Gold Page #17

Woolf stays cool, always reasonable.

WOOLF:

Kenny, let’s keep perspective here.

When someone offers you this amount of

money, it’s a good day. You may say

yes, you may say no, but it’s not like

anyone’s trying to offend you.

WELLS:

Well mission goddamn not accomplished.

Stanton steps up for Wells.

87.

STANTON:

Bryan, this deal is sh*t and you know

it!

WOOLF:

Hancock and Newport Holdings have the

expertise and the experience to bring

this home. This was always there as a

contingency. You know that.

WELLS:

No. No. This is where Washoe Mining

becomes a player. Not Newport...

(looking at the papers)

I don’t even see our name. You took

our name off of it!? You took my name.

WOOLF:

But again just taking a step back for

a moment, wouldn’t it not be terrible

to sit back and enjoy your success.

WELLS:

Wouldn’t it not be terrible... What

kind of way of talking is that?

Wouldn’t it not be terrible for me to

just bend over and grab my ankles. You

think you can buy me out and take my

name and just vanish Kenny Wells to

the corn field?

Woolf has had enough.

WOOLF:

If you hit the pause button for a

second and consider without emotion,

you’ll realize this is the kind of

very rare moment where with the stroke

of a pen, no one in your family, I’m

talking your children’s grandchildren,

will ever have to worry about money

again.

For once, Wells doesn’t respond right away. He pats for his

cigs. Stanton hands him one. Wells fires up and takes a long

drag, and finally looks at Woolf.

WELLS:

See these hands? These are my father’s

hands. I clawed into the guts of the

hot earth with these hands. I will

bury you with these hands, Brian. Now

you go tell that silky sable Hancock

he works for Kenny Wells.

88.

INT. BROWN, THOMAS - CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The air has been sucked out of the room.

HANCOCK:

You know, I almost respect this

guy.

Hancock is already reaching for the phone.

CUT TO:

EXT. WASHOE SITE - DAWN

Tranquil, beautiful. Only the chickens are awake...

INT. WASHOE SITE - MAIN TENT - CONTINUOUS

Acosta at a desk, working with a slide rule planning something

cool. As the SOUND of military jeeps shatter the calm.

EXT. WASHOE SITE - MORNING

Military jeeps filled with armed SOLDIERS roaring down a

freshly cut road toward the site. A soldier steps from a

vehicle and begins a slow trek toward Acosta.

CUT TO:

EXT. WASHOE HEADQUARTERS - RENO -DAY

Wells’s Caddy swings into a prime spot. It’s all fixed up now.

Fresh paint. He takes a moment to appreciate this turn of

events. And WE GO...

INT. WASHOE HEADQUARTERS - DAY

The chaos of a recent move-in, phones on the floor, lots of

busy employees. Wells is met almost immediately by Bobby Burns

and a few others.

BURNS:

Where the hell have you been?! Mike’s

on the phone -

Wells sees the panic in everybody’s eyes. Not good.

89.

He sweeps into his office, which looks out on Reno. There’s a

full bar, the elk head -- a kind of “You can take the man out

of the Greenhorns, but you won’t get the Greenhorns out of the

man” declaration.

EXT. KENSANA SITE - SAME TIME

ARMED INDONESIAN SOLDIERS herd WASHOE WORKERS out the gate

like frightened cattle, forcing them into the backs of trucks.

Acosta is caught up in a wave of workers as they’re pushed out

of the gate. Acosta speaks on a bulky satellite phone.

ACOSTA:

They’re locking us out!

INT. WASHOE HEADQUARTERS - WELLS'S OFFICE - DAY

Wells stands at his desk, smoking.

WELLS:

What? What are you talking about?

ACOSTA:

They’re taking over the mine. The

military’s here, the Minister revoked

our exploration permits.

A terrifying realization begins to dawn on Wells.

ACOSTA (CONT’D)

What happened at your meeting with

Hancock?

(yelling)

What happened at the meeting!?

WELLS:

They were trying to push us out, Mike.

ACOSTA:

Push us out? What do you mean?

WELLS:

They even took our name, Mike. Right

off everything.

ACOSTA:

You bloody moron.

WELLS:

They can’t revoke the permit! They

can’t just steal it away from us!

Acosta is livid, screaming as he’s herded onto a truck.

90.

ACOSTA:

I told you from the beginning: Suharto

can do whatever he wants!

Wells paces, he knows this could be the end.

WELLS:

Oh, God... Oh, my God.

Acosta sees a SOLDIER knock one of the WORKERS to the ground

with his rifle. Fury in Acosta's face as he rushes over,

shoves the soldier out of the way.

ACOSTA:

Do not touch my men.

The Soldier levels his rifle at Acosta. Acosta stares back.

Defiant. Acosta helps the worker to his feet.

ACOSTA (CONT’D)

(Dayak, subtitles)

Get to the trucks. Go...

WELLS:

Mike - what’s going on?...

(silence from the receiver)

Mike? Mike?!

Acosta backs away from the Soldier, turns and walks slowly

back to the phone... He picks it up. Finally --

ACOSTA:

We lost the site. You knew who you

were dealing with. They’re killers --

Hancock first among them.

Wells seems to physically crumble -- he buries his face in his

hands. Completely at a loss.

WELLS:

I’m sorry, Mike. I’m sorry.

INT. DIMLY LIT ROOM - NIGHT

Wells looks up at Jennings -- it’s not easy telling someone

what a f***-up you are. He’s embarrassed, the pain of the

moment, the booze, the miles, all fresh on his face.

90A.

WELLS:

It turned out that, in addition to

long-standing ties to Suharto, Newport

Holdings has on its Board an ex-

President of the United States, who

was actually IN one of Suharto’s

weddings -- a groomsman.

(MORE)

91.

WELLS (CONT'D)

So the whole time they were looking me

in the eye offering to make my grandkids

rich, they had a backup plan,

which was to steal it all away.

JENNINGS:

And Acosta had ordered you to sell.

WELLS:

Yes... no... he didn’t order me. We

were winging it, the negotiating I

mean, it was sort of agreed upon, the

direction, without really talking

about it, you know what I mean?

JENNINGS:

Did he tell you to take the deal? Yes

or no?

WELLS:

(reluctant)

...Yes.

JENNINGS:

But you didn’t.

WELLS:

No.

Jennings glances at the more junior men. This is significant.

JENNINGS:

Why not?

Wells is now truly embarrassed. Finally, he gets it out.

WELLS:

Because Kensana would become a Newport

mine and Mark Hancock's Midas touch

continues. Kenny Wells? A footnote --

the lucky bastard who fell down drunk

and woke up in a pile of money.

Jennings takes a moment. Walks over to Levine. Confers for a

second. See them looking across the space at Wells. There’s

disagreement. Jennings comes back.

JENNINGS:

That was a pretty foolish business

decision, wasn’t it?

92.

WELLS:

It was my dream. I dreamed it. And if

you sell your dream, then what do you

have left?

EXT. KAY’S HOUSE - DAY

Wells pulls up. Sees his stuff in boxes and garbage bags on

her front lawn. He gets out. Then realizes Kay is sitting on

the stoop smoking a cigarette.

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