Hail, Caesar! Page #3

EXT. CAPITOL BACKLOT - DAY

Eddie Mannix strides across the great studio backlot where

technicians mill and actors dressed in the wardrobe of

different ages and genres lounge. His secretary Natalie

follows at his elbow, struggling to keep up as she consults a

notepad:

NATALIE:

——and Gloria DeLamour has been

checked into Our Lady of Perpetual

Rest to dry out. You have a 10:00

A.M. with Monsignor O’Reilly at the

Wallace Beery Conference Room. He’s

bringing Lester Silkwood from the

Legion of Catholic Decency and

we’ve also invited Patriarch

Vlassos for the Eastern view.

8.

EDDIE:

They’ve read the script?

NATALIE:

Roger.

EDDIE:

Let’s also invite a rabbi, and a

Protestant padre of some sort so we

can get everybody’s two cents.

NATALIE:

Check.

EDDIE:

How’s production on “Tucumcari!”?

NATALIE:

Principal is on schedule but second

unit has been idle in Gallup, New

Mexico for four days. Heavy rain.

EDDIE:

Forecast?

NATALIE:

Not good.

EDDIE:

Hnn. Send an insert truck and have

‘em shoot driving plates for “Came

the Rain.”

NATALIE:

Check.

EDDIE:

“Jonah's Daughter” still behind?

NATALIE:

Yes, director says the problem is

DeeAnna and she’s getting worse.

EDDIE:

I know what it is, I’ll drop in on

her after my ten o’clock.

(pulls back his sleeve to

look at his watch)

All right, let’s call New York.

INT. EDDIE’S OFFICE - DAY

Eddie is on the phone.

9.

VOICE:

Nick Schenk’s office.

EDDIE:

Hi, Dorothy, Eddie Mannix. The old

man in?

VOICE:

Hi, Mr. Mannix, I’ll check.

Eddie raises his voice:

EDDIE:

Natalie, I want the box office on

“The Debonaires” and on “Blessed

Event.” Can you also——

Hastily into the phone:

EDDIE (CONT’D)

——Yes, good morning Mr. Schenk...

Very well, thank you. Proceeding...

Proceeding... “Merrily We Dance”

starts shooting today. Beardley

Auberon gave us a draft that’s

extremely classy. Joan Van Vechten

is playing Dierdre, but we need a

male lead and we need him now...

No, Jack Hogarth is drying out at

Cedars... Metro won’t lend us Gable

unless we give them the Comiskey

Twins... Of course not, I agree...

Swell idea but he’s waiting out a

divorce in Reno... Whuh——Hobie

Doyle?! Do you really think so?

After all he’s——he’s a dust actor!

The man barely knows how to...

talk!... Yes, of course, Mr.

Schenk, I agree, but I don’t know

if Hobie Doyle, if he has the uh

the uh the uh poise in a dinner

jacket... Yes, we do need someone

pronto... No I don’t. That’s very

true. Let me talk to Laurence

Laurentz, the director. It could

work. Hobie is a very promising

idea.

EXT. WESTERN LANDSCAPE

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