EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY
A picturesque suburbs, cookie-cutter, dull. Sharply
manicured lawns, all glowing green.
PEYTON: (V.O.)
A kid falls into a hole in the
suburbs. He calls up to a lawyer
passing by and asks for help. The
lawyer throws down his card and
says he'll file a lawsuit. He
calls up to a priest walking by and
the priest promises to pray for
him. Then he sees a friend walking
by. He asks for help and his
friend jumps into the hole with
him. "What are you doing?" the
kids asks. "Now both of us are
stuck down here." "I know," his
friend replies. "But if you're
stuck in a hole, at least you don't
have to be alone."
(beat)
My name is Peyton Schwartz and I
engineered the biggest drug trade
in the world. $640 million dollars
of cocaine, on a boat from
Colombia. Just me and my friends.
If you grew up in a neighborhood
like this, you probably already
know what happened. But if you
didn't....
INT. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE - DAY
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
Peyton. You've applied to Harvard,
Yale, Princeton, MIT... What did
you get on your SATs?
PEYTON:
1020, combined.
The GUIDANCE COUNSELOR looks over his file.
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
You have a 2.6 GPA. And your only
extracurricular-
CUT TO:
INT. CHOIR ROOM - DAY
PEYTON is singing "Close to You" by the Carpenters joyously
with the school choir. JULIE returns his glances.
BACK TO:
INT. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE - DAY
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
Peyton, what do you want to do with
your life?
PEYTON:
I want to make as much money as I
can, as fast as I can.
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
Okay... Have you picked a safety
school?
PEYTON:
Three of them. Brown, Columbia,
and Georgetown.
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
Peyton. I have to tell you, I
don't think you are going to get
into any of these schools.
PEYTON:
Well, you know, if you shoot for
the stars and hit the roof...
It sits between them.
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
There's someone I think you should
meet. He was in my class.
CUT TO:
INT. PEYTON'S HOME - NIGHT
PEYTON'S parents, VICTORIA and ARNOLD, are disapproving.
ARNOLD:
I told you I'd pay for a tutor.
These grades are shit, Peyton.
VICTORIA:
Language.
ARNOLD:
And if I have to get a letter of
recommendation from Dwayne Jenkins,
there will be hell to pay.
VICTORIA:
Why don't you ask your brother?
ARNOLD:
(turning on her)
Because my family doesn't ask for
hand outs. Because we have pride
in the Schwartz family!
VICTORIA:
Families help each other, Arnold.
ARNOLD:
My family shouldn't need any god
damn help!
(back to PEYTON)
Is this how I raised you? To
goldbrick and look for hand outs?
PEYTON:
I'm graduating, aren't I?
ARNOLD:
By the skin of your teeth! Do you
know how many bake sales your mom
organized? And for what? For you
to throw your life away?
VICTORIA:
I think we should be supportive.
ARNOLD:
I'm not supporting him?! Eighteen
years of food, shelter, clothing-
I don't even know how many miles
he's driven in that car! And then
to come home with these grades!
PEYTON: (V.O.)
I had no excuses. I wasn't the
smartest kid in the world and I
wasn't getting any smarter.
CUT TO:
INT. GYMNASIUM - DAY
A crowd of students CHEERS as another student stands on stage
singing (quite poorly) The Wind Beneath My Wings.
PEYTON:
(v.o.)
I graduated 121st out of 208
students.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS - AFTERNOON
PEYTON and JULIE pose for pictures together.
JULIE:
Have you seen David?
PEYTON: (V.O.)
Julie was light and beauty and
butterflies in the stomach. She
was my center when I spun out. She
also slept with every guy except
me. And my best friend David. I
made her promise to never sleep
with David.
PEYTON:
Are you sure he even came?
JULIE:
I don't know.
PEYTON:
He did graduate, didn't he?
A passing YOUNG MAN forms a V with his fingers and sticks his
tongue in and out at JULIE.
PEYTON:
Who's that?
JULIE:
What are your plans?
PEYTON:
I'm supposed to meet someone
tomorrow. A friend of Mr. Lasskey.
JULIE:
College admissions?
PEYTON:
He's a businessman.
JULIE:
Why are you meeting him?
PEYTON:
I don't know. Guidance.
CUT TO:
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
PEYTON sits across from a blank GAVIN DEGREGORY. He's an
older man, aging gracefully. He has an air of sadness about
him, frustration. He's got it all but doesn't like any of
it.
