Battle of the Sexes Page #13

BATTLE OF THE SEXES -Simon Work File -4/7/16

75

GLADYS:

Okay, shut up. Everybody shut up.

She turns to the entire bustling airport lounge and yells.

GLADYS (CONT’D)

Can we have some quiet here,

please?

The entire airport obeys. On TV, the camera pans across thepacked bleachers.

JULIE:

Oh my God. This is big.

BILLIE JEAN:

Course it’s big. It’s Bobby. One

thing that man can do is hustle.

83B OMITTED 83B

84 INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 84

On the TV we see Margaret standing on the court. Bounces aball. Twirls her racket. Looks around a little lost. Where’s

Bobby?

PEACHES:

Do we like the dress?

JULIE:

It’s one of Ted’s. Are we allowed

not to?

TED:

Right behind you, darling.

JULIE:

We love the dress.

TED:

Thank you.

BILLIE JEAN:

She looks spooked to me.

ROSIE:

Yeah, I’m not liking this.

Without taking her eyes off the screen, Rosie holds out herhand to Gladys.

ROSIE (CONT’D)

Gladys, cigarette.

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76

GLADYS:

Finally, one of my girls smokes!

Somebody ring American Tobacco.

PEACHES:

We should’ve been there. You know,

to support her.

GLADYS:

You got a tournament to play. I ownyou, Peaches. Anyway she doesn’t

want your support. Doesn’t even

like you.

VALERIE:

Really? Gladys? Really?

JULIE:

The Arm’s gonna be fine. She could

squeeze the life outta that littletwerp with one tweak of her bicep.

TV ANNOUNCER O/SAnd here he is, Male Chauvinist Pigof the Year, the man to beat, BobbyRiggs!

GLADYS:

Look at him. Like a frog withconstipation.

PEACHES:

What’s he carrying?

They peer at the fuzzy black and white image. There’s his

racket in one hand and something else in the other.

85 EXT. DESERT MATCH COURT. DAY. 85

Bobby comes down the stairs carrying a bunch of red roses,

casual as you like. Jogs over to Margaret and hands her theroses. She curtsies shyly.

TV ANNOUNCER:

And what better gift on Mother’s

Day, than a bunch of red roses!

86 INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 86

Billie Jean puts her hands over her eyes.

ROSIE:

I’m gonna kill him.

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GLADYS:

I’m gonna kill her. She shoulda

stuffed those roses where the

thorns mean business. What is she

thinking?

87 EXT. DESERT MATCH COURT. DAY. 87

The Umpire gets out a coin. Tosses it into the air. The cointumbles.

UMPIRE:

Who wants to call it?

BOBBY RIGGS:

Ah-ah. Come on, Umpire, where’s

your manners? It’s Mother’s Day.

Ladies first. Your choice,

Margaret, and my pleasure. I may aswell take this end, okay?

And before anybody can complain, Bobby is jogging to the baseline. Margaret takes up position.

UMPIRE:

Missus Court to serve. Quiet

please, ladies and gentlemen.

A hush settles over the crowd. Margaret serves hard, butBobby takes all the power off it with a slice. She returnsagain, stays at the net. This time Bobby hits a high lob.

Margaret gets under it, but the sun is in her eyes. White-

orange pain of staring directly at the sun. The ball is inand out of vision. She connects, but it is out.

A little smile from Lornie in the stands. Margaret rubs hereyes. Tries to focus.

87A INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 87A

BILLIE JEAN:

The sneaky son-of-a...That’s why hechose to play at midday.

MARILYN:

I don’t get it.

BILLIE JEAN:

Right into the sun. He’s gonna lob

her to death.

87B MONTAGE. 87B

BATTLE OF THE SEXES -Simon Work File -4/7/16

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Margaret Court being undone by Bobby. Short shots, spinshots, slice after slice, lobs right into the sun.

CUT TO:

87A CONT INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 87A CONT

The Nine huddled around the TV screens, a look of shock on

their faces. Ted is fanning himself with a menu, a picture ofhorror.

CUT TO:

88 TV SCREEN. 88

UMPIRE:

Game to Mister Riggs. Mister Riggsleads one set to nothing. Changeends, please.

They switch sides, Bobby smoothly taking a broad-brimmed capfrom Lornie as he passes. Jams it on his head.

JACK KRAMER V/O...as I said, it’s not that women

can’t play tennis, it’s just they

can’t deal with the pressure.

Business, sport, politics, you nameit. Whatever they like to think, atthe very top, it’s a man’s world.

89 INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 89

There is an appalled stillness around the TV screens.

ROSIE:

I’ll give him pressure. Around the

wind-pipe.

GLADYS:

Wake up, Margaret, for god’s sake!

He’s killing her.

BILLIE JEAN:

He’s already killed her. The momentshe curtsied, right there, she wasdead.

90 TV SCREEN. 90

Lob after lob go up into the sun. Margaret misses them timeafter time. The Umpire calls out the scores.

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UMPIRE:

Game, set and match to Mister

Riggs. Mister Riggs wins 6-2, 6-1.

Bobby leaps the net and gives a stunned Margaret a hug. Thenhe steps back, points at somebody in the crowd. Runs over andembraces Larry, his son.

91 INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 91

Over the other side of the lounge, a group of men huddledaround a radio at the bar let out yells and whoops of joy.

Silence around the TV screens as they watch Bobby strutaround the court, arms raised in victory. Applause from thebleachers.

BILLIE JEAN:

That was- that was a massacre.

92 OMITTED 92

92A TV SCREEN. 92A

Bobby is motor-mouthing to a throng of Reporters, his armaround Larry Riggs.

BOBBY RIGGS:

This is my son, Larry. Lousy tennis

player, great guy. Okay, so: Bobby

Riggs is now officially the Number

One Ladies player in the world. And

if there’s any lady out there wants

to challenge me to that crown, they

know where to find me. In fact, let

me put down that challenge myself.

You know the Bobby Riggs motto:

double or nothing. Well I’ll do

better. I won’t just double it,

I’ll double the double. And then

I’ll double it again. Yes, Ma’am,

one hundred thousand dollars to the

woman who can beat me. But I ask

myself, is she out there? And if

she is does she dare?

Bobby looking straight down the lens, right at....

93 INT. HAWAII AIRPORT LOUNGE. DAY. 93

...Billie Jean, staring back.

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ROSIE:

A hundred thousand dollars. Sheesh.

GLADYS:

There isn’t anything I don’t hate

about Bobby goddam Riggs. Not one

thing.

Marilyn approaches, carrying two ice-creams. Holds one out toBillie Jean.

BILLIE JEAN:

Not now.

Furious, she gets up and walks away.

PEACHES:

What’s got to her?

GLADYS:

Fate, honey. Coming at her like a

runaway train.

94 OMITTED 94

94A INT./EXT. MARGARET’S CAR/DESERT ROAD. DAY. 94A

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