Argo Page #7

SIEGEL (V.O.)

Yeah, come in.

102 INT. SIEGEL HOUSE - HALLWAY - EVENING 102

And there.’s LESTER SIEGEL, a semi-legendary producer in

his semi-legendary seventies. He.’s equal parts bookie

and rabbi. His father sold perfume on the Lower East

Side. Lester is halfway to dressed in a tuxedo.

SIEGEL:

(shakes hands)

I only got a couple minutes. I.’m

getting a lifetime achievement *

award tonight.

CHAMBERS:

Mazel tov, Lester.

SIEGEL:

Aaah, I.’d rather stay home and

count the wrinkles on my dog.’s

balls. These f***in.’ things are

like getting measured for your

coffin. .‘He don.’t look so good.

Let.’s give him an honorary award..’

TIME CUT TO:

103 INT. SIEGEL.’S DEN - ANGLE ON TV - TED KOPPEL - EVENING 103

Reporting on Iran.

SIEGEL (O.S.)

A little experiment. You be me

hearing you.

The TV we.’re watching sits in a room with a couple of

Golden Globes and pictures of a younger Lester.

ANOTHER ANGLE:

SIEGEL:

Six people in the middle of a city

of, what, four million --

ON TV, a wild-eyed woman in the crowd (in one of the most

widely-played clips of the hostage crisis) makes an axfalling

gesture with her arm repeatedly.

ARGO - Final 37.

101 CONTINUED:
101

(CONTINUED)

SIEGEL:

-- who chant .‘Death to America.’

all the livelong day. You wanna

set up a picture in a week. Lie

to a whole town of people who lie

for a living. Have Double-O-Seven

here sneak into a country that

wants CIA blood with their

breakfast cereal. Duck Iranian

intelligence. Then walk the Brady *

Bunch out of the most watched city *

in the world...

MENDEZ:

... and past a hundred Komiteh at

the airport.

SIEGEL:

Look, I wanna help you but... In

the Army, we did suicide missions

that had better odds. So lemme

hit it again for the cheap seats:

NO.

Chambers gives Mendez a look.

CHAMBERS:

(to Lester, as he

gets up)

Enjoy your fish dinner tonight.

Chambers stops at the muted television. More images of

angry crowds.

CHAMBERS:

You ever think, Lester, how it.’s

all for the cameras?

SIEGEL:

They.’re getting the ratings, I.’ll

give .‘em that -- *

Siegel looks at the TV: at that moment, a HOSTAGE TAKER *

holding up photos of hostages for CAMERAS in front of

him. He takes a beat.

SIEGEL:

We.’re gonna need a script.

A beat of silence. A LOOK from Siegel to Chambers.

CHAMBERS (V.O.)

(pre-lap)

How .‘bout The Horses of Achilles?

ARGO - Final 38.

103 CONTINUED:
103

104 EXT. BY LESTER.’S POOL - MORNING 104

Chambers, on hold on the phone, walks to Siegel holding

up The Horses of Achilles script in a William Morris

binder. Stacks of scripts on a table outside. Siegel.’s

new A.F.I. award is being used as a coaster.

SIEGEL:

Nobody makes Westerns anymore.

CHAMBERS:

(looking through it)

It.’s ancient Troy.

SIEGEL:

If it.’s got horses in the title, *

it.’s a Western.

CHAMBERS:

(into the phone)

Yeah, Kenny, please. It.’s John

Chambers, about the office space.

(then)

It doesn.’t matter. It.’s a fake

movie.

SIEGEL:

If I.’m doing a fake movie, it.’s *

gonna be a fake hit.

CHAMBERS:

(to phone)

Is A006 still open on the lot?

105 INT. SIEGEL.’S LIVING ROOM - DAY 105

Mendez, on the PHONE near a fully stocked bar.

O.’DONNELL (V.O.)

The Canadians are done. Say

they.’re bearing too much risk.

