Hero Page #3

BERNIE:

Here we are. Yeah, that's a

possibility. A movie. Now you gwan

in, tell your mother I got you back

on time. Point that out to her.

She was always on my case for stuff

like that. She's still like that,

right?

JOEY:

(a little grin, his

first)

Yeah.

(getting out)

I'll see ya... dad.

JOEY gets out and runs toward the house. BERNIE watches him

go. Then he pulls out the wallet, thumbs the cash, glances at

the credit cards.

INT. SHADOW LOUNGE - NIGHT

The bored, fiftyish bartender, CHICK, is watching the TV mounted

over the bar in this unfashionable, nearly-deserted joint. He

looks up when the door opens.

CHICK:

Bernie! Where ya been, Pal?

Arriving at the bar, BERNIE surveys the dimly lit room, checking

the booths and tables for customers. Not many.

BERNIE:

Some guys been looking for me,

Chick? Spanish kinda guys.

CHICK:

Spanish kinda guys!

BERNIE:

Business thing. Gimme a seven and

seven, willya?

BERNIE checks his watch, takes a seat, puts a twenty on the bar.

CHICK:

What is it, five days now I don't

see you!

BERNIE:

'Cause I'm up to my ass in sh*t is

why. I'm broke, plus I got legal

problems... Nobody was asking for

me, huh?

BERNIE looks around nervously, peering into the shadowy booths

and rear tables as CHICK puts a drink in front of him.

CHICK:

Nope. Legal problems, you gotta

have a good attorney.

BERNIE:

My attorney, she's just outta law

school, about a couple of years

older than my kid, for Chrissake.

CHICK:

You gotta kid? How old's your kid?

BERNIE:

Nine. I think. Maybe ten. Yeah,

ten. Nice kid.

CHICK:

You got a ten year old attorney,

Bernie?

BERNIE:

I can't afford no better. My ex,

she attached my pay check for child

support payments.

(turning)

You looking for Bernie LaPlante by

any chance?

A MAN who's just entered the lounge shakes his head no and heads

for a table where he's greeted by the COCKTAIL WAITRESS.

CHICK:

I didn't even know you had a kid.

BERNIE:

(thoughtful)

The thing about kids is, they're

so... young! They don't know

nothin' yet. When you're a kid,

you think you're gonna grow up an'

be a "wonderful person" instead of

an a**hole, like everybody else.

CHICK:

We're all a**holes, Bernie?

BERNIE:

(ignoring him)

When I was a kid, I thought I was

gonna be this fantastic wonderful

heroic human being.

ESPINOSA'S VOICE (O.S)

You Bernie Planta?

BERNIE turns.

Two Latinos are right behind him, low lifes, ESPINOSA and

VARGAS.

BERNIE:

LaPlante. Bernie LaPlante. You the

guys Bunny called, huh?

INT. BACK BOOTH/SHADOW LOUNGE - MOMENTS LATER

Credit cards are being inspected. ESPINOSA, seated between

VARGAS and BERNIE, in a booth in the nearly deserted lounge,

looks the cards over dubiously.

ESPINOSA:

Three hours is old, man. Very old.

BERNIE:

Hey, he might not of reported 'em

at all yet. He might not know for

a couple hours.

VARGAS:

You pick his pocket?

BERNIE:

Yeah, more or less. Trust me, these

are very very fresh.

EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY

JEFFREY BROADMAN is standing against the granite facade of a

downtown office building. Three thousand dollar suit, Hermes

tie, expensively cut silver grey hair ruffling slightly in the

breeze. Charming smile, candid eyes...

BROADMAN:

To be honest, I can't make sense

of it either, Ms. Gayley.

Things seem to be on the upswing,

our differences with the SEC have

been favorably resolved. In a

business sense, I believe we've

"turned the corner..."

GALE GAYLEY, a TV reporter, is standing close to BROADMAN, a

microphone in her hand. She's thirty, attractive, dignified...

We can hear SIRENS in the distance and, closer, the CRACKLE

of radios and walkie talkies.

GALE:

Mister Broadman, your wife and

children are on their way here as

we speak. Don't you think -- ?

BROADMAN:

I feel I've done very well in

life:
good health, wonderful

family, much wealth. I guess what

we're talking about here is a kind

of despair. I just have the

feeling that everything from here

on is going to be... downhill...

At a time like this, I think I'm

entitled, as the saying goes, to

"look out for number one" and put

my own needs first. That pretty

much concludes what I have to say.

Thanks for coming out here to let

me talk to you and your viewers.

A nice smile as he drops RIGHT OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME!

ANGLE ON GALE:

Looking down, horrified.

GALE:

Oh my god! Chucky, tilt down.

Her cameraman, CHUCKY, twenty-five, is already urgently tilting

his vidpak as WE REVEAL that he and GALE are standing on a ledge

many stories above the street.

GALE:

Did you get it?

(then, doubly

horrified)

Jesus, did I say that?

CHUCKY:

Yeah, I got it. Sports training.

You learn to follow the ball.

(looking up at Gale)

How about you do a wrap-up from

up here? I'll pan off that

skyscraper over there, find you

here, then reveal the drop.

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