Extraordinary Measures

Synopsis: A Portland couple have two children with Pompe disease, a genetic anomaly that kills most before a child's tenth birthday. The husband, John, an advertising executive, contacts Robert Stonehill, a researcher in Nebraska who has done innovative research for an enzyme treatment. He has little money to fund his laboratory, and a thorny personality that drives away colleagues and funders. John and his wife Aileen raise money to help Stonehill's research and the required clinical trials. John takes on the task full time, working with venture capitalists and then rival teams of researchers. Time is running short, Stonehill's angry outburst hinder the company's faith in him, and the profit motive may upend John's hopes. The researchers race against time for the children who have the disease.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Tom Vaughan
Production: CBS Films
  1 win.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
45
Rotten Tomatoes:
28%
PG
Year:
2010
106 min
$11,854,694
Website
1,013 Views


(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

Hi there.

Hi.

So glad to see you.

Kathy, could you take that?

Thank you.

JOHN:

It's my job to market this drug for

Bristol-Myers, and I'm telling you,

kids won't go for it unless

it tastes like bubble gum.

Mr. Crowley, you're late.

All right.

Thank you. Bye.

AILEEN:

"Everyone just walked by.

"'Why won't anyone buy our newspaper?'

SpongeBob wondered aloud.

"'They must be rock haters,

' said Patrick."

MEGAN:

John! Give it back to me!

JOHN JR.:

She's mine now!

Give me a minute, okay?

Give it back to me, John!

You save our spot. Got it?

You better give me

back my Fiona!

Help, Mom!

Help me! She's trying to kill me!

I'm gonna get you!

You can't escape!

No! Mom, help me!

(GIGGLES)

Just give it back to me.

Mom! She's trying to kill me!

Megan Kathryn Crowley.

If you kill your brother,

you cannot have your party.

Why not? He stole Fiona.

I didn't steal her, I kidnapped her.

I'm holding her for ransom.

Release the victim.

(GRUNTS)

Time to get ready for your party.

JOHN:
We've got to get

moving on the product launch.

PETE ON PHONE:

I'm just waiting on legal, John.

Damn it!

I just missed my train.

I'm gonna have to call you...

I agree.

How soon do you need it?

As soon as possible.

I'm presenting to my boss next week.

AILEEN:
John, we're loading up

the van right now. Come on!

Okay, we ready to roll, Kate?

My name is Jane.

Kate was yesterday, Mom.

Oh, I am so sorry.

The way the agency

shuffles day nurses on us,

you'd think they'd, you know,

give you a number instead of a name.

Mmm-hmm.

Okay, John.

John, come on, get

your butt in the car.

John.

Are you bringing your RipStik?

Yes.

Do you have to?

Yes.

JOHN:
...a pain, that's why.

Wait, I gotta catch a cab.

Hi. Come here.

Hey, hey. Hello?

Daddy's meeting

us there, right?

AILEEN:

Absolutely.

I am sure he has

everything under control.

JOHN:

Taxi!

DRIVER:

You need a hand?

Great. I'm sorry,

I'm sorry. I'm kind of in a hurry.

Go.

Come on, come on, come on...

(KIDS CHEERING)

Yes!

KIDS:

Yes!

He totally promised

he'd be here by now.

He's on his way, baby.

He's on his way.

ALL:

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear Megan

Hi, guys.

(LAUGHING)

Get in there and give her a kiss.

I know.

I don't wanna hear it...

Go, go, go.

Happy birthday.

I made it.

Yay!

ALL:
Yay!

Make a wish, Megan.

(KIDS CHEERING)

Who wants cake?

KIDS:

I do!

Line up single file,

or no cake for you.

All right,

how many do we have?

I'm first!

Me first!

No, I'm the big guy.

GIRL:

Back to the end of the line.

So, where is Fiona

going, anyway?

Lollipop Land?

I'm 8, Daddy.

I'm not a baby anymore.

She's driving to Antarctica

to see the penguins.

Really?

That's pretty far away.

Why doesn't she just go

to the Portland Zoo?

They have a lot of

penguins there, too.

Haven't you ever

heard of adventure?

Yeah.

It's gonna take her years.

Oh?

Won't she need a suitcase?

It's an adventure. You don't

need a suitcase on an adventure.

Well, I don't know about you,

but if I was going on an adventure,

I would take a suitcase.

That's 'cause you're a businessman.

That's right. I am.

