RKO 281 Page #10

MANK:

I don't give a sh*t about-

WELLES:

He was a drunk. And he was my father and I was

ashamed of him.

A beat. Welles proceeds quietly and with difficulty.

WELLES:

He showed me the world, he took me with him

everywhere -- Europe, China -- and he was so proud

of me. But he would drink and he would get

...embarrassing. And I began to resent him Because I

was so ... sparkling, you see.

So I cut him dead. I turned my back and I walked away because I didn't

need him. He was getting in the way of my "genius." And he would write

me letters, and I never answered them, and he would call me, and I

never took his calls, and he showed up at school and I wouldn't see

him.

Tears are beginning to inch down Welles' face

WELLES:

When I finally saw him again, he was in a coffin. I

was fifteen. And all of a sudden he wasn't that

embarrassing drunk anymore ... he was the man who

showed me the world.

Welles looks up at Mank, tears now streaming down his face.

WELLES:

Just like you, Mank.

A long beat. Mank, despite himself, is moved.

To cover his emotion Mank rises and goes into the kitchen to freshen

his drink. We remain tight on Welles as we hear Mank's voice:

MANK'S VOICE

So you've lost it? Don't know who should pour the

tea.

WELLES:

Yeah

A beat

MANK'S VOICE

Orson ... just cut the goddamn tea

WELLES:

Okay

A beat. Welles reaches for a cigar, tears still wet on his face.

MANK'S VOICE

I been thinking about the beach scene. You done

that yet?

WELLES:

No

MANK'S VOICE

Good -- cause I was thinking that we're starting

the scene too late...

Welles quickly bites off the end of his cigar -- his expression one of

"Gotcha!" -- even as. his cheeks are still wet with tears.

MANK'S VOICE (CONT.)

Cause if we don't show Susan watching Kane more

then we're not building the right tension into the

scene. See, she's gotta know that...

Welles slowly smiles as the record of Gene Krupa's percussion segues

into the unmistakable rhythms of "SING, SING, SING" and eclipses Mank's

voice...

And we see Welles everywhere, more energized than ever: perilous on a

high crane; stuck in a cramped corner behind the camera; doing magic

tricks for the cast; sleeping as makeup is applied to his face...

Mank is always at Welles' side: supporting; challenging; amusing;

inspiring. . .

We see Welles strutting, raging, boasting, dancing. And again towering.

"SING, SING, SING" finally ends at..

Through the black-and-white viewfinder we see Welles, in full costume

and makeup, carefully walking across the massive Kane Campaign

Headquarters set toward us. We see the low angle black-and-white

camera's perspective.

TOLAND'S VOICE

Closer ... closer ... closer -- stop. We just lost

your head.

WELLES:

Can you see my shoes?

TOLAND'S VOICE

Yeah, but we lose your head.

WELLES:

Goddamn it Joe -- stand here

JOSEPH COTTON, also in full costume and makeup, steps into the shot and

takes Welles' position as Welles scurries out of the frame. . ..

INT. SOUND STAGE. RKO_NIGHT. FOLLOWING

Welles marches across the set and squirms into position at the camera,

which is right on the floor, and peers up through the viewfinder.

Toland lies next to him. Mank stands to one side and- watches.

WELLES:

It's just not low enough. This is the scene. We

have to look up at these two man as pillars soaring

to the sky. As towering virtues in combat--

TOLAND:

Spare me the aria, I know what you want--

WELLES:

I need my shoes in total focus right here and also

Joe back there--!

TOLAND:

I know what you want but it can't be done!

WELLES:

Take apart the f***ing camera rig -- we could get a

few more inches down and then tilt up--

TOLAND:

Orson -- we can't get the f***ing camera any

f***ing lower so find another f***ing shot!

Welles thinks for a moment and then bolts up. Toland watches,

mystified, as Welles races to a sound stage fire station and grabs a

fire axe. Welles storms back to the set and raises the axe high. Toland

quickly rolls away. And Welles slams the axe into the wooden floor of

the set. He continues to hack at the floor.

WELLES:

Come on, Gregg! We'll tear out this floor!

Welles and Toland and various grips hack at the floor

Mank watches, bemused, and checks his watch

Welles and Toland finally tear away the remnants of the wooden floor.

They stare down, defeated. Under the wood is solid concrete.

Welles and Toland stand and stare at the concrete

TOLAND:

It's midnight, why don't we pick it up tomorrow?

Welles does not answer. He continues to eye the concrete Then:

WELLES:

Get me a jackhammer.

We see a grip pounding away at the concrete with a jackhammer as

Welles, always in motion, sweeps past Mank and Joseph Cotton.

MANK:

(wryly, to Cotton)

There but for the grace of God, goes God.

Welles slams to a halt in front of the unit physician and thrusts out

an arm. The physician injects him with a dose of B-12.

Welles can barely wait for the injection before he speeds off.

Welles supervises as Toland lowers the camera into the freshly dug hole

in the middle of the sound stage. Mank checks his watch, 3:30 AM.

Welles leaps into the trench to check the camera setup.

Again we see the view through the black-and-white viewfinder. Joseph

Cotton stands at a distance, at the far wall of the set.

WELLES' VOICE

Okay, Joe . . . come closer . . . closer

We see Cotton approaching. He finally stops inches away from the

camera. His shoes and the far wall of the set are both in total focus.

It is a breathtaking, vertiginous shot.

Then we see Welles and Joseph Cotton rehearsing and rehearsing and

filming and filming the scene. Endlessly

Finally we seem to be seeing the scene from the movie

WELLES:

"Well, if you got drunk to talk to me about Miss

Alexander, don't bother. I'm not interested. I've

set back the sacred cause of reform, is that it? All

right, if that's the way they want it, the people

have made their choice. It's obvious the people

prefer Jim Gettys to me."

JOSEPH COTTON:

"You talk about the people as if you owned them. As

though they belonged to you. As long as I can

remember, you've talked about--" (he breaks

character)

Orson, I am so goddamn tired--

We continue to watch the scene through the viewfinder:

WELLES:

(to the camera operator)

Keep filming.

JOSEPH COTTON:

I can't remember the lines!

WELLES:

Then make them up! You're drunk and you're angry.

He shoves Joseph Cotton brutally

WELLES:

This is the chance you've been waiting for, boy.

Tell that son of a b*tch just what you think of him!

JOSEPH COTTON:

We're not all hopped up on benzedrine, Orson I Some

of us humans need sleep!

Welles shoves him again.

WELLES:

You're not going to get another chance, boy! Look

right at the monster and you tell him--

JOSEPH COTTON:

(deeply)

"You don't care about anything except you. You just

want to persuade people that you

JOSEPH COTTON (CONT.)

love them so much that they ought to love you back.

Only you want love on your own terms. "

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