The Butler Page #6

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LOUIS:

Thanks mom.

CHARLIE:

That hat looks stupid.

LOUIS:

Your face looks stupid.

CHARLIE:

Shut up.

Charlie walks upstairs to his bedroom, leaving Cecil and

Louis alone downstairs.

CECIL:

I’m proud of you too.

LOUIS:

Dad, did you see one white kid in

my school?

Cecil stares at him, confused at why Louis is asking this. A

disappointed Louis just walks up the stairs.

INT. WHITE HOUSE - ENTRANCE HALL

Cecil serves cookies to school children. He looks a touch

melancholy thinking about his son.

CECIL V.O.

Why couldn’t Louis see that the

President made things better for

us?

EXT. BUS STATION - NIGHT - 1958

The family rushes through a bus depot toward a Greyhound bus.

They are sending Louis off to college.

GLORIA:

I told you don’t be late! You can’t

miss this bus!

CECIL:

Wait wait wait! We gotta say

goodbye. This can wait!

Everyone stops running for a moment. Cecil turns to Louis, he

looks really worried.

32.

CECIL (CONT’D)

Tennessee is a long ways away Pops.

LOUIS:

Fisk is a really good school, dad.

CECIL:

You can change your mind and go to

Howard.

GLORIA:

I cannot believe you are still

talking about Howard University.

He’s going to Fisk.

Cecil smiles through the pain of losing his son.

CECIL:

I know. I know, it’s just so far

away. That’s all.

Louis looks at his dad.

LOUIS:

That’s the point.

CECIL:

What’s the point?

Louis walks away over to his mom. Cecil is taken aback,

confused. Gloria is in tears, hugging her arms, she waits

with Charlie by the bus.

GLORIA:

Gimme a cigarette. And don’t tell

me you don’t smoke.

LOUIS:

I don’t have one.

Charlie tries not to cry. Louis bends down to him.

LOUIS (CONT’D)

(in his ear)

Come here. You know you wanna cry

punk.

CHARLIE:

F*** you.

LOUIS:

Look under your mattress. I left

something.

33.

Back to Cecil and Gloria, he’s very worried.

CECIL:

I can’t protect him in the south.

GLORIA:

The south has changed Cecil. The

south ain’t what it was when you

was there.

CHARLIE:

(through tears)

I’m too young for Playboys.

(to Gloria)

Mom, Louis is leaving me his filthy

magazines.

Gloria smacks Charlie upside the head.

GLORIA:

Stop lying on your brother.

She hugs Louis.

LOUIS:

I love you momma.

GLORIA:

I love you, son. I love you Louis.

I made you a ham sandwich.

LOUIS:

Come on, dad.

Louis and Cecil walk over to the bus, they stare at each

other. It’s awkward between them, neither knows what to say.

CECIL:

You’re the first.

LOUIS:

I know.

CECIL:

I’m really proud of you.

LOUIS:

I gotta go dad. I gotta go.

Cecil can’t bring himself to hug him, so he finally puts out

his hand. They shake and Louis enters the bus.

CECIL:

If you need anything, you call me.

34.

LOUIS:

Alright.

CECIL:

Alright?

LOUIS:

Bye mamma.

GLORIA:

Bye Louis.

The white BUS DRIVER nods to him to go to the back of the

bus. Louis nods back-- no problem.

Louis waves to his family from the back of the bus. Crying,

Gloria waves back. Cecil smiles stoically. Charlie stares at

the nearby fire hydrant, refusing to look up.

As the bus pulls away, we see Louis staring at his family, he

knows this may be the last time he ever sees them.

INT. WHITE HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY - 1960

Cecil, Holloway and Carter are in aprons making pastries.

CARTER:

Remind me again why we’re doing

this please... somebody? Tell me?

That look like a mugging to me,

this that what that look like.

HOLLOWAY:

This is the art of french baking.

CARTER:

Nigga please. French baking.

(Messes with the dough)

You want me to play with it? I’ll

play with it. Play with it like

this. It’d be good if it had a

little... little nipple on it.

