Gold Page #2

Wells grabs his briefcase and heads into his adjunct office.

6.

INT. GREENHORNS BATHROOM - DAY

Fresh shirt laid out. Wells gives himself a sink bath.

Electric shave. Visine. Gargle of Scope.

And WE GO...

INT. THE THREE GREENHORNS BAR - MOMENTS LATER

Wells emerges, transformed, presents himself to Kay.

KAY:

It’s a miracle.

WELLS:

A million bucks?

Her looks says let’s not get carried away, but she says:

KAY:

Two million.

He drains his drink.

WELLS:

I’ll come by for you after. We’ll

celebrate.

KAY:

I’ll have my dancing shoes on.

Down the bar a NICKEL SLOT MACHINE noisily pays out. They both

see this as a good sign.

WELLS:

I’ve got a good feeling about this.

And he’s off. And WE GO:

INT. COLEMAN & MEAD CAPITAL GROUP - RECEPTION - DAY

TIGHT ON a PICTORIAL in Northern Prospector. Wells, in the

reception of a local investment bank, flipping pages. Flip

Flip. Checks his watch, looks at the receptionist, BEV.

WELLS:

Any idea how much longer, Bev?

BEV:

Shouldn’t be too much longer now,

Kenny. How you been?

6A.

He makes the so-so gesture with his hand. Two bankers enter.

LLOYD STANTON (30’s) and HENRY ANDREWS, even younger, in nicer

suits, with looks on their faces that say, “Let’s get this

over with.” Stanton extends his hand.

7.

STANTON:

Mr. Wells, I’m Lloyd Stanton. My

colleague Henry Andrews.

Wells puts on a smile and shakes hands.

WELLS:

Good to meet you.

STANTON:

Come on back.

INT. COLEMAN & MEAD CAPITAL GROUP - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

Stanton and Andrews take seats at one end of the conference

table. Wells stands uncomfortably alone at the other end.

STANTON:

What can we do for you?

WELLS:

Aren’t we waiting for Clive?

STANTON:

Mr. Coleman is tied up in a meeting.

WELLS:

No offense boys, but I was supposed to

be meeting with Clive.

STANTON:

None taken. But, if you were

supposed to be meeting with Clive

you’d be meeting with Clive.

That stung. Wells takes just a moment to recover. Sits. Slaps

a smile on his face and slides documents across the table.

WELLS:

We’re developing some very exciting

properties that are spot-on for your

investor profile: low buy-in with a

sizable upside and the beautiful part

is they’re all only twelve to eighteen

months to cash positive.

Stanton and Andrews listen impassively, scanning the documents.

ANDREWS:

Manitoba?

WELLS:

We picked up an option on a skipped

claim at auction.

8.

ANDREWS:

It’s a ninety day option.

WELLS:

Yes, the window is narrow, but there’s

an excellent shale formation that...

STANTON:

...Natural Gas? Environmental

impact’s gonna be a b*tch. I don’t

like the liability. What’s next?

He dismissively flips the page, leaving Wells to quickly

shift gears.

WELLS:

Eastern Utah. We’re sitting on a nice

land-lease opportunity. The

overburden is borax rich so there’s an

immediate revenue source, but the real

prize is in the granite under-shelf.

Our studies point to rich chromium and

nickel deposits.

ANDREWS:

There’s a pretty long chain of title

on this claim. No payouts. What

makes you think you’re gonna be

luckier than all these others?

WELLS:

All under capitalized. Never got past

development, none of them.

STANTON:

Under capitalized? I’m not sure under

capitalized does your situation

justice.

Wells swallows down another helping of pride and pushes on.

WELLS:

We’ve hit a down turn, yes, true

enough, but...

STANTON:

...Mr. Wells, Washoe has a practical

value hovering just above zero. Your

debt load is untenable and you come to

us with raw land, no infrastructure,

no fungible assets. You can’t possibly

expect us to underwrite this.

9.

WELLS:

I’m talking about a small offering

here. If you’ll just look at the geo

you’ll see what I see, which is money.

Stanton looks him in the eye. A beat.

STANTON:

Not our money.

He closes the documents with an air of finality.

STANTON (CONT’D)

We can’t help you, Mr. Wells.

WELLS:

These are jackpot, gentlemen. You

back away from these - these are

career changing opportunities.

Stanton rises from his chair.

STANTON:

If you’ll excuse us.

WELLS:

I want to talk to Clive!

Wells stands, his already red face flushing, every broken

capillary showing like battle scars.

WELLS (CONT’D)

My father put Clive Coleman on the

map. He built this goddamn bank!

STANTON:

You are not your father, Mr. Wells.

Like a dagger. Wells stands stunned by the statement.

STANTON (CONT’D)

Bring us something we can sell and

we’ll talk.

WELLS:

These are good properties.

STANTON:

They’re crap, Wells. Played out handme-

downs. I’d be embarrassed to even

talk to my clients about them.

Andrews...

Stanton slides the documents across the table at Wells.

10.

STANTON (CONT’D)

Is there anything else?

Wells gathers up his papers.

WELLS:

Yeah. Go f*** yourself.

He grabs his bag and walks out with as much dignity as he

can muster.

Stanton watches him go. He knows he did his job, he kicked

Wells's ass, but it doesn’t mean he has to feel good about it.

There but by the grace of God... Andrews, on the other hand,

is smiling, misreading his boss.

ANDREWS:

Not even noon and the guy reeks like a

still.

STANTON:

Shut up, Andrews.

EXT./INT. WELLS'S CAR - CONTINUOUS

Wells on the street. Tracking with him. Walk of shame. Door

slams. Leans back in his car seat. Trembling.

WELLS (V.O)

That had to be the worst day of my

life.

WE PULL IN CLOSE on Wells's face, panic rising in his eyes...

DISSOLVE TO:

AN AMBER STREAM OF SEAGRAMS splashing over a tumbler of ice.

WELLS (V.O) (CONT’D)

I’d lost my house and was living at

Kay’s. We were pretty close to losing

that, too.

PULL BACK TO REVEAL WE ARE...

EXT. RENO NEIGHBORHOOD - DUSK

A street of small tract homes. A nice little neighborhood

forty years ago, now it feels a lot like the people who live

here -- tired and in need of attention. It’s getting dark,

that moment the night and soul closes in.

11.

INT. KAY’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - EVENING

The place is small and reflects a woman’s touch, just the

slightest bit girly. Everything worn, humble, but maintained.

On the counter, we see a mess of BILLS, mostly RED NOTICES --

Phone. Electric. Gas. Car. Wells sits on the edge of the sofa,

talking on the phone, pitching for his very life.

WELLS:

...we’re looking at yields in the high

six figures... Yes, that’s right.

Kenny Wells. Washoe Mining. I spoke to

your wife last week.

A SERIES OF DISSOLVES. MORE WHISKEY -- as much spills on the

table as makes it into the glass. On the table, a pretty good

dent in the bottle.

WELLS (CONT’D)

...I’m taking out of my personal

holdings to cover demand... Could you

hold on a sec, I’ve got to take this

call...

IT’S DARK NOW

Wells is now slumped in an armchair. He muzzles the phone and

reaches for his drink.

WELLS (V.O) (CONT’D)

Washoe Mining, the company my

grandfather scratched out of the side

of a Nevada mountain, that my father

built into a real player.

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