Gold Page #11

-- STOCK TICKER -- Washoe climbs...$2.75...$3.10...$4.87...

ACOSTA (V.O.)

Kenny. You check the last report?

WELLS (V.O.)

I’m looking at it now... Holy sh*t...

HOLY SH*T!

-- VIEW THROUGH A MICROSCOPE -- and there it is, scattered

among the base rock -- GOLD! Flecks of it, but there’s

something preternatural about the way it glitters, and at this

magnification, it is mesmerizing.

ACOSTA (V.O.)

Holy sh*t is right, my friend.

WELLS (V.O.)

Whoooow!!!

INT./EXT. NEW WASHOE OFFICES MONTAGE - DAY

-- A RENO OFFICE BUILDING catching morning sun. WASHOE MINING

PLAQUE slides into the lobby list of tenants. REVERSE to WELLS

watching, THE BOYS behind holding boxes of stuff.

-- ELEVATORS OPEN. WASHOE SIGN FIRST THING YOU SEE. The boys

all swoop in and fan out and get to work.

-- TWELVE PACKS go in the fridge. Folding tables opened.

Phones pulled out of boxes, wires snakes across the floor.

-- A FAX MACHINE begins slowly ticking out a fax: WASHOE TEAM

HEADED BY GEOLOGIST MIKE ACOSTA...

54.

-- BOOZE BOTTLES ONTO GLASS SHELVES... and we’re in Wells’s

corner office. He and Kay overseeing something. Whip to a

STUFFED ELK, evidence of the Greenhorns, now on the wall.

WELLS:

Damn nice of Roy to loan us that Elk.

She pushes him backwards by his chest until he’s sitting new

desk chair. She straddles him. Corner windows. View of Reno.

WELLS (CONT’D)

Kay, do you want to work here? Quit

all those other jobs?

She looks at him.

KAY:

You be the prospector, Mr. Wells. I’ll

be the barmaid who got swept off her

feet.

He spins his chair. Around and around they go -

WELLS:

I love you, Kay.

KAY:

You better.

--CAMERA RACES ACROSS THE FLOOR TO FIND THE FAX IS FINISHED.

CONNIE TEARS IT OFF AND READS IT: ”UPDATES ESTIMATE ON

INDONESIAN MINE -- KENSANA TO YIELD IN EXCESS OF 10 MILLION

OUNCES!” Connie stares in disbelief.

CONNIE:

We’re gonna be so f***ing rich.

CROSS CUT TO:

-- A COMPUTER SCREEN -- WASHOE’S FINANCIALS displayed in

GRAPHS and CHARTS. WASHOE’S SHARE PRICE is listed at $6.26.

Pull back to reveal WE ARE in -

INT. BROWN, THOMAS - TRADING FLOOR - NEW YORK - DAY

A young banker, BRIAN WOOLF (30’s), scans the info on his

screen. He hits print and strides across the trading floor.

He barely breaks stride as he passes the PRINTER, grabbing the

freshly printed documents and we go...

INT. BROWN, THOMAS - HOLLIS DRESHER’S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER

50th Floor. Breathtaking Manhattan views. We are suddenly a

long, long way from Reno. A file on a desk: IDEAS FOR HOLLIS.

55.

INSIDE --RECOMMENDATION: WASHOE MINING LTD. STRENGTH OF

CONVICTION -- HIGH.

Woolf stands before HOLLIS DRESHER (50’s), impeccable in

bespoke, as Dresher looks over the newly printed documents.

DRESHER:

Who are they?

WOOLF:

Wildcatters basically. This

Acosta had some success before.

Copper. Got taken over by

Freeport Mac. It’s all in there.

Dresher takes a moment before looking up from the documents.

DRESHER:

I like this. Bring them in. Let’s have

a closer look.

INT. WASHOE OFFICES - “CONFERENCE ROOM” - DAY

A folding table in Kenny’s office. Wells is with Bobby Burns,

Connie Wright and Stanton... a Washoe board meeting.

