are times...I wish I hadn't done
it. But there are times that I feel
compelled to do it..."
"I've - if you asked me if I would do it
again or if it's - do I think it's worth
it. Yeah. I think it's worth it."
Wallace, satisfied, rises to refill his glass, as...
INT. AIRPORT LOUNGE
Lowell watching show in airport.
INT. A SURVEILLANCE VAN, LINCOLN, MONTANA - NIGHT
And we see the FBI Agent, BILL ROBERTSON on the phone.
BILL ROBERTSON
I promised you a three-hour heads-
up...well, here it is. Have a camera
crew standing by in Helena, Montana on
Tuesday and I'll give you a three-hour
head start. Alright? By the way, that
was a hell of a good show tonight...
INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - NIGHT
LOWELL
(nods, trustworthy)
Thank you, Bill.
And he quietly hangs up. And it's still. Sharon's laid
down, closing her eyes. They lie close together. After some
moments, she opens her eyes and lets us know what she's been
thinking...
SHARON
(understated)
You won.
This time he isn't droll.
LOWELL
Yeah?
(a beat)
What did I win?
There's an odd look on his face, not the look of a victor.
He shuts off the light. And as they lie close together in
the dark in each other's arms...
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FAMILIAR CBS EYE ON A TELEVISION SCREEN.
AND THEN THE WORDS: "SPECIAL REPORT."
INT. MASTER CONTROL ROOM, CBS - DAY
Lowell, entering through machine rooms, into a state-of-the-
art Master Control Room. On a wall are fifty or more
monitors, in the humidity-and-temperature-controlled nexus of
CBS operations. And it's jammed with people, witnessing a
fast-breaking, major news event. Mike Wallace stands near
Felling. Lowell crosses past Felling and stands next to Mike
Wallace.
And we see footage of a handcuffed, bearded, barefoot
Man...THEODORE KACZYNSKI, the UNABOMBER, being taken in by
the FBI. A director counts down. Dan Rather launches...
DAN RATHER
"Reporting from CBS World News
headquarters in New York, good afternoon.
There has been a major break in the case
of the so-called 'Unabomber.' CBS News
has learned that a remote homesite
outside Lincoln, Montana has been under
FBI surveillance..."
BILL FELLING
Thanks for this. You know, we beat
everybody. ABC, NBC, CNN.
Mike motions Lowell out into the corridor so they can be
alone.
INT. CORRIDOR, CBS - DAY
The control room and crowd are seen through the glass wall.
After some moments:
MIKE WALLACE
That Canada story? Still interest you?
LOWELL
(nods)
Everything interests me.
Mike nods... Lowell puts his hands in his jacket pockets...
After some moments...
LOWELL (CONT'D)
I quit, Mike.
Mike's startled.
MIKE WALLACE
Bullshit.
Lowell shakes his head "no."
MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)
C'mon, it all worked out. You came out
okay in the end...
LOWELL
I did? What do I tell a source on the
next tough story? Hang in with us.
You'll be fine...maybe?
They look at each other. Lowell says to Mike, intimately,
what he knows Mike knows...
LOWELL (cont'd)
What got broken here...doesn't go back
together again.
Lowell's heartfelt regret. He starts to leave. They look at
each other.
LOWELL (cont'd)
So, uh...
And Lowell moves off along the hallway, the monitors all
showing CBS programming. He doesn't even look back...
A LEGEND APPEARS:
CARD #1:
SUBSEQUENT TO THE EVENTS DRAMATIZES HERE, THE TOBACCO
INDUSTRY IN 1998 SETTLED THE LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST IT BY
MISSISSIPPI AND 49 OTHER STATES FOR $246 BILLION.
CARD #2:
ALTHOUGH BASED ON A TRUE STORY, CERTAIN EVENTS IN THIS MOTION
PICTURE HAVE BEEN FICTIONALIZED FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT.
THE SOURCE OF THE DEATH THREATS AGAINST THE WIGANDS NEVER WAS
IDENTIFIED AND NO ONE WAS EVER CHARGED OF PROSECUTED.
CARD #3:
IN 1996 DR. WIGAND WAS NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR IN KENTUCKY.
CURRENTLY, HE LIVES IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
CARD #4:
LOWELL BERGMAN IS A CORRESPONDENT FOR THE PBS SERIES
FRONTLINE AND IS ON THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF
JOURNALISM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY.
THE END
