Special Correspondents Page #7

Synopsis: A radio journalist and his technician get in over their heads when they hatch a scheme to fake their own kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America and hide out in New York instead.
Genre: Comedy
Director(s): Ricky Gervais
Production: Netflix
 
IMDB:
5.8
Metacritic:
36
Rotten Tomatoes:
18%
TV-MA
Year:
2016
101 min
Website
237 Views


Not fair.

Here you go. There it is.

Take it over to the radio station,

make sure no one sees you.

[Finch] My name is Ian Finch.

This is Frank Bonneville.

We work for the New York radio station

Q365 News.

We were reporting here

on the unrest in Ecuador

when we were taken hostage

by the Ecuadorian Liberation Front.

We have not been harmed.

If America submits to their demands,

we will be set free

to return to the United States.

- Well, they're still alive.

- If their demands are not met, however,

we will be executed,

never to see our families again.

Please take these people seriously.

They want money to fund their cause.

They will contact you in the future.

Until then, you won't hear from us again.

[man]Good evening,

and welcome to this special broadcast

dedicated to Frank Bonneville

and Ian Finch.

I'm joined by their colleague,

Claire Maddox, from Q365 News.

Uh, it's a very worrying time

for the press.

Nothing can justify

taking journalists hostage.

The only thing they're guilty of

is doing their job.

- You know she has a thing for you, right?

- Ridiculous.

You never noticed? All those times

she brought you a cup of coffee?

She brought everyone a cup of coffee.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Didn't she?

- No. Just you.

And you never once

bought her a cup in return.

Hello. I have a wife.

- [scoffs] Not anymore you don't.

- All right.

You need to get over her. Move on.

...danger they face is indifference

and being forgotten.

- And we shall not forget them.

- Well, you make a good point.

Claire is not the only guest

we have tonight.

We also have the wife of Ian Finch.

Please welcome Eleanor Finch.

- Welcome, it's so good to have you.

- Thank you.

Please, have a seat. Thanks so much

for coming on for the show today.

- It must be very trying right now.

- [Eleanor] Yeah. It is.

- That's your wife?

- I know.

- Punching above my weight.

- [Eleanor] I decided to come on your show

in the hope that this'll

be broadcast in Ecuador

and maybe my husband will see it.

I've kept silent in the hope that

any negotiations would be successful,

but the wait is unbearable.

[man] I understand, and the whole

country is feeling for you right now.

I know. The letters of support,

the portraits hanging in all the cities

tell me the compassion that the American

people have for the hostages,

- for my husband. Thank you.

- [man] You're so right.

And, together, we stand firm for Ian

and Frank to return amongst us.

- She loves me.

- Of course she does.

- I have no right to do this to her.

- [Eleanor] I hope you don't mind, uh,

I've written a song for the hostages.

Something to make sure

we don't forget them.

- Yeah.

- [Eleanor] I thought I might sing it.

- I have a backing track.

- Oh. Uh, okay. Um...

- Okay?

- All right. Uh...

Thank you.

- Okay, so it's, uh...

- It's called "A Dollar For A Hero."

- Let's hear it now, a world exclusive.

- Can I stand?

Yes, please do.

Here she is, Eleanor Finch.

[audience applauding]

[slow piano music playing]

Can you spare a dollar for a hero

And bring him home to me?

In God we trust

And fight we must

To return to this land of liberty

I hope you're with

The ones you love

I hope you're together

Safe at home

But can you spare

A dollar and a prayer

To one in danger and alone?

Can you spare a dollar for a hero?

America, hear my plea

And although it's only one

We're sending George Washington

And he's gonna bring

My baby home to me

Oh, America

The land of the free

[cheering]

That was amazing.

Very special. It was just so moving.

Thank you, and I'd also like to appeal

to the generosity of the American public.

Okay, please do.

Um, if each of you just give a dollar

for our heroes, our hostages.

I'm launching a campaign

to raise money...

What are you doing?

- I'm sending her a dollar.

- What for?

- For the heroes.

- Great idea.

So, you can donate on my website,

Eleanor needs your help.

Thank you. That was great.

[man] Today is the eighth day

that Frank Bonneville and Ian Finch

have been held hostage in Ecuador.

We shall not forget them.

You can still make your donations

to A Dollar For Our Heroes.

