影视剧本：13 DAYS-21
|
EXT. SOUTH LAWN - DAY Kenny, Bobby and the President make their way across the lawn, out of earshot of the building. BOBBY What happened to speak when spoken to? KENNY Give it a rest. You were thinking the same thing, just didn't have the guts to take the heat. Bobby likes getting under Kenny's skin. Bobby aims a punch at his head which Kenny knocks away. The President changes gear, serious. THE PRESIDENT We can horsetrade with Khruschev on ships. But it doesn't get us any closer to removing those missiles. KENNY Have to hope it's a signal that he'll back down on the real issue too. BOBBY We're going to have to stop a ship eventually, show the quarantine's got teeth, or we'll prove McCone right. THE PRESIDENT McNamara's on his way back here now. We need to pick the right ship. No subs. No armed boarding parties either. We need a little more time to figure this one out. KENNY Then let's move the quarantine line. It's a simple suggestion. The President considers him a beat, and then McNamara emerges from the White House, heads for them. The three friends assume their more reserved, political faces as he comes up. MCNAMARA Mr. President. Bobby. Kenny. The Essex battle group has the Gagarin, Kimovsk and the sub escort under their thumb. We've got a few hours now before we need to worry about any more flashpoints on the line. (beat) We could use a few more hours. I think we should consider moving the quarantine line back to 500 miles. Bobby and the President look at Kenny like he's some kind of Svengali. Kenny just stands there, poker faced. INT. WEST WING - DAY Kenny and McNamara enter the White House from the South Lawn. They stride down the hall, side by side. KENNY Moving the line. Stroke of genius. MCNAMARA (snappish) Of course it is. But the President needs to realize we're going to have to stop a ship eventually. They turn a corner, silence for a beat. KENNY The Chiefs are looking for a provocation out there. The President's going to come under enormous pressure. You have to keep 'em on a short leash, Bob. McNamara spares Kenny a short, nasty look. MCNAMARA You must think I'm blind and stupid. I've already gotten the birds and bees from Bobby. The President doesn't have to double-barrel me. KENNY Listen to me, goddamn it. We're talking about a possible nuclear war. You dropped the ball on Bay of Pigs -- MCNAMARA -- you sonofabitch, goddamn it, I didn't drop -- KENNY You were in the room. It was your purview. It was your job to make sure Bissel wasn't fucking us over and you didn't do it. You've got the most important job in the world right now. You're the smartest guy the President has. (beat) Besides me. That gets an amused snort from McNamara, breaking the tension. MCNAMARA Anybody ever tell you you're an egomaniac and a prick, O'Donnell? Kenny stares him in the eye, serious, hushed. A friend. KENNY You need to be the best you've ever been. McNamara enters the elevator. He turns, stands there facing Kenny for a dramatic beat. Then the doors close. INT. KENNY'S OFFICE - DAY WALTER CRONKITE, on the B&W T.V. screen, sits in front of a map showing Cuba and the blockade line. WALTER CRONKITE (V.O.) -- well, it appears the world has just received a reprieve. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has announced that the quarantine zone has been moved from 800 to 500 miles. PULL BACK, REVEALING: Kenny watching the T.V., is yelling at the phone. KENNY Find out how close our exercises are coming to their cruise missiles. I'm calling you back in five, and you will have an answer for me or I will come down there and beat the shit out of you. (beat) Then you can press charges, and I'll get a Presidential pardon. He hangs up, hears SHOUTING from the Oval Office. He goes to the door, enters -- INT. OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS -- and sees the President leaning over his desk, jabbing his finger at General Taylor. THE PRESIDENT -- how the goddamn hell did this happen? I'm going to have Power's head on a platter next to LeMay's! (noticing Kenny) Hey, Kenny, did you hear me give the order to go to DEFCON 2? I remember giving the order to go to DEFCON 3, but I must be suffering from amnesia because I've just been informed our nuclear forces are DEFCON 2! Kenny realizes he's not joking as he spots Bobby sitting on the couch behind Taylor, pale as a ghost. Taylor, embattled, wants to die, but stands there like a man. SMASH CUT TO: INT. MISSILE SILO - DAY CLOSE ON The nose cone of a TITAN MISSILE, its 20 megaton nuclear warhead wrapped in the steel re-entry shell. Cold, silent, fearsome. GENERAL TAYLOR (V.O.) Mr. President, the orders were limited to our strategic forces in the continental U.S. INT. OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Taylor continues on. GENERAL TAYLOR Technically, General LeMay is correct that SAC has the statutory authority -- The President punches his desk. THE PRESIDENT -- I have the authority. I am the commander-in-chief of the United States, and I say when we go to war! GENERAL TAYLOR We are not at war, sir, not until we're at DEFCON 1. THE PRESIDENT General, the Joint Chiefs have just signalled our intent to escalate to the Soviets. You have signalled an escalation which I had no wish to signal, and which I did not approve. But Taylor knows this very well. And the way he's suffering, it's clear he's taking the heat for his underlings. From over on the couch Bobby chimes in: BOBBY LeMay... he's history. The President glances at Kenny who stands there, speechless. THE PRESIDENT Get out of here, Max. The General leaves. Kenny closes the door, wanders deeper into the office. He looks from the President to Bobby. There's a long, long beat of shocked silence. KENNY Jesus... BOBBY Rescind the order. Can all the Chiefs. Put Nitze, Gilpatric and the Undersecretaries in charge. KENNY We can't do that, Bobby. THE PRESIDENT He's right, we can't rescind DEFCON 2. The Soviets will think we've gotten sweet on them. KENNY And we can't purge the Chiefs. Our invasion talk will look like a bluff. Or even that there's been an attempted coup. Bobby is disgusted, but knows they're right. BOBBY McNamara won't be able to handle them. It's too much for one man... (knowing look to Kenny) ...with all due respect to our heroic fifth column. The President collapses in his rocking chair. Kenny leans over the back of the sofa next to Bobby. KENNY We've got Khruschev's attention with the blockade. If we want a political solution. I think it's time to turn up the diplomatic heat. Cause if we let this go on too long, we're going to find ourselves in a war. Bobby looks at the President, meaningful. The President turns to Kenny. THE PRESIDENT I've been considering a variation on one of Stevenson's ideas. We're going to send up a trial balloon through Lippman. The Jupiter missiles. |
