Reagan Page #9

OLIVER (CONT’D)

There we go! Good boy!

FRANK:

Whew, that’s cocaine all right!

OLIVER:

...I wanna dance.

Frank looks around the tiny bathroom. It’s maybe 5x5.

FRANK:

In here?

INT. DREAM NIGHT CLUB - LATER

The 80’s discotheque is going off. Neon lights cut through

the darkness as the DJ blasts ‘SUSSUDIO’ by Phil Collins.

Oliver shakes hands with the BOUNCER and gestures that the

incredibly nervous Frank is with him.

51.

INT. DREAM NIGHT CLUB - BATHROOM

Everyone is doing some sort of drug in here. Frank watches

Oliver take another huge rail off the sink.

OLIVER:

You know, a lot of guys like big

tits. I like a big ass. Not a fat

ass; there’s a difference. Like

Arnold Schwarzenegger is big, he’s

not fat. I’m not saying I wanna f***

Arnold Schwarzenegger, although, hey,

if I’m the one f***in’ him, that’s a

hell of a story.

Uncomfortably high, Frank holds up the empty baggie.

FRANK:

Oh shoot, we’re all out. In that

case, I might hit the road and pray

to god I can go to sleep.

Oliver pulls out a BRICK OF COCAINE. Frank stares at it.

FRANK (CONT’D)

Okay, I don’t know much about

drugs, but that’s a lot, right?

OLIVER:

Nicaraguan Gold. I know a guy.

FRANK:

I don’t want to do this anymore.

OLIVER:

Yeah you do.

FRANK:

I know I do. But I also know that I’m

not a reliable judge at this point.

OLIVER:

You made a great career decision.

This is networking, right here.

(then)

Give it a toot. Watch it, though;

this sh*t kicks like Bruce Lee.

Frank reluctantly snorts it. Oliver does the same.

OLIVER (CONT’D)

Holy Managua, that’s nice. Like it?

Oliver’s eyes are frozen wide.

52.

FRANK:

I’m afraid, but of nothing in

particular.

OLIVER:

I know. But it’s like...good fear.

Frank looks at Oliver like he’s insane. He might be.

INT. DREAM NIGHT CLUB - LATER

Frank aggressively dances to Debarge’s ‘RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT’.

Sitting with friends across the club, Fawn spots her ‘boss’.

FAWN:

Mr. Corden! Mr. Corden!

She fights through the crowd, trying to get his attention.

FAWN (CONT’D)

Hey Mr. Corden!

Frank turns to her and almost jumps out of his skin.

FRANK:

Fawn! Hey! What are you doing here?

FAWN:

Dancing with some friends. It’s so

weird seeing your boss out of the

office because it’s like he’s not

your boss everywhere! Like do I

call you Mr. Corden? Or Frank?

Frank’s paranoia creeps over him as she keeps going.

FAWN (CONT’D)

But it’s not a big town and of

course I’d run into you-FRANK

This is my friend!

Frank grabs Oliver by his shirt. Yanks him toward Fawn.

FAWN:

Hi, Fawn Hall!

OLIVER:

I have a ton of cocaine.

53.

FAWN:

Nice to meet you!

LATER. Oliver makes out with Fawn on the dance floor. Frank

dances with IRIS (20s, attractive, permanent scowl).

FRANK:

I know drugs make you paranoid, but

I’m really concerned about whether

you’re having a good time.

Iris chomps her gum for a long beat.

IRIS:

What does your friend do again?

EXT. WASHINGTON MALL - NIGHT

The tourist center of the nation’s capitol. Iris and Fawn are

swimming in the REFLECTING POOL.

A coked-up Frank stares at the WASHINGTON MONUMENT. He’s

joined by Oliver.

OLIVER:

This Fawn chick is alright. She’s

gonna switch over to my office if

that’s cool. See? Networking. I can

probably write tonight off.

FRANK:

You know what that is?

OLIVER:

The Washington Monument.

FRANK:

No. The Washington Monument’s in

Baltimore. Statue of the guy.

Predates this by fifty years.

