The Insider Page #27

LOWELL:

Yeah. Catch you later.

INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY

And we see a Policeman sitting at the counter having a cup of

coffee...

SANDRA SUTHERLAND

Officer Murabchick?

He turns as Sandra Sutherland sits at the counter to the left

of him.

SANDRA SUTHERLAND (cont'd)

Officer Muravchick. How are you? I'm

Sandra Sutherland.

POLICEMAN:

How do you do?

SANDRA SUTHERLAND

Fine, thank you. I'm doing a background

check. Mind if I sit down?

INT. COURTROOM, LOUISVILLE - LATE AFTERNOON

An older Man is on the bench. He's just recessed his court.

As everybody streams out, going against the tide is Jack

Palladino. He approaches the judge, crossing to a side

door...

PALLADINO:

Your honor, could I have a word with you?

You presided in a dispute over support

payments...

INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY

POLICEMAN:

Jeffrey Wigand? Yeah, I cited him.

INT. EDITING ROOM, CBS - DAY

DAN RATHER:

(on monitor)

CBS is under criticism, because the CBS

News program "60 Minutes" will not be

presenting an interview...

Lowell's destroying his own work product, taking apart his

creation that we saw earlier to be so impactful. Tony gets a

call as Hewitt enters.

DON HEWITT:

What the hell are you doing?

LOWELL:

What does it look like I'm doing? I'm

editing.

DON HEWITT:

No, not that. I'm talking about the

Associated Press. They got this story

that we pulled this interview and they

talked to Mike and I. Did you tell them

that we were lying?

LOWELL:

No. I should have. I told them I

disagreed with you, Mike and Kluster that

this segment is as good as the original.

I'm not lying for you. I'm not gonna

shut up for you. Not on any of it.

DON HEWITT:

Hey! I'm not going to fire you, okay?

Take a vacation. Now!

INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE - EVENING

A suitcase is on the floor. Lowell, finishing packing up his

things from his office.

MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)

Lowell. I decided to preface Sunday's

show. I did three minutes on the

"Evening News." You'll want to see it.

(beat)

Where you going?

And he sees Wallace has stopped at his door...

LOWELL:

I've been banished. In lieu of being

fired.

MIKE WALLACE:

(disinterested)

I took off on Tisch. I took off on

corporate. They'll know they're not

going to see everything on Sunday

night...

LOWELL:

I don't know. How does that get Wigand

on the air?

MIKE WALLACE:

(goes up)

Do me a favor, will you? Spare me, for

God's sake. Get in the real world. What

do you think? I'm going to resign in

protest? To force it on the air? The

answer is "no." I don't plan to spend

the end of my days wandering in the

wilderness of National Public Radio.

(beat)

That decision I've already made.

VOICE:

(from corridor; to Mike)

It just started, Mike...

Wallace waves Lowell's remark aside and exits. We dwell on

Lowell until he exits...

INT. CBS CORRIDOR - EVENING

...into the hall. Dan Rather introduced Mike. As Lowell

exits, we SEE Hewitt, Kluster and Caperelli outside of

Hewitt's office watching... Lowell, disgusted, takes a

cursory look and moves towards the elevator. But he hears...

MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)

Where's the rest? Where the hell's the

rest?!!

Lowell turns to see Wallace shouting up at the monitors in

disbelief...

MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)

You cut it! You cut the guts out of what

I said...!

Wallace moves in on Kluster...

ERIC KLUSTER:

It was a time consideration, Mike...

MIKE WALLACE:

Time? Bullshit! You corporate lackey!

Who told you your incompetent little

fingers had the requisite skills to edit

me! I'm trying to Band-Aid a situation,

here, and you're too dim to...

HELEN CAPERELLI:

(interrupts, familiar)

Mike... Mike... Mike...

MIKE WALLACE:

"Mike?"

It was a big mistake. Now, he turns on her. Zeroing in,

getting closer...

MIKE WALLACE (CONT'D)

"Mike?" Try "Mr. Wallace." We work in

the same corporation doesn't mean we work

in the same profession. What are you

gonna do now? You gonna finesse me?

Lawyer me some more? I've been in this

profession fifty f***ing years. You and

the people you work for are destroying

the most-respected, the highest-rated,

the most-profitable show on this network!

EXT. THE EAST RIVER - NIGHT

A Range Rover pulls up. Charlie Phillips gets out. He

crosses to Lowell who's been waiting by his own taxi.

LOWELL:

Here.

He hands Charlie a folder with the brown notebook inside that

is the partially complete Palladino/Sutherland/Lowell work

product.

LOWELL (CONT'D)

These are their leads, their sources. I

want you to have your reporters...

CHARLIE PHILLIPS

Suein Hwang and Milo Geyelin.

LOWELL:

Have them make their own calls. They'll

find that these sources have a different

story than the one that's in the

dossier...

(demands)

Push the deadline, Charlie...

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