PEYTON:
Can you offer any advice to a young
man who's just starting out and
hasn't decided what to do with his
life?
GAVIN:
Never handle anything hot but cash,
never pick up a gun, and always
sleep with heavy girls.
PEYTON:
Really?
GAVIN:
Heavy girls appreciate it more.
PEYTON:
What is the best way to succeed in
business?
GAVIN:
I wish I could tell you. By the
time you're forty, you've been shit
on so many times that you just stop
caring.
PEYTON:
Should I come back tomorrow?
GAVIN:
I don't even understand why you're
here today.
CUT TO:
EXT. JULIE'S PORCH - EVENING
JULIE is nestled in PEYTON'S arms on the porch swing.
PEYTON:
What are you doing tonight?
JULIE:
I don't know. Probably a party
with David. Hey, how did your
meeting go?
PEYTON:
Not good.
JULIE:
Sorry it didn't work out.
PEYTON:
I'm going back tomorrow.
JULIE:
Why?
PEYTON:
Because I don't give up.
(beat)
What would you do if I touched you
right here?
JULIE:
Peyton, please. You're like my
brother.
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
GAVIN is in his office talking on the phone.
GAVIN:
I don't give two fucks what a
customs inspector in Poland thinks.
I want representation in their
stores. Representation, Stan.
He hangs up the phone. The intercom buzzes.
GAVIN:
Yeah, Mary?
MARY:
Peyton Schwartz here to see you.
GAVIN:
Is he on the schedule?
MARY:
No.
GAVIN:
I've got time. Send him in.
PEYTON enters the office.
GAVIN:
What can I do for you?
PEYTON:
Well, sir, and I hope you'll
forgive me for being so forward,
but I don't think our conversation
was really over when I left.
GAVIN:
Kid, you've got the world by the
balls. I can't even make a
marriage work. What do you want
from me?
PEYTON:
Could I- Would you maybe- Could I
work for you?
GAVIN:
What, in the warehouse?
PEYTON:
No, sir. No, I mean like a
personal assistant. To learn from
you.
GAVIN:
I already have Mary. You saw her
out there.
(loudly)
Mary?
MARY pokes her head in the door.
MARY:
Yes, Mr. DeGregory?
GAVIN:
That's enough.
(to PEYTON)
Mary.
She pops her head back out of the office.
GAVIN:
She's it, man. She knows
everything. She handles more of my
business than I do. What are you
looking for a job for, anyway?
Don't your parents have any money?
PEYTON:
I'm sort of trying to make my own
way in the world, if you
understand, sir.
GAVIN:
And what am I? A surrogate father?
PEYTON:
Well, you're certainly successful,
so I would like to pick your brain.
GAVIN:
You don't pick brains, kid. You're
born with them. How fast are you?
PEYTON:
At what, sir?
GAVIN:
Okay, you don't score high on that
one. Where did you say you're
going to college?
PEYTON:
Amherst.
GAVIN:
Business program?
PEYTON:
Undeclared right now. Probably
business, maybe liberal arts.
(beat)
Could I just, like, sit and watch
you, today? Just to get a feel?
GAVIN:
You can fuck a pumpkin for all I
care. Why don't you go watch Mary?
CUT TO:
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
PEYTON sits and watches MARY do her work. MARY is coating
her nails with green polish while talking on the phone.
MARY:
She said what? "Don't call they
out by they name"? What the hell
does that mean?
Pachelbel's Canon in D Minor begins playing.
INT. LIBRARY - EVENING
PEYTON is poring over books on business. We see these thick
volumes change. First it is business management, then
accounting, then a guide to economics, etc.
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
PEYTON is dressed in gray flannel pajamas and sits in bed,
the covers pulled up to his chest. His mother enters the
room with a small plate that two cookies rest upon and a
glass of milk.
VICTORIA:
I know you're worried, son. But
you'll do fine.
PEYTON:
I'm not worried about school. I
know that will be okay.
VICTORIA:
Are you worried about leaving home?
PEYTON:
I don't know.
VICTORIA:
Have you decided on a major?
PEYTON:
Business administration. Or
finance. Maybe law.
VICTORIA:
It doesn't sound like you've made
up your mind.
PEYTON:
Do you think I'm different?
VICTORIA:
From who?
