House of Cards Page #2

Synopsis: Majority House Whip Francis Underwood takes you on a long journey as he exacts his vengeance on those he feels wronged him - that is, his own cabinet members including the President of the United States himself. Dashing, cunning, methodical and vicious, Frank Underwood along with his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife, Claire take Washington by storm through climbing the hierarchical ladder to power in this Americanized recreation of the BBC series of the same name.
Genre: Drama
  Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 27 wins & 198 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.9
TV-MA
Year:
2013
51 min
12,624 Views


FRANCIS:

As for me - I’m the House Majority

Whip. In other words - I get things

done. When it comes to legislation

I make the magic happen. I

transform the impossible into the

probable.

We ZOOM IN SLOWLY on Francis.

5.

FRANCIS (CONT’D)

But it’s time to move up a rung.

I’ve paid my dues. I’ve backed the

right man. And now that he’s won

I’ll get my just reward. Give and

take, give and take, and so the

world spins.

TIGHT on Francis’ face, filling the frame.

FRANCIS (CONT’D)

Welcome to Washington.

TITLE AND CREDITS

Iconic shots of D.C. - the Capitol, the Washington Monument,

Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, etc. But we see them from

odd angles, cast in dark shadows or beneath moody skies. The

feeling should be ominous.

We shift to interiors - dark hallways and restaurant booths

where slow-motion, silhouetted figures conspire with one

another.

Interlaced with all of this are recurring shots of dextrous

hands expertly shuffling a deck of cards and dealing them

out. The FINAL IMAGE should be of the dealer unveiling his

hand to the camera: not four, but FIVE one-eyed jacks.

INT. FRANCIS’S CAR - NIGHT

Francis and Claire ride in the back the SUV. Steve drives.

CLAIRE:

(she runs her hand through

his hair)

You should get a hair cut.

FRANCIS:

You think?

CLAIRE:

Just a little trim maybe. What

suit are you going to wear?

FRANCIS:

For the meeting, or for the

CLAIRE:

For the announcement.

6.

FRANCIS:

My navy blue one, with the pin

stripes.

CLAIRE:

Good. You look handsome in that

suit.

She leans into him, slips her hand between his thighs. She

starts to kiss his neck.

FRANCIS:

(in a whisper)

We’re only five minutes from the

house.

CLARIE:

You’re going to make me wait?

FRANCIS:

(with a sly smile)

Patience is a virtue.

CLAIRE:

I’m not feeling very virtuous

tonight.

He smiles, leans in and kisses her.

INT. WASHINGTON HERALD - NEWSROOM - MORNING

A bustling bull-pen of writers, editors and assistants.

Mounted TVs blare with 24 hour news channels. The steady

clacking of keyboards wafts from a sea of cubicles.

ZOE BARNES (mid 20s) - a strong and hungry young reporter -

weaves through the cubicles toward a corner office.

Inside LUCAS GOODWIN (mid to late 30s) - the Deputy Editor -

is talking to BOB HAMMERSCHMIDT (early 50s) - the paper’s

grizzled Editor-in-Chief.

Zoe waits by the open door and listens in.

HAMMERSCHMIDT:

...Only a nine vote majority in the

House. Every bill that hits the

floor will be a cock-fight.

LUCAS:

Yeah it’ll be ugly.

7.

HAMMERSCHMIDT:

Any guess what’s on the legislative

agenda?

LUCAS:

No idea. All my regular sources

won’t say a word.

Rate this script:4.3 / 8 votes

Beau Willimon

Pack Beauregard "Beau" Willimon (born October 26, 1977) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the creator of the Netflix original series House of Cards and served as showrunner for the first four seasons. more…

All Beau Willimon scripts | Beau Willimon Scripts

2 fans

Submitted by acronimous on March 20, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "House of Cards" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/house_of_cards_53>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    House of Cards

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.