This...is America’s dick.

(beat)

We gave our country a dick.

Oliver bursts into hysterical laughter.

OLIVER:

God bless it, huh?

He briefly watches the girls dancing in the water.

54.

OLIVER (CONT’D)

I’m thinkin’ about porkin’ these

two on Lincoln’s lap. So...see ya.

Oliver goes to leave. Frank is suddenly overcome by guilt.

FRANK:

Oliver, I gotta tell you something

about the President.

The confession is interrupted by POLICE LIGHTS.

OLIVER:

Oh, sh*t! Let’s hit it!

He sprints toward the pool and grabs Fawn by the arm. Iris

stays splashing in the pool. Frank bolts into the night.

INT. ABC NEWS BROADCAST - DECEMBER 5, 1985

PETER JENNINGS delivers the latest in politics.

PETER JENNINGS:

In a bit of a surprise, National

Security Adviser Robert McFarlane

will resign from his post, citing a

desire to spend more time with his

family. He’ll be replaced by Deputy

Adviser, Admiral John Poindexter.

INT. WHITE HOUSE - OFFICE - DAY

Frank, Don, Poindexter, and Caspar sit quietly. Until:

CASPAR:

And then there were f***in’ four.

Sooner or later, we’re all gonna

resign and that lamp is going to be

running the country.

(to a nearby lamp)

So lamp:
what do you think of

Libya? Pricks, huh?

FRANK:

Why did he quit?

POINDEXTER:

He’s a quitter. Always has been.

DON:

The important thing is that

everything continues as planned.

55.

FRANK:

‘Everything?’

DON:

What’s that supposed to mean?

FRANK:

Nothing. Sorry.

POINDEXTER:

Shall we get down to business?

Frank feels the room urging him to take the cue.

FRANK:

Right, I’ll be outside.

He heads for the door. A wheel turns in Don’s mind.

DON:

Hang on, Frank. Why don’t you sit

in on the meeting?

Caspar and Poindexter share a look: ‘What?’ Don assures them.

FRANK:

Really? Are you sure?

DON:

Yes, you’ve been doing well so far.

Figured it might be time to bump

you up to the Majors.

Frank lights up, drowning out his questions.

FRANK:

Yes sir. That would be great!

He sits down. No one says anything for a beat.

FRANK (CONT’D)

So do I get to talk or--?

CASPAR:

F*** no.

Frank gets it. Beggars can’t be choosers.

INT. OUTSIDE DON’S OFFICE - DECEMBER 14, 1985

Frank reads over a speech, stopwatch in hand. A note from Don

reads:
‘SPEED IT UP.’ Frank draws a line through a paragraph.

56.

INT. PEGGY’S OFFICE - LATER

Eating lunch at her desk, Peggy reads over the same speech.

She suddenly spots something alarming. She gets up so fast,

she knocks her sandwich on the ground.

INT. OUTSIDE DON’S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER

Peggy runs to Frank, who’s also Dining In.

PEGGY:

Where’s the Fort Campbell speech?

FRANK:

I gave it to Don. He took it with

him to lunch. Why?

PEGGY:

A typo. In the sixth para. ‘Tense

agreement.’ Sh*t. I haven’t made

that mistake since junior high.

Frank looks at her sheet. It was in the paragraph he cut.

FRANK:

Oh, don’t worry. I fixed it.

PEGGY:

What do you mean, ‘you fixed it’?

FRANK:

I mean...I took it out. The typo.

Peggy eyes him suspiciously.

PEGGY:

What did you tell Don?

FRANK:

I didn’t tell him anything. As far

as he knows, it was never there.

PEGGY:

Wow. Thank you. Sorry, in this

building, I’m used to people using

each other’s corpses as a ladder.

FRANK:

We’re all on the same side, aren't we?

PEGGY:

Apparently so.

57.

She smiles before leaving. Frank smiles back.

INT. OVAL OFFICE - DECEMBER 16, 1986

Cue ‘EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD’ by Tears for Fears.

Reagan is prepped for his Holiday Address. Assistants apply

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