And you're 8 years old.

And happy birthday. And I love you.

Love you, too, Daddy.

Good night.

See you in the morning.

Good night.

Nighty-night.

Sweet dreams.

Good night, Dad.

Good night, Daddy.

Night, buddy.

(PHONE RINGING)

(TRUCKIN' PLAYING)

One of these days

they know they gotta get goin'

Out of the door and

down on the street all alone

Truckin',

like the do-dah man

Once told me

"You've got to play your hand"

Sometimes the cards

ain't worth a damn

If you don't lay 'em down

(PHONE CONTINUES RINGING)

Hello?

JOHN ON PHONE:
Hello, Dr. Stonehill?

Are you there? Hello?

Yeah.

This is John Crowley.

I don't know if you've gotten

any of my messages.

Who?

John...

Jesus.

I'm interested in

speaking with you.

I understand from

many researchers...

having a conversation

with you if that's convenient.

Is this a good time to talk?

Dr. Stonehill? Hello?

A**hole.

"A**hole?"

AILEEN:
The night nurse

just left.

What time is it?

I missed you.

This is pathetic.

I'm still dressed.

I could help you with that.

Oh?

(AILEEN MOANING)

Oh my...Kate!

Hi! You're early.

You're early.

Have you met...

I'm John Crowley.

John is my husband.

Glad to hear it.

JOHN:

Mmm-hmm.

(MECHANICAL BEEPING)

AILEEN:
Yeah, let's up her

breathing treatments today.

What's going on?

Just a cold.

She's awfully congested.

Call the doc just to

be on the safe side?

AILEEN:

Yeah, I left word.

Sweetie? I'm gonna

go to work, okay?

Feel better.

Bye-bye.

PETE:
We're already doing great

marketing the drug to physicians.

It's our direct marketing to patients

we need to beef up.

Mr. Crowley, I'm really sorry.

Aileen's on the line,

she really needs to speak to you.

Okay, thank you.

I'm just gonna... Hey.

We're at the hospital.

The doc wants Megan under observation.

Is she all right?

Just keep

your cell with you.

Okay. Can I do something?

I'll call you when I know more.

I should really get back to Megan,

so I'll call you

as soon as I

know anything, okay?

Bye. Love you.

Excuse me, please.

WOMAN:
Sir?

My daughter, Megan Crowley,

was brought in for observation.

Yeah. Actually,

they're moving her to the ICU.

Where?

That way.

Aileen.

John.

Has she told you

about the trip

that Fiona's taking with her

remote-controlled car?

Yeah, yes, she did.

You're right. That's right, sweetie.

You're gonna see all the penguins,

aren't you?

She might send some postcards

or something like that.

Lots of good stuff to see along the way...

It's okay.

like icebergs and

maybe a polar bear.

How about some seals?

DR. PRESTON:
As you know,

Pompe patients suffer muscle deterioration

in every part of the body,

so this sort of respiratory

complication, well,

that's just an inevitable

fact of the disease.

Mr. Crowley, Mrs. Crowley,

Megan is not

responding well.

Okay? Now, we've done everything

we can, but she's just...

There's nothing more

we can do. I'm sorry.

As you know, she was already

well past the life expectancy,

for, you know, Pompe kids.

After all, it's not

just her lungs, okay?

Her heart, her liver,

these organs have been compromised

and would've

become fatally enlarged.

Now, I wish that we had a drug

to treat Pompe,

but we simply don't.

I'm so very sorry.

Look, maybe...

Maybe you can find

some small comfort

in knowing that Megan's

suffering will be over.

Maybe you can see

this as a blessing.

(WHEEZING)

(ALARM BEEPING)

Megan?

Help!

Help! Help!

AILEEN:
Megan?

JOHN:

Help! Help!

Baby girl, can you hear me?

Please, someone come help!

NURSE 1:
321!

Megan Crowley, room 321, please!

Code Blue!

Baby girl, Mama's here, all right?

Let's go! Page Dr. Heder.

NURSE 1:
Asystole!

Yeah, right through here.

AILEEN:
Can you hear my voice?

Can you hear Mama?

DOCTOR 1:

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Robert Nelson Jacobs

Robert Nelson Jacobs (born 1954) is an American screenwriter. In 2000, he received an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay for Chocolat. In 2014, Jacobs was elected president of the Writers Guild Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to promoting and preserving the craft of writing for the screen. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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