All the Money in the World Page #22

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The only empty chair is that of J Paul Getty himself.

HINGE:

Ms Getty, we offer our sincerestcondolences.

GAIL:

For what?

She looks at the empty chair.

GAIL (CONT'D)

Oh. You're very thoughtful.

HINGE:

Please, sit. Mr Getty's death hascreated a bit of a crisis here. You

see, Mr. Getty never groomed a

successor. Or rather he tried to --

117.

GAIL:

But he destroyed them all.

(off his look)

I don't think he planned on dying.

He thought that was negotiable, too.

HINGE:

Yes, well. As a result, the Gettyestate has become a family fortunein search of a family.

TAX ATTORNEY:

You see, the estate was structuredas a charitable family trust.

GAIL:

Did he ever give any money to charity?

HINGE:

No. The trust enabled Mr. Getty tobuild his fortune without payingtaxes. The problem is, the trusthas rules. It throws off interest.

The interest must be spent. It's a

staggering amount of money.

GAIL:

What do you want from me?

HINGE:

How do I put this. The King is dead,

and the throne is vacant. Someone

has to take his place.

GAIL:

That money destroyed my family.

HINGE:

So you don't want it.

We HOLD on Gail. Then:

GAIL:

No. Give it to me.

The other attorney slides a stack of documents toward her.

Atop the stack is the beautiful gold fountain pen that sheused to sign her children away.

She twists off the cap. The nib is as sharp as a knife.

She sets it down and signs on the dotted line.

EXT. GETTY VILLA, MALIBU -- DAY

The iron gates open before us, and a CROWD enters the grounds.

They wear sneakers, jeans, t-shirts.

118.

They snap pictures with Instamatic cameras and carry cans ofsoda.

Fletcher Chace is among them, his suit freshly pressed.

INT. GETTY VILLA -- MAIN OFFICE LOBBY -- DAY

Chace sits in a lobby chair, waiting for his appointment.

CUT TO:

GAIL'S SIGNATURE

scrolls across the signature line of a bank check. She sits

at Getty's old Louis XIV desk, her bearing modest but somehowregal: she has become Getty, after her own fashion. She

tears the check from the register and offers it to Chace.

CHACE:

I can't accept this.

GAIL:

It's not enough. Take it.

EXT. GETTY VILLA, MALIBU -- DAY

They walk together, a bit awkwardly, on the main terrace,

where they pass a row of marble busts of Roman Emperors.

The last bust in line is that of Getty himself. They pass aDOCENT leading a tour group:

DOCENT:

J Paul Getty believed deeply in thepower of art to make us aware of ourshared humanity, and that this legacybelonged to every man and woman,

rich or poor. It was his

philanthropic vision that made thismuseum possible.

Gail and Chace exchange a look.

CHACE:

Who wrote that?

GAIL:

I did. But let's keep that to

ourselves.

(a beat)

We hope you'll be staying on, Mr.

Chace, but we're a public foundationnow, and the position doesn't paywhat it did. And I know you hadother ambitions. But still.

119.

CHACE:

Guys like me don't get rich. I've

realized that. We get sidetrackedtoo easily.

GAIL:

Shame.

CHACE:

Not really.

A moment. She struggles to find the right words.

GAIL:

I think of you as our family.

CHACE:

It's kind of you to say so, ma'am.

They pass a tiny sculpture on a platform: the Minotaur.

Chace doesn't even notice it.

CHACE (CONT'D)

There were a couple things aroundthe grounds I was meaning to see to.

GAIL:

Of course. Don't let me keep you.

Chace leaves Gail on the terrace. As she watches Chace go,

her son Paul joins her, his hair grown long now.

INT. KITCHEN -- DAY

Chace uses a butcher's knife to cut a strip of meat from asteak. He cuts the strip into cubes.

EXT. GETTY VILLA -- DAY

Chace opens a cage and one of Getty's Alsatians limps out.

Chace feeds the dog the steak, kneading its fur, whispering

in its ear. He clips a chain leash to the dog's choke collar.

EXT. GETTY VILLA -- ENTRANCE -- DAY

Chace walks the dog to the open front gate. He grips the

dog's chain in his clenched fist.

They stand there at the gate as the outsiders stream past,

the dog BARKING its insistent warning to any and all whowould dare come to do this family harm.

BLACK OUT.

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