STANTON:

We’re about fifty percent allocated

right now. And we want to set aside

thirty of the remaining fifty for you

boys to unload.

They love this idea. It’s low-hanging fruit at this point.

WELLS:

Hold that thought. I gotta bleed the

beast.

As soon as he’s gone, the phone RINGS. They all stare at it.

BOBBY/CONNIE/NEVINS

Kay!!

Through the doorway, passing, without missing a beat -

KAY:

(into phone)

Good morning, Washoe Mining. How may I

direct your call.

(beat)

Please hold.

She covers the mouthpiece, then realizes they actually have a

hold button. Which she presses.

56.

KAY (CONT’D)

Kenny! You got a call!

Wells emerges from the executive head. They all watch him pick

up the receiver. Press the button.

WELLS:

This is Kenny Wells.

INT. BROWN, THOMAS - DRESHER’S OFFICE - NEW YORK - DAY

Woolf, looking over the skyline.

WOOLF:

Mr. Wells. This is Bryan Woolf of

Brown, Thomas, in New York.

WELLS (V.O.)

No sh*t.

INT. WASHOE OFFICES - DAY

Wells is listening, starting to fidget nervously.

WELLS:

(into phone)

Wait. Really? ...

(covering phone)

Bryan Woolf, mineral group at Brown,

Thomas in NYC.

STANTON:

(impressed)

Brown, Thomas. Wow.

WELLS:

(into phone)

Okay. Okay... I look forward to it.

Wells slowly hangs up. Everyone looking, what just happened?

Then, Wells calling out -

WELLS (CONT’D)

Kay, they’re flying me out!

Everyone feeling a bit of awe and excitement. Kay’s smile is

painted there like a barmaid Mona Lisa.

57.

EXT. THE SEAGRAMS BUILDING - DAY

The Seagrams building, solid as the booze that built it. And

at the base, Wells staring up. As Acosta looks him over.

ACOSTA:

Wells. Wells--!

WELLS:

I truly had no idea there was a

Seagrams building. Like the Vatican.

ACOSTA:

Wells! Where’d you get the tie?

Wells looks down at the tie.

WELLS:

Airport. Forty bucks. Don’t like it?

Acosta snaps off the tag still hanging from the loop.

ACOSTA:

You ready?

WELLS:

Who you talking to, Mikey?

But Wells’s eye is caught by some WALL STREET HONCHOS,

composed, confident, effortless, heading to a meeting.

ACOSTA:

Wells!

WELLS:

Stop saying my name. Are you ready?

Wells pulls his gaze back. They look at each other. Neither

one is ready.

WELLS (CONT’D)

Sh*t. We’re all just selling used

cars.

Wells brushes by confidently. AND WE GO:

58.

INT. BROWN, THOMAS - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

Woolf, Dresher and others in THE MINERAL GROUP. In this

rarefied air, Wells looks out of his depth -

WELLS:

We’ve got a private placement in play

right now that’s over fifty percent

subscribed! And that’s off our current

assays. The numbers keep coming in

good, and they will, sky’s the limit

on this thing.

Woolf steps up, he’s sophisticated, confident.

WOOLF:

You don’t need to sell us, Mr.

Wells. We’ve done the math and we

believe you’re sitting on the

largest gold find of the decade. At

Brown, Thomas we have a history of

helping guide people such as

yourself through what are sometimes

complicated waters.

WELLS:

Complicated how?

WOOLF:

That delicate balance, Mr. Wells,

between being asset rich and cash

poor. The important thing is we

believe you can go all the way and we

want to help you get there.

Wells loves this. Woolf has said exactly the right thing, but

you also get the feeling he has done this many times before.

WOOLF (CONT’D)

We’ll need big money onboard, of

course, investment banks, mutual fund

managers, pension fund administrators.

We have the team and the relationships

to introduce you to this world.

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