PEYTON:
I don't know. Just different.
(beat)
You remember in fifth grade when
David beat me up?
VICTORIA:
People that beat you up aren't
really your friends.
PEYTON:
Thanks, mom.
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
PEYTON is again sitting in a chair by the window, watching
MARY work. She is typing up a letter dictated by a recorder.
It is GAVIN'S voice.
GAVIN:
...And while we welcome the
prospect of a relationship with
your motel chain, be advised that
our inventory is often limited in
your region and you might be better
served by...
She pauses the recording and sneezes into a tissue.
PEYTON:
God bless you.
MARY:
I'm Wiccan.
PEYTON:
...Gods bless you.
She stares at him.
CUT TO:
INT. AMHERST DORM - DAY
PEYTON is carrying a box down the hall to his room. As he
passes each open door, he sneaks a glance inside. He finds
other teens smoking pot, drinking beer, etc. There is LOUD
MUSIC throughout. As he passes one room, he sees GIRL 1
screaming
GIRL 1:
I don't need a year's worth of
tampons, mom! Just wake up dad and
leave!
CUT TO:
EXT. CAMPUS QUAD - DAY
PEYTON is selling term papers to a small group of students.
CUT TO:
INT. DEAN'S OFFICE - LATER
PEYTON's head is buried in his hands as the DEAN berates him,
holding up the illegitimate term papers.
CUT TO:
I/E. VICTORIA'S CAR - DAY
All of PEYTON'S worldly belongings are packed into the sedan.
PEYTON:
So how does this work? Do I have
to start paying back my student
loans right now?
MONTAGE OF:
Over the montage, "Rave On" by Buddy Holly plays.
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - MORNING
We follow PEYTON, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase,
walks up to a businessman who shakes his hand. We freeze and
zoom in on the handshake and then it quickly rotates and
pulls out to show a different man, in a different building,
shaking PEYTON'S hand. We continue this twice more in the
montage. We see PEYTON making phone calls, searching online
for job openings, circling ads in the paper.
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
PEYTON enters the outer office, dressed in a suit and holding
the briefcase. MARY is filing her nails.
PEYTON:
Hello, Mary.
INT. GAVIN'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
GAVIN is leaned back in his chair, casually shooting balloons
with a pistol air gun. He pauses to talk to PEYTON.
GAVIN:
I don't remember ever offering you
a job, Peyton.
PEYTON:
Yes, and I'm here to take one.
GAVIN:
Come with me. I want to show you
something.
INT. DEGREGORY INC. WAREHOUSE - MINUTES LATER
It is a cavernous structure, filled with rows of steel
shelves, loaded with boxes, stretching out some two hundred
yards. GAVIN is standing with PEYTON at the duty station
desk. On it rests a little lamp with a hula-girl printed on
the lampshade. GAVIN flips the switch that turns it on.
Then he turns it off. Then he turns it on again.
PEYTON:
I don't get it, sir.
GAVIN:
This lamp is my business. This-
(he picks up a toilet
plunger)
-is my business. Those boxes,
they're full of useless junk like
this. That's my business.
PEYTON:
Is there a point to this, sir?
GAVIN pauses. He turns the lamp off and then back on.
GAVIN:
This was the first thing I ever
sold. This lamp. I had a friend
that bought surplus lamps but
couldn't move them. I had the
lampshades printed up and began
making my way around the state,
pitching them to cheap motels and
novelty shops. This was twenty
five years ago. I was about your
age. I didn't even go to college.
And that's how I built my fortune.
PEYTON:
How much are you worth?
GAVIN:
I don't know. Why?
PEYTON:
Fifty million?
GAVIN:
Yeah, probably.
PEYTON:
And it took you twenty-five years
to make that?
GAVIN:
Okay. If you really want in, if
you really want to do something for
this company, I can put you to work
in the HR department. What was
your major?
PEYTON:
Administration.
GAVIN:
Holy fuck. Did you actually pay
for this degree?
PEYTON:
Well...the bank paid for it.
GAVIN:
You don't even know how to manage
your money. Maybe you should have
taken financing courses at that
fancy college.
PEYTON:
Did I do something wrong, sir?
GAVIN:
I just woke up on the wrong side of
the decade.
PEYTON:
Sir, forgive me if I misunderstood,
but...did you just offer me a job?
GAVIN:
Christ, it was minutes ago, I'm not
sure I remember it.
