In the Loop Page #6

25 INT. STATE DEPARTMENT - DAY 25

Liza, Karen and Chad arrive in the buzzing State

Department offices, knackered but in action mode.

KAREN:

Okay - so, priorities are: take a

shower, play Hunt Linton’s War

Committee, get me a dental

appointment. But not in that order.

LIZA:

Shower later?

KAREN:

I give you licence to reek.

Karen walks past various desks covered in tons of Post-

Its. Stops a STAFFER as he passes.

KAREN (cont’d) (CONT’D)

What’s Linton been up to while we’ve

been away? Has he bombed Hawaii for

being UnAmerican?

But before the staffer can answer they run right into

Linton. Karen stands her ground.

LINTON:

Ah. Karen.

KAREN:

Linton.

LINTON:

How was London? Good hotel?

KAREN:

Great hotel, thank you.

LINTON:

Good meetings?

KAREN:

Yes. We had some good discussions. The

time at Number Ten could possibly have

been better spent but then...

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Karen realises that Linton is reading a message on his

cell phone and not listening.

LINTON:

Good. Welcome back. I'll read the

words when they come through. Thank

you so much.

Linton heads off to his office. A beat later so does

Karen. Chad goes off a little towards Linton’s office.

KAREN:

Is Chad coming... ?

LIZA:

(watching)

He’s doing his desperate chorus girl

thing, hanging around trying to catch

Linton’s eye. That’s why he’s wearing

his push-up bra.

Chad manages to say a hello to Linton.

CHAD:

(as he passes)

Assistant Secretary of State -- hi.

LINTON:

Brad.

CHAD:

Chad

LINTON:

Uh-huh. Exactly

CHAD:

Can I...?

Linton ignores him as he goes to join Bob Adriano

waiting for him in his office.

KAREN:

So listen, Liza, I need you to find

out the names of the ten dullest

committees currently operating on the

hill.

LIZA:

Dullest?

KAREN:

They'll have buried the war committee

under the most boring name they can

think of. 'Diverse Strategy Committee'-

not that, I’m on that.

(MORE)

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But it’ll be a committee that sounds

so tedious you want to self-harm.

KAREN (CONT'D)

They glance over into Linton's area. He is glancing

into theirs.

KAREN(CONT’D)

Can you get me General Miller at the

Pentagon?

26 INT. STATE DEPARTMENT. DAY 26

Liza goes to her desk, picks up her landline.

LIZA:

Hi. I'm calling from Karen Clark's

office about a paper written by a

staffer here. We need to know if 'Post

War Planning:
Parameters,

Implication's and Possibilities' has

reached Assistant Secretary of State

Linton Barwick yet?

(listens)

Yeah by Liza Weld.

(listens, sh*t!)

'Pwip Pip'? It’s already been given an

acronym?

(listens)

No I don't want to fast-track it.

27 INT. STATE DEPARTMENT. LINTON'S OFFICE - DAY 27

Looking over at Karen. Now alone, who is still stealing

glances over.

LINTON:

I do not understand why anyone would

choose to work in a glass office. In

my opinion glass offices are for

perverts. He who sees through walls,

lives through walls.

BOB ADRIANO:

I did mention I could request the

glass be frosted?

LINTON:

(as if Bob Adriano brought

it up)

Can we get off this subject please?

What happened in London?

BOB ADRIANO:

Generally positive. Two glitches.

Karen flagged a report by one of her

staffers - Liza.

(MORE)

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BOB ADRIANO (CONT'D)

She's obviously trying to use it as

some kind of roadblock. It’s called

Pwip Pip.

LINTON:

Pip what?

BOB ADRIANO:

Pwip Pip.

LINTON:

What is that a report on - birdsong?

What does that stand for?

BOB ADRIANO:

I don’t recall. It’s factish. Intel -

case for and against intervention.

LINTON:

We’ve got all the facts we need on

this. You get too many facts you can

get blind to the truth. You said there

was another thing?

BOB ADRIANO:

In the meeting with the Foreign Office

the committee was accidentally briefly

alluded to.

LINTON:

(putting his hand over his

mouth so he can't be lip-

read)

Which committee?

BOB ADRIANO:

(doing the same)

The war committee.

LINTON:

Karen must not find out about that.

She is an excitable yapping she-dog.

Okay get the minutes of the meeting,

we need to correct the record.

BOB ADRIANO:

We can do that?

LINTON:

Yes we can. They're an aide memoir for

us. So they should not be a reductive

record of what happened to be said,

but a more full record of what was

intended to be said. That’s the more

accurate version, right?

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28 INT. KAREN’S OFFICE. DAY. 28

Karen's watching Linton across the floor in his office

talking to Bob Adriano. Occasionally Bob Adriano and

Linton look over but generally it's obvious they're

talking about Karen because of the way they're not

looking over. Liza, summoned, enters.

KAREN:

They're talking about us aren't they?

It's obvious from the way they're not

looking.

29 INT. SIMON’S OFFICE/BOX ROOM - DAY 29

Judy’s in her office on the phone, laughing. Simon’s

eyeing her suspiciously.

SIMON:

What’s she so f***ing happy about? Is

she laughing at me?

Judy closes the blinds on her side of the office.

SIMON (CONT’D) (cont’d)

Why’s she got control of the blinds?

I’m a government minister. I should

have blinds.

TOBY:

(joking)

You want me to order some blinds? Or I

could get some heavy curtains with

swags and a pelmet.

Yes. I do.

SIMON:

TOBY:

Oh. Okay ...

SIMON:

Can we go somewhere else?

They walk to Box Room.

SIMON (CONT’D)

So listen. My team for the US. Team

Simon. I’m thinking of taking you and

leaving Judy?

TOBY:

Gut reaction? I like it.

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SIMON:

The way she sprung the press on me

outside the FO. That was her screw-up,

right?

TOBY:

(going with it)

Oh god, yeah. Plus, she can be a bit,

"Everything’s a bit sh*t isn’t it?"

SIMON:

That’s true actually, she could be

very "So you’re the President? And I’m

supposed to be impressed by that?

TOBY:

Yeah. My husband works in Tower

Hamlets."

SIMON:

“That’s much harder than being

President”. Okay. It’s settled. F***

it. She’s staying behind. Go and tell

her.

30 INT. STATE DEPARTMENT. LINTON'S OFFICE - DAY 30

The following day. Bob Adriano is going through the

minutes with Linton.

LINTON:

I don't like this comment here about

the LND numbers. Cut that. I don't

think this is really what France are

saying. Let's change that. And these.

And let's reverse this.

BOB ADRIANO:

That's something Karen said.

LINTON:

It's not right. Change it.

BOB ADRIANO:

Yes sir.

LINTON:

And get rid of this chunk on seven on

proliferation.

BOB ADRIANO:

Done.

LINTON:

And I like this.

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BOB ADRIANO:

Thank you.

LINTON:

Let's say everyone agreed with this.

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