American Hustle Page #17

95.

VICTOR TELLEGIO:

No, let him speak for himself.

Sheik swallows hard and looks to Richie. It’s a very tense

moment for everyone at the table.

Tellegio stares. Everyone hangs on this. Irving and Richie

share a look --what is he doing?

A DRUNK, AL KOWALSKI, a working man, friend of the Mayor

BARRELS INTO INTO THE TABLE, spilling drinks. Tellegio’s guys

jump in and grab him and start to pull him away.

CARMINE POLITO:

No, I know him.

AL KOWALSKI:

You guys are way too serious for a

party!(to Tellegio) Hey, what are

you drinking? You got a drink?

TELLEGIO GLARES BACK AT THE INTRUSION.

CARMINE:

(to Al)

We're in a very serious meeting.

(to Tellegio) I apologize.

TELLEGIO DOES NOT LOOK AMUSED.

AL KALOWSKI:

I understand, you're in conference.

You gotta come with me now. You got

a speech to give. Everyone’s

waiting for you.

CARMINE POLITO:

Al, I'll be right behind you, okay?

Trust me.

Paco Hernandez/Sheik stands up and reaches over to Tellegio

to shake his hand. Irving panics. THE MENACING DEEP BASS

INTRO OF “WHITE RABBIT” FADES UP ON THE SOUNDTRACK.

SHEIK ABDULLAH:

(In Arabic)

It is great doing business with

you. The investment is real. It was

a pleasure to meet you.

Irving exhales in relief that Paco managed to say anything

passable in Arabic.

96.

IRVING ROSENFELD (V.O.)

What are the odds of an Italian guy

from Miami knowing Arabic? But it

turns out he's got casino

investments in the Mideast and he

spent two years learning it to keep

the upper hand.

Victor leans over to talk to Carmine.

VICTOR TELLEGIO:

Listen to me carefully. If you're

real, you put ten million in the

bank of our choice in the next two

weeks.

Carmine nods.

VICTOR TELLEGIO (CONT’D)

Carmine, listen to me carefully, if

you're real, you put ten million in

the bank of our choice in the next

two weeks or not only will the

Sheik feel insulted, but our

friends in Florida will feel deeply

disrespected and so will I.

Irving looks at Victor, who stares back at him. This is bad.

AT THE BAR --

“WHITE RABBIT” CONTINUES. ROSALYN CONTINUES TO FLIRT WITH

PETE MUSANE --

SYDNEY WATCHES OUT OF CONTROL ROSALYN, STANDS AND WALKS OVER

TO HER.

EDITH GREENSLY:

Rosalyn, you need to come with me

alright?

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

I don’t need to come with you.

EDITH GREENSLY:

You need to come with me. This

needs to stop. Come on.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Oh, you think I should come with

you?

97.

EDITH GREENSLY:

Yeah, you need to come with me

right now.

Rosalyn takes her wrist out of Sydney’s grasp.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Why don't you get your f***ing

hands off me, you f***ing whore!

PETE MUSANE:

Hey!

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

You’re a whore. (to everyone) This

is my husband’s whore!

EDITH GREENSLY:

That’s real nice.

DOLLY POLITO:

We’re not going to do this in the

Ocean Room tonight. Not tonight.

Please.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

This is my husbands whore!

Dolly escorts Edith over to one side of the room away from

Rosalyn.

DOLLY POLITO:

You stay over here with me.

Everybody just calm down. I don't

know what's going on.

Pete looks over to Rosalyn.

PETE MUSANE:

You alright? Take it easy. These

things happen. Whatever’s meant to

be will be.

Rosalyn smiles at Pete.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

That’s what I always say.

PETE MUSANE:

You say that?

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Yeah.

98.

PETE MUSANE:

See? Kindred spirits.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Whatever’s meant to be will be.

PETE MUSANE:

Whatever’s meant to be will be.

CUT TO:

INT. WOMEN’S POWDER ROOM HALLWAY - CASINO

ROSALYN STORMS DOWN THE HALL TOWARDS THE BATHROOM AS “WHITE

RABBIT” BUILDS TO ITS CLIMAX.

