Burn After Reading Page #4

Synopsis: Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, resigned from the CIA because of a drinking problem, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A CD-ROM falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for cosmetic surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Director(s): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Production: Focus Features
  Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 27 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.0
Metacritic:
63
Rotten Tomatoes:
79%
R
Year:
2008
96 min
$60,338,891
Website
1,100 Views


-Let me... Listen to me you two clowns.

Listen to me very very carefully.

You have no idea what you're doing.

-And I warn you most ephatically...

- You warn us?

- You warn us? You warn us?

-Yes, yes. And I... Yes.

Let me tell you something

Mr.Intelligence!

-Let me...

- We warn you!

-Listen!

- We will call you back with our demands!

- Hello?

-Hello.

- Chad!

-Listen to me.

- No, shut up! Don't play his game!

-Let me expain how this will work.

Sorry.

- Geeze...

- The nerve of that guy.

I'm very f***ing surprised

he did not give us the reward.

What on earth is going on?

Some clown---two clowns...

have got a hold of my memoirs.

Your what?

Stole it or---

I have no idea how they got it---

- Your what?

- My memoirs, the book that i'm writting.

Why in Gold'name would anyone think

that's worth anything?

Doesn't sound like

he's gonna play ball.

Oh, he'll play ball!

We just have to show him who's boss.

Well that's---he sounds very senior.

I think this is some senior guy

who's screwed the pooche, big-time.

Yeah, that's why

we got him, you know,

We've caught him with his thing

caught in big fat wringer.

- Yup.

- ...and us in the driver's seat.

Yeah.

This is our opportunity.

you don't get many of these.

You slip on the ice outside of

you know, a fancy restaurant,

- something like this happends.

- Right.

- Right now this has happend.

- Yup. It sure has.

This could put a big dem in my surgerys.

Big time.

Honey?

Honey!

- Huh?

- My cab is here, I'm off. Mystery man.

What is that thing?

Top secret, baby.

How many cities?

Seattle, San Francisco,

Los Angeles, Chicago.

Why do they always send you to Seattle.

Not a big market.

I don't know,

lots of independent bookstores.

Rains all the time,

what else are people gonna do?

- I can think of couple of things.

- You can think of one thing.

- Where did they put you?

- Of course, It better be the Peninsula.

The money I make for them.

- You gonna be okay?

- Be sad. But I'll be okay.

- Not too sad...

- Just the right amount.

I'm crazy about you, baby!

Hey!

Tommy Bennett, Tony Morrison,

Zoe Caldwell, it was marvelous.

First time I've ever attended

the Kennedy Honors,

Jane Alexander is a client,

Old friend with Zoe's.

Anyway...

- Connie?

- Yes, sir.

Could you bring in your copy

of the Cox financials?

Tommy sang:
The best is yet to come.

Tommy Bennett.

I thought I had it here on the disk,

I don't know where the disk is. I'm sorry.

- I have to run another off my harddrive.

- Alright, okay.

So, we've drawn up the papers and are

prepared to execute service on Osbourne,

if you so elect, Mrs.Cox. But since

we are at the point of no return.

I always urge my clients at this juncture

to give it one more day of reflection.

Harry?

Linda.

Well, hello.

I did the whole bodyguard thing

for years, but my guy was in State,

the Secretary in fact,

so I a lot traveled

"Ironside just left the building."

We called him Iron Ass.

Not to his face, of course.

Not to his ass, either!

Ah, he was okay. Personal Protection

that's a young man's game.

These are really good.

Wanna try one?

- Is that shelf food in it?

- Shelf food?

I've got a sensitivity

and go in anaphylactic shock,

my legs swells up and close up...

Ah, what the hell. Live dangerously!

- Can't always wear a condom, right?

- That's right! Not always!

Yeah, I've got now mostly administrative.

Not so much PP, personal protection.

- Though I still carry the gun.

- Omygod!

No big deal. Never discharged it,

twenty years service.

Security blanket now.

I don't think about it---

course, you're not

supposed to think about it:

In a situation your man is threatened

the training kicks in. Muscle memory

Just like the reflexes.

it's... Those are outrageous.

- You wanna swap?

- No way!

- There you go.

- No way!

- Let me touch.

- Let me go away.

Sake?

...but there was just a hell

of political infighting, and...

petty, petty, sh*t, and basically

the old man stepped on Goldberger's throat.

- Nice... Wide-plank pine?

- Yeah, I guess so.

Yeah, listen, Linda,

full disclosure here...

Yes, i'm not wearing a wedding ring,

but I'm married.

Took the ring off, what, 18 months ago,

when we agreed to separate.

Agreed to disagree. That's about

the only thing we ever agreed on.

Thanks for telling me, Harry.

I really appreciate it.

You know,

full transparency is my motto.

- That's not gonna go off, is it?

- Let's get to another room to find out.

That's great,

that's exciting.

Yeah. He's very very communicative.

Very accesible. His sense of humor?

And he agrees 100%

about my surgeries.

- Well, I...

- He agrees my ass can be smaller.

I mean, not in mean way,

he comes with a piece of humor.

That's good, but Linda,

what you really know about this guy?

I told you, he's in

a treasury department.

But, no, I mean, you know, he can be

one of these guys who cruises internet.

Yeah, so am I!

What's wrong with this?

No, you cannot wear that,

you have to wear suit.

- You mean home change?

- Yes.

I was gonna ride my bike.

Osbourne Cox?

- And you, I take it are "Mr. Black?"

- Yes, I am.

- You have the money?

- 50,000 dollars.

That's what was agreed upon,

Osbourne Cox.

All right. Let me explain something

to you, "Mr. Black."

- You know who I am: I know who you are.

- Perhaps.

- But appearances can be---diceptive.

- Yeah.

What you're engaged in is blackmail,

taht is a felony, that's for starters.

Appearances can be---deceptive.

I'm a mere Good Samaritan who...

Secondly, the unauthorized dissemination

of classified material is a federal crime.

if you ever carried out

your proposed threat,

you would experience such a shitstorm

of consequences, my friend,

that your empty little head would

be spinning faster then the wheels

- ...of your Schwinn bicycle back there.

- You think that's the Schwinn?

Now give me the f***ing floppy or

the CD or whatever the f*** it is!

As soon as you give us the money, dickwad!

- You f***!

- Give it to me, f***!

- You f***er!

- I know who you are, f***er!

You're the f***er!

- Where is the money?

- He hit me!

- Where is the money?!

- He didn't give it to me---

Oh for---Get in the car!

What are you doing?

Sh*t!

F*** it!

F***!

F***ing Loonies!

- Holy f***ing---you f***ing morons!

- Sh*t!

That'll give him something

to think about.

- Yeah.

- Knew this would happen.

- Wait, wait! We gotta go back! My bike!

- It's on to plan B.

It's just Kryptonite lock---You can't

open those f***ers with a bic pen.

Some people...

- What is this?

- Russian Embassy.

I told Mr. Krapotkin

I might be stopping by.

Is there a man's room?

Madam, you are mistaken.

I'm assistent cultural attach.

The organs of state security

are not allowed to function

within the borders of your country.

- Organs?

- Yes.

But whait If I had, oh, say,

secrets of higly, um,

secrets that might interest

the organs of this...

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Joel Coen

Joel Coen was born on November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA as Joel Daniel Coen. He is a producer and writer, known for No Country for Old Men (2007), The Big Lebowski (1998) and Fargo (1996). He has been married to Frances McDormand since April 1, 1984. They have one child. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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