106 INT. O.’DONNELL.’S OFFICE - CROSS-CUTTING - DAY 106

O.’DONNELL

Foreign Secretary cornered Vance

in Brussels and told him she.’s

serving eviction papers. The

Cardinal wants all cover options

on his desk Friday morning.

MENDEZ:

That.’s too soon.

ARGO - Final 39.

(CONTINUED)

O.’DONNELL

Engell.’s prepping the Bikes Option

and the Teachers Option. You.’ve

got 72 hours to make yours

better...

107 INT. SIEGEL.’S LIVING ROOM - DAY 107

Mendez is looking down at the SCRIPT in front of him. He

opens to the first page.

ANGLE ON HIM:

reading, thinking.

108 EXT. LESTER.’S POOL - DAY 108

Mendez walks up to the table where Siegel and Chambers

are already eating.

MENDEZ:

(entering, reading)

.‘Fade in on starship landing. An

exotic, Middle Eastern vibe.

Women gather, offering ecstatic

libations to the sky gods..’

(looks up)

.‘ARGO. A science-fantasy

adventure..’

Mendez throws down the script.

SIEGEL:

It.’s in turnaround. It.’s dog *

sh*t.

MENDEZ:

It.’s a space movie in the Middle *

East. Does it matter? *

Chambers looks at the BULLSEYE logo on the cover page. *

Reacts. *

CHAMBERS:

(to Lester) *

Can we get the option?

MENDEZ:

Why do we need the option?

ARGO - Final 40.

106 CONTINUED:
106

(CONTINUED)

SIEGEL:

You.’re worried about the

Ayatollah? Try the WGA. *

109 EXT. CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD (HOLLYWOOD) - DAY 109 *

Tony and Lester turn off Sunset Blvd. and into the office

complex.

SIEGEL:

He.’s only a prick if you catch him

on the wrong day.

MENDEZ:

Is it the wrong day?

SIEGEL:

It.’s always the wrong day.

They.’ve arrived at a door with a sign: .“MAX KLEIN

PRODUCTIONS/BULLSEYE FILMS..”

110 OMITTED 110 *

111 INT. MAX KLEIN.’S OFFICE - A FEW MINUTES LATER 111

We see all kinds of MOVIE POSTERS AND MEMORABILIA ALL

OVER THE OFFICE.

KLEIN:

You.’re gonna get this into

production in one month?

MENDEZ *

One month.

KLEIN:

Who are you again?

MENDEZ:

Kevin Harkins. Studio Six Films.

SIEGEL:

He.’s the money.

KLEIN:

I thought you were retired,

Lester.

ARGO - Final 41.

108 CONTINUED:
108

(CONTINUED)

SIEGEL:

-- Till I read the Argo. Look,

how .‘bout we say fifteen thou and

close on this?

KLEIN:

You want me to be honest with you,

Les?

SIEGEL:

Naah, bullshit me, Max.

KLEIN:

Okay. Because I enjoyed your

films, the early ones. I took

this meeting out of respect

because I wanted to tell you .‘no.’

to your face.

SIEGEL:

Thank you. Very respectful.

KLEIN:

You.’re done, Lester. You.’ve gotta

get your cataracts fixed and read

the trades. MGM just capitalized

for six new films and they.’re

desperate for Sci-Fi. They.’ve

already offered me four times what

you are.

SIEGEL:

(a beat)

What can I say? Congratulations.

(shrugs to Mendez)

He.’s got me.

A beat. Mendez ready to go --

SIEGEL:

But see -- it worries me, what you

said, and I.’ll tell you why. A

couple weeks back I was sitting in

Trader Vic.’s enjoying a Mai Tai

when my pal Warren Beatty came to

wish me well and we had a little

chat. Seems he was attached to

star in Zulu Empire -- which was

gonna anchor that MGM slate -- but

Warren confided in me that the

picture.’s gone over-budget .‘cause

the Zulu extras wanna unionize.

ARGO - Final 42.

111 CONTINUED:
111

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(CONTINUED)

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