PEYTON:
You did and I accept.
GAVIN:
Fine, come in tomorrow and we'll
have you fill out the paperwork.
PEYTON:
Are you free tonight?
GAVIN:
Tonight? Why?
PEYTON:
My family is having a special
dinner in celebration of my new
job. I'd like to invite you.
EXT. JULIE'S PORCH - DUSK
PEYTON sits with his arm around JULIE, a very plain but
pretty girl. "I Only Have Eyes for You" by The Flamingos
plays softly. JULIE is smoking a cigarette.
JULIE:
David won't like it.
PEYTON:
But this is good news. I mean, I
got a real job.
JULIE:
Remember when you left for Boy
Scout camp for two weeks when you
were 10?
PEYTON:
He got upset.
JULIE:
He punched you in the nose.
PEYTON:
No, it was my lip.
JULIE:
What's the difference?
PEYTON:
Because he said he was going to
split my lip and then he actually
did it.
JULIE:
You know he can't handle things
changing. He just about came apart
these last few years when you were
at college. He was only like his
old self when you came home for
summer.
PEYTON:
I want to kiss you right now.
JULIE:
I don't know what to say to that.
PEYTON sees a spark from her cigarette land in the crotch of
her jeans and there's a small puff of smoke. Without
thinking, PEYTON lays his hand there to snuff it out.
JULIE:
What are you doing?
PEYTON:
Spark.
JULIE:
You don't do that to a girl,
Peyton!
PEYTON:
It was a spark! You could have
gone up in flames!
JULIE:
No big deal. I'm sorry I got mad.
PEYTON:
Wait a second. There was a spark
and it was about to start a fire.
But you're saying no big deal like-
JULIE:
Like what? I'm letting it slide.
PEYTON:
You don't let something like that
slide, Julie! If there's any
sliding, it should be an avalanche
coming down on-
JULIE:
It's not a big deal, Peyton.
PEYTON:
It is a big deal. And that you say
it's not a big deal is so
incredibly fucked that-
JULIE:
So you grabbed my crotch. Forget
it.
PEYTON:
I don't want to forget it! And, if
I were to grab your crotch, I
wouldn't want you to forget it
either!
JULIE:
(changing the subject)
Who is going to be at this dinner
thing tonight?
PEYTON:
Mr. DeGregory and his wife.
JULIE:
Will David be there?
PEYTON:
Why would he?
JULIE:
He called me and asked me about it.
PEYTON:
How did he find out?
JULIE:
I don't know. Stop asking
questions. Look at the sunset.
CUT TO:
I/E. GAVIN'S ROLLS ROYCE - EVENING
"Lonley Teardrops" by Jackie Wilson begins playing.
GAVIN drives with LYDIA, his trophy wife. She is applying
make up, though her face is already well-covered. They do
not speak as he drives. Finally, she breaks the silence.
LYDIA:
Why do we have to go to this?
GAVIN:
Because I was invited.
LYDIA:
Who the hell is this kid?
GAVIN:
He's a comer. He impresses me.
LYDIA:
What'd he do, eat a puppy?
The music ends abruptly as we
CUT TO:
INT. PEYTON'S HOME - NIGHT
PEYTON'S father ARNOLD sits at the head of the long
Chippendale table, across from his wife VICTORIA. Seated
around the table are GAVIN and LYDIA, JULIE and PEYTON, and
DAVID. They are all silent. ARNOLD is going through the
bills while eating.
VICTORIA:
Do you like casserole?
GAVIN:
Well...I usually tend more towards
filet mignon. Or pheasant. Do you
have any pate?
VICTORIA:
I didn't know what ri- Uh, well-
GAVIN:
Rich people?
PEYTON:
I'd like to thank you for attending
tonight, Mr. DeGregory. I'm glad
you could be here to round us to an
even number.
GAVIN:
There's seven of us.
PEYTON:
(staring daggers at DAVID)
That's because someone wasn't
invited.
JULIE:
We are very glad that you are here,
Mr. DeGregory. David and I have
been dying to meet you.
DAVID:
Some of us were left for dead after
meeting you.
JULIE:
David, that's not nice.
DAVID:
But it was clever.
ARNOLD:
So what kind of business is it that
you run, Mr. DeGregory?
GAVIN:
It's an import/export business.
