Philadelphia Page #10

NO ONE else smiles.

WHEELER:

We've been talking it over, Andy.

Your future that is... We feel that,

because we respect you so much, we

have to be honest with you.

ANDREW:

Honesty is always best.

SEIDMAN:

Do you really think so, Andy?

ANDREW:

Yes, Bob, I do.

(to the group)

Excuse me? Am I being fired?

WHEELER:

Let's put it this way, Andy:

your place in the future of this

firm is no longer secure.

JOE:

In a word, yes.

WHEELER:

We don't think it's fair to keep

you here, where your future is

limited. But we wish you luck,

Andy, all the luck in the world.

Wheeler rises, wearing a friendly smile.

WHEELER (CONT.)

And I hate to rush you out of

here, but...

JOE:

But he's got lots of other

people's lives to ruin...

WHEELER:

... we've got a committee meeting.

ANDREW:

Excuse me, Charles. With all

due respect... this is...

preposterous! It doesn't make

any sense, it sounds as if we're

talking about someone else.

Pardon the lack of humility, but

I've had the distinct impression

I was kind of... one of the

rising stars around here. And I

feel that wasn't just my

imagination. And I also think I

deserve to know what's really

going on here, Charles.

KENTON:

Oh, you're right, Beckett, you

don't have an attitude problem.

WHEELER:

Take it easy, Walter.

ANDREW:

If you'd lost confidence in me,

why did you give me the Kronos suit?

WHEELER:

I hoped the challenge would

improve your performance. You

could say it was a carrot.

ANDREW:

A carrot?!

JOE:

I buy that.

ANDREW:

As in, the vegetable?

SEIDMAN:

(suddenly emotional)

Andy, you nearly blew the case,

for God's sake! That alone is

inexcusable. It would have been

catastrophic for us. Put

yourself in our shoes, Andy.

There's no coming back from an

error like that, regardless of

who you are!

(softer)

I'm sorry, Andy.

Andrew FREEZES -- the full nature of this situation hitting

home. He looks each of the PARTNERS in the eye...

ANDREW:

Uh huh... Okay... I see...

... at last LOOKING DIRECTLY AT Wheeler's secretary Lydia,

whose pen is poised above her notebook, waiting for someone

to say something.

Wheeler breaks the silence.

WHEELER:

Good luck, Andy.

Wheeler, Kenton, Killcoyne, Seidman and Lydia file out.

Andrew doesn't move.

A SECURITY GUARD enters the room.

ANDREW:

Who are you?

SECURITY GUARD:

I'm here to escort you to your

office so you can organize your

belongings.

CUT TO:

CAMERA PULLS BACK FROM ANDREW, WE'RE IN JOE'S OFFICE (DAY) ...

JOE:

Okay. Explain to me like I'm a

two year old, because there's an

element to this I can't get

through my thick head: Didn't

you have an obligation to inform

your employer you had this

dreaded, deadly, infectious

disease?

Andrew removes his ballcap -- his hair is cut short, to

disguise the effects of chemo.

ANDREW:

The law says people with

disabilities cannot be

terminated, so long as they can

perform the duties required by

their position...

JOE:

Okay, okay... They discover you

have this horrible, disgusting,

terminal illness, and they

panic, for any number of

perfectly valid reasons.

They're frightened for

themselves, their families...

Maybe it's the homo angle.

Maybe they don't want to rub

elbows with someone who's just

popped out of the closet with a

terminal case of acne. And how

do they explain your status to

the client for Chrissake?

ANDREW:

Joe, from the day I arrived to

the day they fired me, I

performed consistently,

thoroughly and with absolute

excellence. And if they hadn't

fired me, that's what I'd be

doing today.

JOE:

Okay... They want you out. It's

against the law to fire you for

having AIDS, so they make you

look like a f*** up. Which

leads us to the mysterious, lost

file.

ANDREW:

They sabotaged me.

JOE:

I knew you were going to say

that. I don't buy it, and I

don't see a case.

ANDREW:

Look. I know I have a case. If

you don't want to take it for

personal reasons...

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