Reagan Page #3

Don gives him the ‘yeah-yeah’ hand. Returns to his call.

DON:

Then write it down for him. Write

everything down. Even his name!

Frank plods out of the office. Not exactly a dream job.

EXT. CORDEN RESIDENCE - DECEMBER 24, 1984 - NIGHT

A nice house in Bethesda, MD. American flag hanging off the

porch, the railing of which is wrapped in Christmas lights.

HENRY (O.S.)

So we’re on set, right?

INT. CORDEN RESIDENCE - LIVING ROOM

GLADYS (60s, excited for herself and others) and MARCY (30,

composed even with spit-up on her sweatshirt) make goo-goo

sounds at the latter’s new BABY.

HENRY (O.S.)

And our lead actor’s a talented

guy. Super-talent. Cast him myself.

Rotating through the rest of the room, we see BRANDON (4,

Marcy’s eldest) fighting invisible ninjas in the hallway.

HENRY (O.S.) (CONT’D)

But he will not hit his mark.

HENRY (30, a relentless success) sits in matching armchairs

next to his father, JACK (60s, same haircut since The Corps).

Jack is loving this story. On a nearby couch, Frank loves it

far less, opting to focus on televised basketball.

JACK:

His ‘mark’?

HENRY:

The place where the actor’s supposed

to stand. Piece of tape on the

ground; acting’s not rocket science.

(MORE)

8.

HENRY (CONT'D)

And we lose takes for all sorts of

reasons; plane noise, boom, waste of

a day. I’m trying to be nice, but

this guy’s not letting me. Goes all

movie star and forgets who the

director is. So I tell him, ‘Time is

money and you’re costing us both. Hit

your mark or you’re f***ing fired.’

GLADYS:

Henry! Language!

HENRY:

It’s integral to the story, Ma.

Long and short, we get the shot and

everyone’s makin’ money!

FRANK:

So this is like a ‘Where’s The

Beef’ kinda thing?

HENRY:

No, Frank. That was Wendy’s. This

is the answer to Where’s The Beef.

(waving pretentiously)

‘There’s The Beef.’

FRANK:

Wow. You’re really pushing the

artistic threshold.

HENRY:

Hey, it paid for the shore house.

Dad, you should come down to the

set. I’ll get you a pass.

JACK:

A movie-set? No kidding!

Jack notices he’s leaving out his youngest.

JACK (CONT’D)

So, Frank. What’s new with you?

FRANK:

I’m working for the Secretary of

the Treasury. Tough job. A lot of

administrative stuff. I can get you

a tour of the office if you want.

JACK:

The Treasury. Down on Pennsylvania?

By that grill...what’s it called?

9.

FRANK:

(deflating)

Old Ebbit.

JACK:

Sure. They do a good crab cake.

A long pause as both Jack and Frank wish the news was more

exciting. Jack turns to Marcy.

JACK (CONT’D)

Kids are big, Marcy!

MARCY:

Right? You see the four year old

and know that’s where the baby’s

gonna be in like no time.

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