ARNOLD:
We had a fifty-three minute call to
Canaan. Who do we know in Canaan?
VICTORIA:
My sister's in-laws.
ARNOLD:
Oh, right. How is Suzie?
CUT TO:
EXT. PEYTON'S HOME - LATER
GAVIN has loosened his tie and is smoking a cigarette.
PEYTON stands by him. They watch fireflies light up the
night.
PEYTON:
What did you think of Julie?
GAVIN:
I didn't. I don't remember her
from the yearbook.
PEYTON:
They listed her as "Not pictured"
but they issued a retraction on
later printings.
GAVIN:
You in love with her?
PEYTON:
I don't know.
GAVIN:
Come on, man. You love her?
PEYTON:
Yeah, I guess I do.
GAVIN:
How about David?
PEYTON:
What about him?
GAVIN:
(long beat)
He plowed her.
CUT TO:
INT. PEYTON'S HOME - MOMENTS LATER
PEYTON and JULIE are shouting at each other.
PEYTON:
When I said "Don't sleep with him",
you took that to mean sleep with
him?!
JULIE:
It was just because he was feeling
lonely and you were away and-
PEYTON:
You broke your promise! The only
thing I told you not to do-
JULIE:
As if you get to choose who I-
PEYTON:
Get out of here! You are not
welcome anymore!
JULIE:
I didn't think it was a big deal,
it was just-
PEYTON:
If it's no big deal, why was it a
secret?! Why was it a secret?!
She is walking out the door and PEYTON chases after her.
PEYTON:
Try not to sleep with anyone on the
way to your car! How many times?
JULIE:
(still walking away)
Just fuck off, Peyton.
PEYTON:
Because I can forgive you if it was
once.
JULIE:
Then you can't forgive me.
PEYTON:
I can understand if it was less
than ten times. I could live with
that.
JULIE:
Then you can't live with this.
PEYTON:
Fucking hell!
From an upstairs window, we hear VICTORIA SHOUT:
VICTORIA:
Language!
PEYTON:
Look, I'm sorry. Come back inside
and we'll talk about this. I won't
yell anymore, I just need you to
talk to me and straighten this-
He stops as he notices that DAVID has come up beside him.
PEYTON turns to him, ready to say something. DAVID
interrupts him before he can.
DAVID:
You sell-out.
And then he punches PEYTON in the nose. The screen bursts
into fireworks over blackness. This slowly dissolves back
into the fireflies that are roaming the neighborhood. After
a few seconds, GAVIN'S head comes into the frame. He is
looking down at PEYTON, his head cocked at an angle of
curiosity.
CUT TO:
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - DAY
A large black man, TYLER, is talking to us.
TYLER:
And then Jackson come around
talking that trash about, he did
this, he did that, with what woman,
and where. And I was thinking,
maybe, you know, I was sexually
harassed in this incident and I
should get some extra pay for it.
We hold on him for a second and then
REVERSE SHOT
PEYTON with his nose splinted and bandaged, staring blankly
back at him.
The following, each word of the sentence is done be a
different employee of the warehouse.
WORKERS:
I. Have. Got. A. Complaint.
CUT TO:
INT. GAVIN'S OFFICE - DAY
GAVIN stands at the window that overlooks the warehouse
floor. PEYTON sits in a chair.
GAVIN:
Well I didn't hire you to give
spongebaths to supermodels if
that's what you had in mind.
PEYTON:
Isn't there ANYTHING else I can do
for the company?
GAVIN:
You tell me, you're in HR. What
positions are open?
PEYTON:
This isn't going to work.
GAVIN:
No, this is what going to work is.
You think I like it? I run the
company and I hate coming in.
PEYTON:
What are my options?
GAVIN:
Well, either you grow a pair and
keep coming in every day or you
give up and go back to bagging
groceries or whatever the hell it
is you used to do.
PEYTON:
I want to make a lot of money.
That's all I really want. Just
money.
GAVIN:
You want a lot of money, you get
into where the money is. Look at
your computer, that's where the
money is these days.
CUT TO:
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
PEYTON is doing a web search for get rich quick schemes. He
comes across cattle-driving, gay porn, pyramid schemes, etc.
Then something catches his eye. He clicks on a link. Words
fill the screen: COCAINE; SHIPMENT; 25 KILOS; STREET VALUE $6
MILLION.
PEYTON:
(v.o.)
