Lost in America Page #2

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There's no answer.

DAVID:

(continuing; call-

ing after her)

Really, you have great taste.

(turns back around

to the mirror)

I'm sorry. That was my wife...

Yes, she has wonderful taste.

She's going to choose the whole

tile thing herself. Originally,

we were going to do it together

but it's nice to be able to trust

someone, don't you think?...

Well, that's very nice. I trust

you, too. Hey!... When our house

is finished maybe you'd like to

come over and play tennis... No,

but we might put one in.

CUT TO:

5EXT. WILSHIRE BLVD. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY

We see David pulling into the garage.

CUT TO:

6INT. MAJOR ADVERTISING AGENCY - DAY

David is walking down the corridor towards his office.

He's saying "Hello"'s to various people. He comes to

his own office. There we see his secretary, SUSAN, on

the telephone. Obviously, she's making a personal call

and she hangs up abnormally fast as soon as she sees

David.

DAVID:

Morning.

SUSAN:

Good morning. Your meeting is

in forty-five minutes.

DAVID:

Oh my God. What time is it now?

SUSAN:

Ten-thirty.

DAVID:

Okay.

(thinking aloud)

Ten-thirty, eleven, eleven-fifteen

... okay. Susan, don't let any

calls in. I don't want to be

bothered. I don't want to do any

business. I just want to prepare.

David walks into his office. After a beat, he sticks

his head out.

DAVID:

(continuing)

Oh yes. Get me Valley Mercedes,

will you?

CUT TO:

7INT. ROBINSON'S DEPARTMENT STORE

We FOLLOW Nancy as she's walking through the department

store. She comes to her office. Her office is on the

third floor in the corner with the other business offi-

ces. Her friend, PATTY, who works with her, is in the

office next door. All offices are separated by glass

partitions. Nancy comes in and sits down. Patty sees

her and enters.

PATTY:

Hi.

Nancy looks up from her desk.

NANCY:

Hi.

PATTY:

Is it beautiful?

NANCY:

What?

PATTY:

The kitchen. What does it look

like?

NANCY:

(half-heartedly)

I chose an orange tile.

PATTY:

Orange?

NANCY:

A burnt orange.

PATTY:

Sounds pretty.

NANCY:

Patty, close the door.

Patty closes the door and sits down.

PATTY:

What's the matter?

NANCY:

I'm going to hate this house.

PATTY:

What are you talking about?

NANCY:

When the contractor left this

morning, I was all alone there

and I sat in the middle of the

living room and I got so sad. I

got this preview of the next ten

years, I just started shaking.

Patty just stares at her. She knows that Nancy is

serious.

NANCY:

(continuing)

I'm so unhappy. I don't like

anything anymore. I don't like

my job. I don't like my life.

I don't like anything. I feel

dead.

PATTY:

What do you mean?

NANCY:

Nothing's changing. I'm not

growing. David's not growing.

We've just stopped. Life is

passing us by.

PATTY:

Listen, you've had a tough week.

With the moving and everything

you're very tired. When you get

tired you feel bad. Things seem

worse.

NANCY:

I'm not that tired.

Do you know I've been hiring

girls who are nineteen years

old, who've already had more

experience out of life than I

have?

PATTY:

You don't know that. You

can't tell what a person has

experienced just by interviewing

them.

NANCY:

Okay. Let's forget it. I

really haven't thought this

through enough. I don't want

to discuss it now. Let's get

to work.

PATTY:

No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean

to say the wrong thing. Have

you talked this over with

David?

NANCY:

Of course not. That's the

problem. I can't talk anything

over with him. It's hopeless.

PATTY:

Are you thinking of splitting

up?

NANCY:

Well, that's not my first choice

but what's the alternative? And

I'm not blaming David. I know

he genuinely believes that being

made Vice President is going to

change things. But he genuinely

believed that every promotion

would change things. It never

does. Maybe for a few days, but

that's it. Then things are

always the same.

PATTY:

Well, this is vice president.

Maybe this time it will change.

NANCY:

And what if it won't?

PATTY:

Then it won't. Then you get

divorced, I don't know. Whatever

you have to do.

NANCY:

Oh, God. Maybe it will.

PATTY:

It will or it won't.

NANCY:

Okay. I'm starting to feel sick

to my stomach. Thanks for talking

to me. Let's just say maybe it

will.

PATTY:

(standing up)

Good. Because if it won't, it

won't anyway so what can you do?

NANCY:

We said we'd stop on "will."

PATTY:

We did. We've stopped. It will.

Patty hesitantly backs out of Nancy's office.

PATTY:

(continuing)

It will. It will work out.

Nancy stares straight ahead. She looks very depressed.

CUT TO:

8 INT. DAVID'S OFFICE

He is writing at his desk talking on the telephone.

He's writing down figures.

DAVID:

Oh, then tax, license, out-the-

door, everything included, what

are we talking about?... Thirty-

six thousand, five hundred and

twelve. Jesus! For a car... No,

I know, a Mercedes. It's still

a car... Well, I don't care. To

me, if it has wheels, it's a car.

But that's not the point. Now,

that's everything, right? That's

it? You don't have to pay that

money and then be told that there

are options? No extras, everything

included... Come on! - For thirty-

seven thousand, leather is extra?

What kind of seats are in there?...

What is Mercedes Leather?... So,

why don't you just say vinyl?...

Okay, thick vinyl, but it's still

vinyl... Okay, these kind of

semantic arguments are silly.

The BUZZER RINGS.

DAVID:

(continuing)

Just a moment.

(presses the

intercom)

Yes?

SUSAN:

It's eleven ten.

DAVID:

Thank you. Susan, I have another

one of these Mercedes guys on the

phone, he won't hang up. Would

you do something with him please?

David hangs up. He stands and walks over to a small

mirror. He straightens his tie, fixes his jacket and

carries on one more little conversation with himself

as the boss.

DAVID:

(continuing)

What can I say? I guess, thank

you... Oh, no. I can't take your

office. This is too nice.

Where would you sit?... Well, you

are a very generous man.

He smiles and exits his office.

9INT. OUTER OFFICE

SUSAN:

(still on the phone)

No! We will call you back.

(she hangs up)

What a strange job to be arrogant

in.

DAVID:

I know.

SUSAN:

Good luck. Don't worry, you've

got it.

DAVID:

Thanks, Susan.

We FOLLOW David as he rounds the corners of this large

building on the way to Paul Dunn's office. With each step,

he is ready to accept this new responsibility. He stops

at his boss's secretary, MARGARET, a woman in her older

forties, a true executive type.

MARGARET:

Well, you look very nice.

DAVID:

Thank you and so do you, Margaret.

MARGARET:

Go on in.

DAVID:

Thanks.

David enters.

CUT TO:

10 INT. PAUL DUNN'S OFFICE

PAUL DUNN is one of the heads of the advertising agency.

He certainly holds the top position on the West Coast.

His office is large. It smells of success. Obviously,

this is a man who has made a great deal of money and spent

it where people can see it. As David enters, he sees

Paul sitting behind his desk and a baldheaded gentleman,

BRAD TOOLEY, seated on the couch. Brad Tooley is in his

early forties, very well-dressed in the upper Eastern

advertising establishment manner. As David comes in,

Brad and Paul both get up.

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