Just to remind you,

you can still make your donations

to A Dollar For Our Heroes.

And we at Q365 News want to

thank you all for your emails of concern.

We share your thoughts. We hope

that Ian and Frank will be home soon.

- [Claire] You wanted to see me?

- Listeners can't get enough.

The ratings are officially insane.

We're the number one

radio station in New York.

I never thought I'd be able to say that.

Two of our friends

are being held hostage.

Uh-huh.

You're a good boss,

but you're a shitty person sometimes.

- I'm sorry?

- You're excited that there's a news buzz

- around two human beings in danger.

- Not just them. Eleanor Finch.

The country has adopted her,

they can't get enough, they love her.

They want more.

I want you to keep an eye on her.

Hang out. Maybe become friends.

I don't know. There's more to her story

here, so get it and bring me.

You want to know

if she's lost her appetite,

if she takes sleeping pills before bed,

if she has a lover?

You want me to be a spy?

Well, I'd like you to be a journalist!

[Eleanor] Are you guys hogging

the rubber bands? Yes, you are.

[phones ringing]

[sighs]

Hey.

There's a dollar in the hundies,

come on.

You gotta be careful. Recount it.

"A Dollar For Our Heroes."

That is a great idea. It's catchy.

- You've been busy.

- Yeah. One of my skills.

Organization, fund-raising.

I have a high likability factor,

so, it's easy to get people to donate.

Want a T-shirt?

- Sure.

- I don't know, can you wear orange?

Ew. No.

We need to do something about

all this cash. There's $124,000 of it.

Ooh. Yeah, we have a safe. Ian keeps

all his prized possessions in it. Comics.

We need to be super vigilant.

- We need to account for every cent.

- Sure.

- [Chris] Hello. Hi.

- Hi.

- Chris Denby.

- Ah.

- New York Post.

- Yes, of course. [chuckles]

I gotta go be in makeup

from morning to evening. I hate it.

- Oh. You're doing it for Ian, so...

- Yeah. I am.

Mrs. Finch, please, if we could, um...

- You know, against those things, there.

- Mm-hm. Hm.

These are his Disney characters.

Superman and stuff.

- Marvel. And it's Captain America.

- [camera shutter clicking]

They're really great.

Oh. You must really hate doing

these interviews and things,

when you're so worried.

- Yeah, but somebody's gotta do it.

- [Chris] Nice.

Hold on. [chuckling]

[camera shutter clicks]

- You should interview me.

- For what?

For anything you want.

Anyone'll run an interview on me.

You should do it. You know me.

You know the boys.

You know the names of the little toys.

Could be a big opportunity for you.

From radio to TV?

Could be your big break.

[chuckles]

- [Brigida] That's your house.

- [Finch] Yeah.

- Claire.

- That's Claire.

Eleanor, you put Ian's Marvel collection

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais (; born 25 June 1961) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and singer. Gervais worked initially in the music industry, attempting a career as a pop star in the 1980s as the singer of the new wave act Seona Dancing and working as the manager of the then-unknown band Suede before turning to comedy. Gervais appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 between 1998 and 2000. In 2000, he was given a Channel 4 talk show, Meet Ricky Gervais, and then achieved greater mainstream fame a year later with his BBC television series The Office. It was followed by Extras in 2005. He co-wrote and co-directed both series with Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, he played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. He reprised his role as Brent in the comedy film Life on the Road. Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s. He has performed five multi-national stand-up comedy tours and wrote the Flanimals book series. Gervais, Merchant and Karl Pilkington created the podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show, which has spawned various spin-offs starring Pilkington and produced by Gervais and Merchant.He has also starred in the Hollywood films Ghost Town, and Muppets Most Wanted, and wrote, directed and starred in The Invention of Lying and the Netflix released Special Correspondents. He hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016, and appears on the game show Child Support. Gervais has won seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and the 2006 Rose d'Or, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, he was named the third most influential person in British culture. In 2007, he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010, he was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. more…

All Ricky Gervais scripts | Ricky Gervais Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Special Correspondents" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/special_correspondents_18630>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    What is the purpose of a "tagline"?
    A A character’s catchphrase
    B A catchy phrase used for marketing
    C The opening line of a screenplay
    D The final line of dialogue