Leaving Las Vegas

TITLE ON BLACK; �10 P.M. - LOS ANGELES�

DISSOLVE TO:

1 INT. SMART BAR IN BEVERLY HILLS - NIGHT

It is the kind of bar where the well-to-do folks of LA go

to pick up - or be picked up. Lesser-known actors, agents

and executives of all ages.

Into this bar comes Ben.

Ben is in his thirties. He is wearing an Armani suit

that could use a visit to the dry-cleaner�s. He hasn�t

shaved in the last twenty-four hours (but neither has

any of the actors in the bar). He is a good-looking man

but is clearly in trouble of some kind. Although still

in control of his faculties, it becomes clear in the

following scene that he is much the worse for wear with

drink. He looks around the room until he sees someone he

recognizes and then walks over to a table where two couples

are seated. The men are young execs, the girls, both blonde

and busty, have very white teeth and smile all of the time.

The camera follows Ben over to the table. One of the execs

looks up as Ben gets close. He recognizes him but delays

his recognition until the last moment in the hope that Ben

is not looking at him.

BEN:

Peter

PETER:

Ben... how are you, man?

They shake hands. Ben is not invited to take a seat and

Peter waits for a while before being forced to introduce him

to the table.

Ben Sanderson, Marc Nussbaum, Sheila, Debbie.

MARC:

Nice to meet you. I think I

spoke to you on the phone a

couple of years ago. Weren�t

you both at MGM with Laddie?

BEN:

That�s right. Are you still

at ICM?

MARC:

No, I�m at Tri-Star now.

BEN:

That�s great. Say hello to

Mike for me. That�s a

beautiful dress, Debbie, and

those are fabulous earrings,

Sheila.

There is an awkward silence. Ben does not make a move and

is not invited to join them. The girls smile.

MARC:

I gotta tell you, I�m a big

fan of your writing. I loved

Bay of Pigs.

BEN:

Thanks a lot. I didn�t

actually write it, I just got

the credit. I was fired.

(to Peter)

Can I talk to you for a

moment?

Peter gets up and he and Ben walk to the door together.

Peter speaks very quietly.

PETER:

Listen, Ben, I can�t help you

any more. Do you understand?

BEN:

This is the last time.

Promise. I just need some

cash tonight. I lost my

credit cards. The money�ll be

on your desk first thing

tomorrow morning, Scout�s

honor. How�s the new one

coming along? I here you got

Richard Gere.

The two men look at each other for a while. Peter�s

friends are looking at them, as are other people in

the room. Peter takes out his wallet and extracts some

notes.

PETER:

This is all I have in cash.

Please don�t drink it here.

BEN:

Yes, that�s fine. I�ll

messenger it over to you

tomorrow.

PETER:

I don�t want it. Ben... I

think it would be best if you

didn�t contact me again.

And he turns and walks away, back to his table.

CUT TO BLACK:

TITLE ON BLACK; �LAS VEGAS - 1.20 A.M.�

FADE UP ON:

2 EXT. HELICOPTER SHOT - DAY

Las Vegas. A blaze of color in the middle of a desert.

Credit sequence begins.

CUT TO:

3 INT. LOBBY OF EXPENSIVE HOTEL - NIGHT

A mixture of businessmen and gamblers creates a sense

of activity and superficial excitement. Music wafts

across the soundtrack, almost drowned by the dense

texture of thousands of slot machines, creating an

insane New Age symphony.

Credit sequence ends.

Into the lobby from the street comes Sera.

It�s hard to tell how old Sera is - somewhere between

twenty-five and thirty-five. She is a beautiful American

girl. Her face has the freshness of a model in a Sears

catalogue. She is dressed simply in a short black skirt

and matching jacket. High heels complete the picture.

Heads turn as she passes a group of businessmen and it�s

clear they find her very sexy. She acknowledges their

glance with a half-smile and steps into the elevator.

She could be a secretary, or a PA to one of the many

execs here in Las Vegas at a convention. The body language

is a bit different, though.

4 INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE OF HOTEL - NIGHT

A view of night-time Las Vegas through a window. Traffic up

and down The Strip; bright, gaudy neon flashing and winking.

We hear the sound of men laughing and the camera pulls

focus and we see reflected in the glass...

... a group of people.

On the table are bowls of potato chips and dip and

sandwiches. The TV is on at a sports channel and two

boxers pound the sh*t out of each other.

CUT TO:

5 INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT

Sera looks at herself in the gold-tinted mirror in

the elevator. She takes out a lipstick and freshens

her lips. Some people get out and the elevator climbs

higher. We see from the indicator that she has punched

the Penthouse button. Camera moves in tighter and we

see that she is nervous but concealing it well. The

elevator stops, the doors open and she steps right

into the Penthouse.

6 INT. PENTHOUSE - NIGHT

A bottle of Scotch is almost empty. The man talking is Yuri.

He is Russian, in his early forties, a little overweight,

a big man wearing a blue silk suit. His thick black hair

is greased and combed back. He wears a lot of jewelry,

all gold. Rings, a bracelet and a Rolex. Two men in

business suits and a weird stoned woman in her late

thirties listen to him.

YURI:

...but please, my friends,

call me Yuri. It is my

American name... I picked it

myself.

The three people laugh. There is a hint of contempt in

the way that they speak to Yuri.

FIRST BUSINESSMAN

Where are you from, Yuri? I

mean, you sure don�t talk

like you�re from this neck of

the woods.

Yuri smiles at them.

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