Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Page #10

you'll be deferring monies up front

against a net profit percentage

on the back end.

How much?

With.

- $5,500 against the profits.

- Fifty-five f***ing hundred?

You said 100,000 up front.

I said "possibly."

You guys had major heat coming in.

But two weeks?

That's like two years in Hollywood time.

It breaks my heart to say, man,

but people move on.

"People move on."

People move on.

Everybody supports the troops.

Hell, yeah, "We're so f***ing

proud of our troops,"

but when it comes to actual money,

then all of a sudden we're stuck

in everybody's tight-ass budget.

Talk is cheap, I get that. Talk is cheap.

But money screams.

This is our country,

guys, and I fear for it.

I think we should all fear for it.

I do, Dave. I truly do.

Yeah, right.

So you're saying

this is the best offer we got?

I'm saying this is the only offer we got.

I got to call the men.

Holliday.

Will you ask the guys

what they think of $5,500 apiece?

F***ing apiece, guys.

What do you think?

- F*** that!

- He can kiss my f***ing brown ass!

Your thoughts, Billy?

What do you think we should do?

- I...

- Look, Dave...

If you think you can do better,

you come talk to the man.

Come on.

Mr. Oglesby.

We got a goddamn

hole in the fence!

What's he doing calling

trips right 90 jet?

Okay.

They were in Cover 2. We run 494 bingo.

- That's what we do.

- Run 494 bingo. Screen pass...

Well, gentlemen, welcome to the War Room.

I apologize for today.

Not our most stellar effort.

I hate to lose.

Rather cut off my little finger than lose.

Well...

Maybe we'll turn it around in the fourth.

So, Albert, you tell our friends

about our plans for their film?

- I sure did.

- Let's face it,

a lot of people

are discouraged about this war.

They forget that some things

are actually worth fighting for.

Please sit down.

Now, I think Bravo's story

will go a long way toward reinvigorating

our commitment to this war.

Now, I'm not interested

in making a good movie.

I want to make something great.

What makes you think you can?

Pardon?

Can you deliver, sir?

You want to buy our story for 5,500 bucks.

That sure sounds like chump change to me.

Hell, my granny could swing that deal

with a trip to the ATM.

With all due respect, Mr. Oglesby,

show us you're serious.

Show us you're a player.

Look around you, son.

Look around and think for a moment

about everything you see.

Take a good, hard look...

And you tell me, am I a player?

Now, we need maximum flexibility

to get this movie together.

But your risk won't be greater than it is

for any other investor, myself included.

May I speak frankly, sir?

Why stop now?

We're soldiers, sir.

We feel like we've already got

enough risk in our lives.

Now, I understand that 100,000

might have been

an overly optimistic number,

but after all they've been through,

my men don't deserve to be stuck

in somebody's bottom line.

Now, if you can just

find it in your heart...

Sergeant Dime, my offer stands.

Now, it may not be as much as

you fellas were hoping for,

but from what I hear,

it's the only offer you've got.

And I think most people agree

something is better than nothing.

"Something" would be nice.

"Something" would be great.

But it's just...

I don't know, sir.

It's just so sad.

We thought you kind of liked us.

But I do.

I do like you.

I think the world of you fine young men.

See, Billy? He does like us.

He likes us so much

he's gonna f*** us in the face.

Hey, hey. The sergeant and I

need to have a little talk.

You don't have to go, Billy.

Let Sergeant Dime cool off a bit.

Could you excuse us for a moment?

Dime is direct. I appreciate that.

Even if his language

is a bit salty for my taste.

So I'm gonna be straight

with you, that okay?

It's a free country, sir.

That's right. Freest in the world.

And with that freedom

comes responsibilities.

Now, what you did that day

at Al-Ansakar Canal

was caught on camera, Billy.

And for many folks,

that's where the war became real.

But for us, the war's

always been real, sir.

And we never needed

cameras to tell us that.

Of course.

You know, I was never tested

like you've been, Billy.

Young man forged in the crucible of war.

I never did get to Vietnam.

You know things

most of the rest of us will never know.

That kind of friendship,

the taste of death in the

back of your throat,

your enemy going limp

with a final twist of the knife.

Well, anyway,

what I'm trying to say is,

I can't begin to imagine

what you went through personally.

Thank you for saying that, sir.

And being celebrated as a hero,

that's got to weigh heavy

on a young man's shoulders.

Makes me feel like

I've got no say in things, sir.

I sympathize.

But your story, Billy...

You got to understand,

it no longer belongs to you.

It's America's story now.

That's what this country's built on.

You take this great state of Texas,

cattle, land, oil.

Those things made us rich.

But what made us Texas

is the story of some local boys

that made a valiant stand at the Alamo.

And so it is with this war, Billy.

It's all about ideas.

Your battle foreshadows America's triumph

over the forces of terror.

Bravo is us.

And that's why you got to get your boys

to accept my offer.

Glad to have you back, Sergeant Dime.

Billy and I have been having

a little man-to-man.

He's wrong, Sergeant.

Who's wrong?

You are, Mr. Oglesby, sir.

What I did, what we did,

isn't just some story or idea.

It's our lives.

You've got no clue what it means.

You just... You want to turn it

into something it's not.

We wouldn't cut a deal with you

even if you weren't such a tightwad.

I mean, Hajji has more respect for us

than you do.

Sometimes nothing is better than something.

And about the Alamo?

Mexico kicked Texas' ass.

All due respect, sir.

Well, sir, Bravo's spoken.

Let's go, Billy.

I think our business is done here.

- We'll form up in the loading area.

- I'll let the driver know.

Hey, Billy.

- Thanks.

- Yeah.

Hey, Billy.

I thought a bathroom break was in order.

Give Norm a little space.

I got to say, though, Billy,

the way you stood up

to that arrogant prick in there,

now, that, that's what we call in my world

"a real movie moment."

I don't know, maybe I

was just talking sh*t.

The truth is, for most of the guys,

something is better than nothing.

No. You got to do what you know is right,

and that sure in the hell wasn't right.

What you guys go through, Billy,

it's real hard for us over here to get it,

but we need to get it,

and the country needs to get it.

Yeah.

Well, I'm sorry for wrecking your deal.

I know how hard you work for us.

No. Getting the offer is bad enough.

Is making a decision,

and that's on you.

We gonna get this done,

and we gonna get it done right.

I just got to start

thinking outside the box.

Hell, I'll go to China if I have to.

So you guys just take care over there, now.

We'll talk soon.

I'm on it. It's all good.

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