All the Money in the World Page #6

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TELEGRAPH REPORTER

(calling out)

Mr. Getty! What will you do to saveyour grandson's life?

ON THE TV SCREEN: the door closes and Getty is gone.

SECRETARY (O.S.)

Ms. Getty? Are you still there?

GAIL:

I'm still here.

SECRETARY (O.S.)

Would you like me to give Mr. Gettya message?

GAIL:

Tell him I'm coming.

INT. ATELIER -- DAY

Getty returns to his office, followed by his secretary. She

gives him Gail's message on a slip of paper; he folds itonce, then throws it away.

Getty stands there for a moment, pensive. The ticker-tapecoils up snakelike on the floor at his feet, ignored.

What will you do to save your grandson's life?

Getty turns:
his secretary is still standing there, gazingat him with those tremulous, pleading eyes. Then:

GETTY:

Get me Fletcher Chace.

CUT TO:

THE SAUDI DESERT

undulates beneath us as we SOAR above it, from the POV of aPeregrine falcon. We come over a rise and descend INTO -

28.

INT. BEDOUIN TENT -- DAY

-- and onto the arm of a SHEIKH. The sheikh wears a Patek

Phillipe and sunglasses, as do the others lounging on pillows.

One man stands out from the rest: an American in a wrinkled

khaki suit. God knows how he got here, but FLETCHER CHACEgrins like a man who holds all the cards or is bluffing forall he's worth.

CHACE:

I feel for your situation, Your RoyalHighness. Truly I do.

PRINCE AL-RASHID

Our agreement with Getty has broughtus nothing but problems. The youngergeneration has become weak and lazy.

Our children care about nothing butLamborghinis and discotheques.

CHACE:

Perhaps then you would do well toaccept our competitor's offer.

PRINCE AL-RASHID

How so, Mr Chace?

CHACE:

Maybe Standard Oil will find ways tosiphon all that money away with theiraccounting tricks, and bring yourwayward children closer to God.

Fletcher Chace grins. The princes don't.

CHACE (CONT'D)

Kidding aside, your highness. Myemployer has made you rich.

PRINCE AL-RASHID

Not as rich as him.

CHACE:

If you renew your land-use agreementwith Getty, he'll make you twice asrich. Can Standard Oil say that?

(a beat)

In America we have a saying: betterto deal with the devil you know thanthe devil you don't.

Another prince speaks, in Arabic:

29.

PRINCE AL-WALID

(to Al-Rashid)

You know where Getty hired this onefrom? He belongs to the den of CIAspies that brought down Mossadegh --

CHACE:

(in Arabic)

Belonged, Your Royal Highness. Past

tense, please.

(in English)

I don't have the stomach for politics

anymore. People tend to get hurt,

and it's usually all the wrong people.

Business is better. Nobody dies,

they just go broke.

PRINCE AL-RASHID

For some people going broke is worse.

CHACE:

That's why I work for Getty now.

I've noticed people have a way ofgetting rich just standing next tohim. People like you.

PRINCE AL-WALID

We don't need the Americans anymore.

Our cartel, OPEC, will controlinventory now. OPEC will set the

oil price.

CHACE:

Nothing would make Mr. Getty happierthan to see the price of oil higher.

In fact, he'd be happy to help.

Off on the horizon, a DUST DEVIL approaches, spiraling intothe sky like a tornado.

PRINCE AL-RASHID

Subhan Allah. Look.

The sheikhs marvel at it, and then it is upon us:

A DUNE BUGGY:

comes over the berm, fishtailing to a stop in the sand asthe camels hiss and spit.

A spattered OIL LANDMAN steps out of the dune buggy. He

staggers through the sand and walks up to Fletcher Chace.

OIL LANDMAN:

The old man wants you. Now.

30.

EXT. SUTTON PLACE (SURREY, ENGLAND) -- FRONT HALL -- DAY

Gail Getty sits in a chair in the mansion's waiting area.

She's clad in Chanel from head-to-toe like a suit of armor,

along with a look of steely determination.

BULLIMORE:

I'm afraid Mr. Getty is traveling atthe moment and is unavailable.

Gail eyes the dark-suited security guard in the corridor.

GAIL:

Do you know why I'm here, Bullimore?

BULLIMORE:

Yes ma'am, I do.

GAIL:

You wouldn't have me thrown out,

would you, Bullimore?

BULLIMORE:

I would never turn you away from myhome, ma'am. Or little Paul. But...

this is not my home.

An offscreen bell CHIMES. Bullimore excuses himself and

lets a man in. It's Fletcher Chace. Bullimore takes his

coat and umbrella and shows him to an adjacent waiting area.

Chace leafs through a magazine. From his vantage, we canjust spy a pair of STOCKING-CLAD LEGS around the corner.

Chace rises, drifts into the front parlor, and pretends toexamine a Vermeer still-life.

GAIL:

How much would you say that painting'sworth?

CHACE:

Hell if I know. Awfully small.

GAIL:

It's a Vermeer. If I took it off

the wall, do you think anyone wouldnotice?

CHACE:

A silent alarm would go off. The

dogs would get to you before youmade it to the fence. With a face

as pretty as that... I wouldn't.

31.

GAIL:

You seem very knowledgeable.

CHACE:

About paintings, no. About other

things, some.

Chace sits down opposite Gail.

CHACE (CONT'D)

He's a tough old goat to get an

audience with.

BULLIMORE (O.S.)

Mr. Chace. If you'll come with me.

GAIL:

Apparently not.

Chace smiles sheepishly, rises, and leaves with Bullimore.

CHACE:

I need to stop off at the kitchenfirst, if that's all right.

INT. KITCHEN -- SUTTON PLACE -- DAY

Chace uses a butcher's knife to cut a strip of raw meat froma porterhouse steak. He cuts the strip into cubes.

EXT. SUTTON PLACE -- REFLECTING POOL -- DAY

A GERMAN SHEPHERD patrols the grounds. Chace crouches; thedog runs to him. Chace feeds him the steak.

CHACE:

That's it, Skip. Attaboy. What's

this?

He checks the dog's name tag: it reads "ANUBIS."

CHACE (CONT'D)

(re:
the nametag)

Sorry about that, fella. Some thingswe don't get to choose.

Chace takes in the scene by the pool: Getty sits on a chaiselounge beside a young STARLET in a bathing suit. Getty laughsand jokes with her; she seems genuinely charmed.

GETTY (O.S.)

This world was forged by two kindsof men, Mr Chace.

CUT TO:

32.

Getty strolls with Chace around the pool.

GETTY (CONT'D)

Men of enterprise, like myself. And

men of action, like you. What youand I share is what most men lack: a

willingness to embrace enormous risk.

I risk my money. You risk your life.

CHACE:

I prefer to risk the other guy'slife, actually.

GETTY:

I like to risk the other guy's money,

too. My point is we represent avery small minority of mankind. The

herd feeds off what we accomplish.

These people who took my grandson -what

do you think I should have done?

CHACE:

You did the right thing. They won'thurt the boy, he's a winning lotteryticket. Pay them too quickly andthey may be afraid they asked fortoo little. They might come backfor another bite.

GETTY:

If only everyone was as clear-headed

as you.

INT. SUTTON PLACE -- ENTRY HALL -- DAY

Gail is still cooling her heels in Getty's front hall. She

rises and approaches Bullimore.

GAIL:

I need to phone my attorney to findout if there's been any contact fromthe kidnappers.

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