It was so simple. The illegal drug
trade is a multi-billion dollar
industry in America and it is
making people rich beyond belief,
faster than you thought possible.
On one shipment, you could make
millions of dollars. But...how do
you start moving kilos of cocaine?
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - LATER
PEYTON is looking up smuggling in the encyclopedia.
PEYTON: (V.O.)
I crammed. I went through every
book I could find in the house.
PEYTON:
(reading aloud)
Many times, people with artificial
limbs will use their disability to
the advantage of smuggling
narcotics across international and
state borders.
(beat)
Artificial limbs?
INT. LIBRARY - DAY
PEYTON: (V.O.)
I went through the books at the
library. I learned what cocaine
tastes like. It has no taste. It
instantly numbs the tongue and gums
on contact, that is how you can
tell it is cocaine. I learned what
the effects of snorting it were
compared to smoking it or shooting
it. I could have given a lecture
on the properties of a drug I had
never come in contact with and
didn't know how to get my hands on.
I didn't even go to work anymore.
I wondered if anyone noticed.
EXT. LIBRARY - NIGHT
PEYTON walks out to find DAVID waiting for him. DAVID puts
his hands up in a placating gesture.
DAVID:
I'm sorry, okay? Okay, man? I'm
sorry.
PEYTON:
That's the last damn time you punch
me.
DAVID:
I know. It won't happen again.
PEYTON:
So how was she?
DAVID:
It's not as easy as all that,
Peyton.
PEYTON:
Come on, I'll bet she was great,
wasn't she? I wouldn't know
because I'm the only guy she won't
screw.
DAVID:
I think I'm in love with her.
PEYTON:
You think she loves you? You think
she loves any of the guys she lets
fuck her?
(he begins to walk away)
I went to college. What the hell
are you doing with your life?
DAVID:
I'm a pot dealer.
(softly, lacking
importance)
I'm a pot dealer. That's what I do
now.
PEYTON freezes.
CUT TO:
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
PEYTON:
Go over it with me again.
DAVID:
I met the dude at the Pink Floyd
laser show-
PEYTON:
What's his name?
DAVID:
Spaulding. I believe you've played
with his balls.
PEYTON:
How much do you buy from him?
DAVID:
Not much. Like two ounces a week
and I break that into twenty sacks
and I sell those for about $300
profit.
PEYTON:
Where does he get it?
DAVID:
I've been smart enough not to ask.
PEYTON:
Where does he live?
DAVID:
He's got a trailer outside of town.
And it's a real bitch getting
there.
PEYTON:
Does he have connections?
DAVID:
He must. He's my connection.
PEYTON:
Could he get you other drugs if you
asked?
DAVID:
What kind of drugs?
PEYTON:
Cocaine?
DAVID:
I don't think he deals in the hard
stuff. He offered me some ecstasy
once but nothing major.
PEYTON:
And how's your business? How many
buyers do you have?
DAVID:
I don't know. A dozen?
PEYTON:
And would they buy cocaine if it
was offered?
DAVID:
I guess some of them would.
PEYTON:
Yeah, some of them would. Because,
who wouldn't? Come with me.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE DEGREGORY HOME - NIGHT
It is a sprawling, three level home on three or four acres of
carefully manicured lawn. PEYTON and DAVID walk up and knock
on the door. A small Latino maid, CONSUELA, opens the door.
PEYTON:
Hi, Consuela, is he in?
CONSUELA:
Oh, no. Mr. DeGregory leave town.
He has business trip.
PEYTON:
When will he be back?
CONSUELA:
Two days.
PEYTON:
Consuela...where are you from?
CONSUELA:
Me? El Salvador.
PEYTON:
You don't happen to have any
relatives in Colombia, do you?
CLOSE UP ON:
A pad. Names and email addresses being written down.
The sound of PAPER TEARING. A door SHUTS.
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
PEYTON and DAVID are crowded around the computer, carefully
typing out an email.
DAVID:
Dear sir, it may come as a surprise
to you hearing from me as we are
strangers but I was given your
address by Consuela the housekeeper
and am interested in arranging a
trade if possible. There is good
money to be made in exporting these
days and your country is uniquely
positioned to take advantage of
this opportunity.
(beat)
This sounds like a chain letter.
PEYTON:
It has to be coded so we can slip
it past the DEA.
DAVID:
Do we know if these people even
speak English?
