American Hustle Page #8

Irving, Edith, Richie, and the fake Sheik admire a REMBRANDT

painting on the wall.

IRVING ROSENFELD

I want to show you something. This

Rembrandt here? People come from

all over the world to see this.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Yeah, he's good.

IRVING ROSENFELD

It’s a fake.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Wait, what’re you talking about?

That's impossible.

IRVING ROSENFELD

People believe what they want to

believe. Cause the guy who made

this was so good that it’s real to

everybody. Now whose the master --

the painter or the forger?

Richie’s continues to stare at the REMBRANDT on the wall.

RICHIE DIMASO:

That’s a fake?

IRVING ROSENFELD

That’s the way the world works. Not

black and white as you say.

Extremely grey.

ELWAY’S ACQUAINTANCE walks up to Irving and the group and

steps into the conversation.

ELWAY’S ACQUAINTANCE

Irving can I --

IRVING ROSENFELD

How many times I gotta tell you.

You can’t meet the sheik, alright?

Edith sees this and steps into the conversation.

EDITH GREENSLY:

Arthur? Hi. Edith. We’ve met

before.

42.

EDITH GREENSLY (CONT’D)

I wanted to introduce you to RobertSpencer. We’re advising the Sheik

together.

She looks at Richie. Richie offers his hand.

RICHIE DIMASO:

(catching up)

Yeah, I’m Robert Spencer, advisor

to the sheik.

70A EXT. CHELSEA HOTEL -- ESTABLISHING - DAY 70A

71 INT. OFFICE OF CARL ELWAY - SUCCESSFUL, BUT SHADY - DAY 71

CARL ELWAY, 40, preppie Waspy, very old fashioned withcigarette holder, but something vaguely criminal about him,

in his conservative suit, natty white and red striped shirt,

and navy blue tie sits with Irving.

CARL ELWAY:

What’s this I hear about a god damnSheik?! Why you leaving me out ofthis? I gotta hear about it from myfriends?

IRVING ROSENFELD

It ain’t for you Carl.

CARL ELWAY:

What do you mean it ain’t for me?

We gotta do certificates ofdeposit. I can print as many as youneed.

IRVING ROSENFELD

This is not a one man operation.

CARL ELWAY:

Look, I can get other guys. Whatare you talking about Irving?

IRVING ROSENFELD

You’re telling me that you can get

four guys to sell fake certificatesof deposit to my investor within aweek?

The camera zooms into Irving’s shirt collar revealing a tinymicrophone.

43.

CARL ELWAY:

Yes I can make that happen. Carl

Elway can do what he says he’s

going to do.

IRVING ROSENFELD

That’s interesting but you know

I’ve got other guys lined up. I’ve

got a meeting with my associates.

SUDDENLY CARL ELWAY’S ASSISTANT, OPENS THE DOOR AND ENTERS.

Richie Dimaso and Edith ARE STANDING THERE -- MUCH TO IRV’S

DISMAY.

CARL ELWAY’S ASSISTANT

Carl, his associates are here. He’s

got a meeting he’s got to go to.

CARL ELWAY:

No wait. Don’t go anywhere.

IRVING ROSENFELD

I’ve got to go.

Irving gets up to walk out as Richie and Edith stand in the

doorway.

IRVING ROSENFELD (V.O.)

Crazy thing about people -- the

more you say no, the more they want

in on somethin. It is so stupid.

Irving looks over at Richie and Edith.

IRVING ROSENFELD

I’ll tell them, don’t worry. Hey

you know what Carl just told me? He

said he could do this whole thing

with four guys within a week.

CARL ELWAY:

Or we could do somethin' much

bigger!

Richie jumps into the conversation.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Something bigger? My guy deals with

hundreds of millions of dollars.

How much bigger?

He walks over to Carl.

44.

CARL ELWAY:

Hundreds of million -- I knew you

were holdin' out on me Irving!

Hundreds of millions of dollars?

Like much bigger. Like I'm talking

about we say never the f*** mind

the CD's and we could have some

complete access to something huge.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Huge? Like what? (introducing

himself) Robert Spencer, advisor to

the Sheik.

CARL ELWAY:

Carl Elway.

Irv stares at Richie with contempt, then turns to Edith,

DRESSED TO THE NINES.

CARL ELWAY (CONT’D)

I want you to think of the most

undervalued asset in the state of

New Jersey today. The rebuilding of

Atlantic City.

Richie looks over at Irving and Sydney and mouths the word

“WOW”.

CARL ELWAY (CONT’D)

Look, maybe they, maybe they

legalized gambling a year ago but

nothing’s happening.

Irving interjects.

IRVING ROSENFELD

Hey, quit while you’re ahead Carl.

CARL ELWAY:

I know the guy. I know the right

people who are going to help you

out.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Whose the guy?

CARL ELWAY:

The guy is Carmine Polito.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Whose Carmine Polito?

45.

75 INT. FBI OFFICE, FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING, NY 75

PUSH IN:
STODDARD THORSEN, Richie’s FBI supervisor.

STODDARD THORSEN

(shakes his finger ‘no’)

Carmine Polito? Carmine Polito, no.

We freeze frame on Stoddard as we HEAR Richie’S VO:

AS Richie TALKS WE SEE A SHORT FILM ABOUT Carmine Polito:

-PUSH IN:
Mayor Polito walks a Camden street waves, shakes

hands of WELL-WISHERS

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

My boss Stoddard proceeded to tell

me that Carmine Polito was the most

quietly powerful person in the

state of New Jersey. A lifetime

native of the very racially mixed

Camden, which had become a ghetto,

and where he had been Mayor for ten

years. A very beloved guy. A guy

who never gave up on his people.

His father had emigrated from Italy

and had stoked coal.

-Frank Sinatras COFFEE SONG, 1940s version, as we see

Carmine talk to and dance joyfully with his kids and wife at

breakfast.

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

A big family guy with five kids.

They even adopted some other kid.

A black kid from the Boys and Girls

Club who'd lost his family. I mean,

his household was a joyous place.

And his wife Dolly, she was the

apple of his eye and the center of

the household. I mean everyone

loved this guy.

-PULL OUT Mayor Polito walks up steps of City Hall as he

greets a women and her baby; into his office greeted by a

couple of AIDES who show him papers to sign.

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

And he had a huge heart.

46.

78 INT. CAMDEN CITY HALL - W.P.A. MURAL ROOM - DAY 78

CARMINE POLITO:

(giving speech)

The W.P.A. employed craftsmen topaint this during the Depression.

Why can't we employ people today todo work like this in rebuildingAtlantic City?

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

He worked with all the unions. He

was the leader of the State

Assembly. And he had just gottengambling legalized in New Jersey tocreate jobs.

80 -- FLOOR OF STATE ASSEMBLY -- Carmine huddles with other

STATE LEGISLATORS, horsetrading and then poses for a picturewith other members of the State Assembly.

80

RICHIE DIMASO (V.O.)

But he couldn’t get the funds to

rebuild Atlantic City and that was

his problem. So with our help, hewas about to have his hand in the

wrong pocket at the wrong time.

And to me that meant corrupt

81 BACK TO:
81

STODDARD THORSEN

You said grifters and con artists.

We're not going after somepolitician. This is a bad idea,

Richard.

RICHIE DIMASO:

Shhhh. Look, it's really simple.

All you need is to put two millionin a Chase account -What?!

STODDARD THORSEN

RICHIE DIMASO (CONT’D)

-- under the Sheik’s name -STODDARD

THORSEN:

Whose two million?!

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes