Groundhog Day Page #2

-4-

HAWLEY:

It's a cute story. He comes out,

he looks around, he wrinkles up

his little nose, he sniffs around

a little, he sees his shadow, he

d oesn't see his shadow-- it's

nice. People like it.

PHIL:

Many people are morons.

HAWLEY:

Just do it.

PHIL:

What'11 you give me?

Hawley looks across the studio and sees RITA HANSON enter, a

very attractive segment producer in her late twenties.

HAWLEY:

(to Phil)

I'll give you Rita.

(calls her over)

Rita, could you come here for a

second? I got a little job for

you.

Rita is relatively new to the station, but very competent,

personable, humorous, self-assured and very pretty-- in short,

a genuine princess, though Phil is too self-absorbed at this

point to realize it.

PHIL:

(TEASING)

You can't send Rita out on a

story like this. She's just a

cub, a pup, still wet behind the

ears. Look at her. Her ears are

sopping wet. This needs a

Woodward or a Bernstein. It's a

big story. People need to know.

RITA:

(INTRIGUED)

What's the story?

HAWLEY:

The Punxsutawney Groundhog

Festival.

RITA:

Gil, if it's all right with you

I ' d rather follow-up on the

nurses' strike.

-5-

HAWLEY:

You can do the nurses when you

get back. Just take the squeaky

wheel here up to Punxsutawney and

get him back in one piece. Okay?

RITA:

Yeah, okay.

Hawley exits leaving Phil and Rita alone in the studio. She

knows Phil mainly by his reputation and it isn't good. Still,

she finds him appealing in an odd way.

PHIL:

(PLEASANTLY)

You know, this could be extremely

interesting.

RITA:

I've never done a weather story

before. What's Punxsutawney

like?

PHIL:

Oh, it's an enchanted place. A

magical world. It's the

Constantinople of the whole

Western Appalachian-Susquehanna

Drainage system.

RITA:

Do you always joke?

PHIL:

About 70 to 80% of the time.

Inside I'm actually a very shy

and sensitive person.

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