American Hustle Page #20

RICHIE DIMASO:

What are you doing pulling out your

gun? Stop it. That’s not you.

STODDARD THORSEN

No, it’s me. This is me. It’s me.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Don’t do something that you don’t

know anything about. Alright?

Richie grabs his gun and starts to load it.

STODDARD THORSEN

DO NOT LOAD THAT GUN. YOU DROP THAT

GUN.

RICHIE DIMASO:

I’ll show you how it’s done. I’m

not even going to hit you.

He points the gun at Stoddard.

RICHIE DIMASO (CONT’D)

Watch this fucko.

CUT TO:

INT. OLD FEDERAL BUILDING - DOWNTOWN

Richie and Stoddard stare at each other in silence.

ANTHONY AMADO:

So, you want to use the Sherman

Suite? The entire floor?

Stoddard throws his head back, looks at ceiling in

exasperation.

113.

STODDARD THORSEN

OH GOD.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Yes! At the Plaza Hotel.

ANTHONY AMADO:

What happened to the Mafia? I

thought you were -

RICHIE DIMASO:

This is where they intersect! This

is where the two things intersect.

The Politicians and the Mafia.

Victor Tellegio’s people who run

resorts international -

ANTHONY AMADO:

Victor Tellegio showed his face?

RICHIE DIMASO:

Yes. I sat with him. I sat with

Victor Tellegio. I hung out with

him. We can get him. We can get his

whole organization as well as

getting any number of congressmen.

I mean, that’s just peeling the

first layer of the onion.

ANTHONY AMADO:

Wow. How you going to do that?

RICHIE DIMASO:

We would get ten million dollars

and put it into an account -

STODDARD THORSEN

TEN MILLION DOLLARS?! Ten Million

dollars?

RICHIE DIMASO:

And that’s how we just let them

know we’re for real.

ANTHONY AMADO:

What does he say he's gonna do for

the ten million dollars? How are we

trapping him?

RICHIE DIMASO:

He promises to build casinos,

handle the skims, do the licencing -

114.

STODDARD THORSEN

And you have him on tape saying

this. You have that right? No.

ANTHONY AMADO:

(to Richie)

I want you to find a safer way to

get Victor Tellegio on a wire. No

ten million dollars -- that's

crazy.

STODDARD THORSEN

Thank you.

Richie looks down, defeated.

ANTHONY AMADO:

Even to entrap Tellegio it's crazy.

But you can have the Sherman Suite -

STODDARD THORSEN

NO.

ANTHONY AMADO:

--Stoddard, please -- To go and get

me some congressmen. Go get some

congressmen taking bribes. I want

to pinch us some congressmen, ok?

You come back to me. I’m proud of

you.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Thank you.

(then as an afterthought)

And Stoddard.

143 INT. CORRIDOR - OLD FEDERAL COURT BUILDING - CONTINUOUS 143

Richie and Stoddard walk down large, echoey Federal building

corridor. Stoddard walking ten feet ahead turns and points at

Richie.

STODDARD THORSEN

(shouts bitterly)

Good luck keeping your job, by the

way, and staying out of jail -- and

not being killed by the Mob. But

other than that you're doing a

great job.

Stoddard turns and storms off.

115.

RICHIE DIMASO:

(as Stoddard walks away)

What's the end of the ice fishing

story?

STODDARD THORSEN

I'm not telling you the end of the

ice fishing story.

RICHIE DIMASO:

I’m going to call your f***ing

brother and find out from him.

STODDARD THORSEN

My brother’s dead.

RICHIE DIMASO:

That's how it ends. He fell through

the f***ing ice.

STODDARD THORSEN

(shouts bitterly)

No it’s not. He died a different

way, many years later.

He storms off and leaves Richie staring in the hallway.

EXT. PLAZA HOTEL -- DAY

Establishing.

145 INT. PLAZA HOTEL - GENERAL SHERMAN SUITE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS 145

Richie walks out of a surveillance room and down the hallway

to where Irv and Sydney wait.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Listen I know it’s awkward and I

just want to say I’m sorry,

alright? I think we can stick

together and still fulfill our

goal. I mean, we got the Sherman

Suite.

IRVING ROSENFELD

You got the whole floor?

RICHIE DIMASO:

We got the whole floor, yeah.

EDITH GREENSLY:

That’s good.

116.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Yeah, you ok?

SYDNEY PROSSER:

Yeah. You?

Richie gestures to his eye that Sydney smashed with the

picture frame. He’s got a few little scabs.

RICHIE DIMASO:

It’s alright. I got hit a little

bit. My eye. It’s a little blurry

but I got drops at the pharmacy.

Richie looks over to Irving.

RICHIE DIMASO (CONT’D)

Hey, you OK?

IRVING ROSENFELD

Yeah, I’m good --

Richie looks back over to Sydney

RICHIE DIMASO:

Listen, I’m sorry.

SYDNEY PROSSER:

I’m sorry.

RICHIE DIMASO:

(to Irving)

I’m sorry Irving.

Irving doesn’t know what to say, starts to say something

twice, stops, can’t think of what to say. Leaves Richie

hanging.

INT. PLAZA HOTEL - GENERAL SHERMAN SUITE - DAY

Richie directs where cameras should be concealed. AGENTS

SCHMIDT AND STOCK FOLLOW MAKING NOTES IN PADS.

RICHIE DIMASO:

You can put a camera here. And we

get it all on film. You like it?

EDITH GREENSLY:

I do.

RICHIE DIMASO:

(to Schmidt)

Give me those flowers.

(MORE)

117.

RICHIE DIMASO (CONT'D)

If we put the flower base here and

put a camera in there we can get a

clear shot of the couch there where

we can put the congressmen.

Irving, sitting on the couch, looks kind of disturbed by

this.

IRVING ROSENFELD

That’s right. That’s the idea.

146 INT. MAYOR CARMINE POLITO’S OFFICE - DAY 146

RICHIE DIMASO (O.S.)

And Carmine will go to jail after

he delivers us the congressmen soon

to be felons.

Carmine’s aid MELORA answers a ringing phone as Carmine sits

at his desk.

MELORA:

Congressman O’Connell is on the

phone --

PUSH IN ON:

CARMINE POLITO:

I got to take this you guys

everyone out please.

Dolly Polito, checking the unwatered plants in her husbands

office with her coat on, she has just stopped by. Turns and

holds up a parched and dying houseplant.

DOLLY POLITO:

This is sad. It’s just sad.

CARMINE POLITO:

Dolly please, I gotta take this.

DOLLY POLITO:

Ok, sorry. Everyone out. Go out.

CARMINE POLITO:

(picks up phone)

Congressman, how you doing? It’s

Carmine. Tell me you're gonna be in

Trenton this week. We have an

amazing investment opportunity I'd

like to discuss with you.

SMASH TO:

118.

INT. PLAZA HOTEL - GENERAL SHERMAN SUITE - DAY

Richie on a black and white surveillance camera as he shows

the briefcase full of money.

RICHIE DIMASO:

I’m federal agent Richard Dimaso.

I've placed seventy-five thousand

dollars into this briefcase for

Representative John O'Connell of

the Ninth District.

SMASH TO:

148 EXT. STATE CAPITOL - TRENTON, NEW JERSEY - DAY 148

Carmine shakes hands with REP. JOHN O’CONNELL --

CARMINE POLITO:

Congressman, thank you for coming

by, John --

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

Representative O'Connell was

contacted by Carmine Polito to ask

if he could obtain rapid

citizenship through an act of

Congress for one Sheik Abdullah,

investor.

They walk up the capitol steps.

CARMINE POLITO:

You wanna talk jobs, investment,

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