126 INT. WOMEN’S POWDER ROOM - CASINO 126

Rosalyn looks in mirror: sadness, anger, fear. Edith rushes

in.

EDITH GREENSLY:

What the hell do you think you’re

doing?

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

What the hell do I think I’m

doing?! What the f*** do you think

you're doing? You really gonna come

in here and judge me for flirting

with somebody after you've been

f***ing my husband for how many

years?!

EDITH GREENSLY:

You don't have any f***ing clue

what's going on!

Rosalyn holds her hand, with wedding ring to Sydney’s face.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

I got a ring on my finger. We have

a child together.

EDITH GREENSLY:

He doesn’t love you Rosalyn he

loves me. And you know it and I

know it and he knows it. And it

might be done now, but it was

beautiful and it was real.

99.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Stop.

EDITH GREENSLY:

And we loved each other.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Shut up.

Rosalyn starts to tear up.

EDITH GREENSLY:

You scare him, and you manipulate

him, and you use your son!

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Well, he must like it on some

level. He must want it because he

keeps coming back for it. It's like

that perfume that you love that you

can't stop smelling, even when

there's something sour in it. You

can't get enough of it. But guess

what, he's never gonna leave me.

He's always going to want me, and I

will make you so sorry, Edith. I

will make you so sorry for what

you've done to my family, mark my

words.

EDITH GREENSLY:

That is f***ed up! I would never

say anything that f***ed up to

anybody, but you do because you're

gross inside, you're so f***ed up

and gross.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Oh, I'm gross inside?

EDITH GREENSLY:

Yeah.

ROSALYN ROSENFELD

Maybe you're gross inside, with

robbing people and all that sh*t

that you do? Maybe we're both gross

inside, that's what Irving loves

about us. At least he's consistent

with his women. You know, sometimes

in life all you have are f***ed up,

poisonous choices.

Rosalyn reaches over, grabs Sydney’s face and kisses her.

100.

Rosalyn laughs a toxic, tough front dark laugh and walks out.

THE BEE GEES “HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?” STARTS.

Sydney looks into the mirror and wipes the lipstick off herlips as Rosalyn storms out of the powder room.

SMASH TO:

129 ROSALYN WALKS OUT SHAKY -- SUDDENLY FROM BEHIND A ROW OF

WOODEN PAYPHONES A HAND GRABS ROSALYN’S AND PULLS HER BEHIND

THEM - ITS PETE MUSANE - THEY STARE AT EACH OTHER - SILENT INTENSE--

ROSALYN IS SHAKING AND CRYING AS SHE FALLS APART IN

HIS ARMS.

129

SYDNEY COMES STORMING OUT OF THE POWDER ROOM AND WALKS RIGHT

PAST ROSALYN AND PETE.

PUSH IN ON:
SYDNEY LOOKING BACK, STOPPED, SEES ROSALYN

EMBRACING PETE AS SHE CRIES.

SMASH TO:

130 SYDNEY RUNS INTO BACK ROOM, URGENTLY JOINS IRV AND RICHIE AT

THE TABLE.

130

EDITH GREENSLY:

We need to talk! This is serious.

SMASH TO:

CARMINE AND DOLLY CLIMB THE STAIRS TO THE MAIN BALLROOM

FILLED EXCITEDLY WITH OPTIMISM AS THE SONG SWELLS. THEY KISS

IN SILHOUETTE INTO A HARD BACKLIGHT. CARMINE CLIMBS REACHES

THE STAGE AND THE CROWD ROARS.

AL KALOWSKI:

Ladies and gentlemen, your friend,

the working man's friend, myfriend, Mayor Carmine Polito!

ON STAGE:
Carmine TAKES MIC

Irving stands off to the side of the stage as his worldcloses in around him. Pulls his heart pills out of his pocketand takes one. Sydney sees this as she stands nearby withRichie.

Irv, Edith, Richie watch near stage, jostled. Rosalyn entersthe ball room looking disheveled as she is guided by PeteMusane looks to stage.

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