Everyone laughs. Then Vice-President RICHARD NIXON, 47, walks

in. Nixon laughs along with the guys even though he has no

idea what the joke was. Nixon feels like the kid in school

that desperately wanted to be liked.

CARTER (CONT’D)

Good evening, Mr. Vice President.

NIXON:

That looks like a tasty treat.

35.

CARTER:

Yes, sir.

NIXON:

I brought you all something.

Nixon reaches into his pocket and pulls out three campaign

buttons. ‘NIXON FOR PRESIDENT. 1960’. The butlers put on

their best Uncle Ben smiles while putting on the buttons.

NIXON (CONT’D)

Now I don’t want to say anything

negative about that Kennedy boy.

I’m sure he’s a fine fellow, but do

you really want that spoiled rich

son of a b*tch f*** to be your next

president!? Think about it.

CECIL:

We’re cheering for you, Mr. Vice-

President.

NIXON:

Thank you, Cecil.

Carter nods and Holloway smiles a little too wide. Nixon dabs

a handkerchief on his sweating forehead.

NIXON (CONT’D)

Let me ask you something, in all

candor, as members of the Negro

community, what are your biggest

concerns?

Carter goes back to massaging the dough. Cecil begins

sweeping the floor. Holloway looks at Nixon dumbfounded.

NIXON (CONT’D)

Now come on now boys. Don’t be shy.

Holloway, come on.

HOLLOWAY:

Well, since you asked sir...

NIXON:

I did.

Cecil and Carter cringe.

HOLLOWAY:

...the colored help gets paid

almost 40% less than the white

help.

36.

NIXON:

Is that right?

HOLLOWAY:

Yes, sir, and it’s very difficult

for the colored staff to be

promoted.

NIXON:

I’ll tell ya what, when I’m

President I’m gonna look into

getting you boys the raises and

promotions you deserve.

Holloway smiles his biggest smile.

HOLLOWAY:

That would be swell, sir.

NIXON:

You got my word on that.

HOLLOWAY:

Thank you, sir.

NIXON:

You tell your people to vote for me

and that’s exactly what’s gonna

happen.

Nixon takes a cherry tart and leaves. All the smiles fade on

the Butlers.

EXT. FISK UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - DAY - 1960

Carrying his textbooks, Louis strolls through campus. He

holds a flyer up, searching for the right address. Lost. He

spots an attractive girl staring at him.

CAROL:

You lookin’ for love boy?

CAROL HAMMIE, 19, black, wears a school girl’s skirt. Her

hair in a pony-tail, Carol is sexy yet tough. She looks at

his flyer.

CAROL (CONT’D)

That’s what we call the Lawson

workshop, the love school. Is that

what you’re lookin’ for?

37.

LOUIS:

(bashfully)

That’s why I came to Fisk.

CAROL:

Me too!

(Holds out her hand)

I’m Carol Hammie.

LOUIS:

Louis Gaines.

They shake hands, but she doesn’t let go.

CAROL:

Come on. Follow me.

She drags him toward a small red brick chapel on the corner.

CAROL (CONT’D)

You a country boy ain’t you?

INT. FISK UNIVERSITY MEETING ROOM - DAY - 1960

Carol and Louis walk into the room. The room is full of

COLLEGE STUDENTS, black and white, getting ready to listen to

JAMES LAWSON, 29, a very Zen black priest with glasses.

Lawson begins to speak to the group.

JAMES LAWSON:

...You can’t sustain a movement

like this in one week. Nor could

you sustain it in over a month.

This requires time, commitment,

dedication, and discipline and

focus. And we are measuring our

accomplishments in waves. Right?

This is not a fly-by-night affair,

this doesn’t happen over a week,

this requires a fierce discipline,

which is what we’ve been

discussing. How do we measure these

things? We go back and look at

someone like Ghandi.

He points to a picture on the wall of MAHATMA GHANDI.

JAMES LAWSON (CONT’D)

Together we are going to study and

examine Ghandi’s techniques.

38.

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