PEYTON:
(typing)
If you are agreeable to a sale, I
would be most interested in hearing
from you. Your discretion would be
most appreciated. If you are
unable to provide the product for
me, I would appreciate it if you
could point me to another source,
if you know of one.
DAVID:
This is stupid, Peyton.
PEYTON:
(beat)
We're going to need money.
INT. MOTEL ROOM - SAME TIME
JULIE and GAVIN are on the bed, having sex doggy style. They
are grunting with effort. We pan past them and zero in on
the hula-girl lamp on the nightstand.
INT. PEYTON'S BEDROOM - DAYBREAK
From the computer, we hear the AOL VOICE say:
AOL VOICE:
You've got mail!
PEYTON and DAVID leap for the computer.
PEYTON:
Okay. Are you ready to have your
life changed?
DAVID:
(reading the email over
PEYTON'S shoulder)
I have access to my country's
finest export and would be willing
to trade with you at a rate of
10,000 pesos per kilo.
PEYTON:
Ten thousand pesos? How much is
that?
DAVID:
Our currency is probably five times
what theirs is, so...fifty thousand
dollars?
(back to reading the
screen)
Is ready to ship from port of
Escalando within two days. Premium
grown, finest quality.
(to PEYTON)
Where are we going to get that kind
of money? Or a ship for that
matter?
CUT TO:
INT. GAVIN'S OFFICE - DAY
GAVIN is lighting a cigarette with a Zippo when PEYTON barges
through the door. GAVIN immediately ducks under his desk.
We hear him SHOUT in pain.
PEYTON:
Mr. DeGregory? It's Peyton
Schwartz.
GAVIN:
Damn it, I set myself on fire.
PEYTON:
Ummm...roll?
GAVIN:
I didn't literally set myself on-
What do you want, Peyton?
PEYTON:
Well.
GAVIN leaps back up and sits in his chair.
GAVIN:
You grew a pair and you decided to
come back?
PEYTON:
I need $500,000 and a ship to
transport.
CUT TO:
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - MINUTES LATER
GAVIN and PEYTON navigate the busy warehouse on a golf cart,
talking as they cruise.
PEYTON:
It calls for an initial investment
of $500,000. I can guarantee you a
return of 300% on that within one
month. The rest of the profits
will be used to purchase more. I
also need your shipping empire to-
GAVIN:
You are in need of serious mental
help.
PEYTON:
I considered that. Briefly.
(beat)
Listen, I can guarantee your money.
GAVIN:
You can't even guarantee what
you're buying. You emailed a
stranger in another country and
asked him to sell you narcotics.
It could be fucking goat's milk.
PEYTON:
No, no, not true. I used a coded
message that is only clear to those
in the know.
GAVIN:
Coded, huh? Did you use the word
"discretion"?
EXT. DEGREGORY INC. - MINUTES LATER
GAVIN:
And even if I was stupid enough to
invest in this idea, how would you
get the cocaine into the country?
PEYTON:
Well, you have ships and airplanes
and-
GAVIN:
Do you know what customs is like?
Have you ever brought something
into this country?
PEYTON:
I had a pen pal from Canada come
down for a week.
GAVIN:
How was she?
PEYTON:
Pretty good.
INT. DEGREGORY INC. - MINUTES LATER
GAVIN:
I could go over the two hundred
ways you will get caught, but I'd
rather go over the three ways you
won't get what you want. First of
all, this stranger will take the
money deposited into their account
and never talk to you again.
They've probably set up a fake
account just for you to transfer
the money to and then they withdraw
and close the account and
disappear. Secondly, if they're
not trying to steal your- MY money,
they've probably turned you over to
the local police for a reward.
They don't even have to feel guilty
about that. And, third, if you
somehow have lucked into a secret
email cartel in Colombia, and they
accept your price and send you some
premium stuff, you wouldn't know
where to sell it. You're talking
about a hundred pounds of cocaine.
Your friend's a pot dealer? Pot
user does not equal cocaine user,
Peyton. You probably couldn't move
that stuff if you were giving half
of it away as samples.
PEYTON:
Sir, I think you underestimate the
marketplace.
GAVIN:
Look around you. Where is the
marketplace in this city?
INT. GAVIN'S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER
GAVIN sits at his desk with a large ledger open in front of
him. He is looking through it intensely.
GAVIN:
Okay, I had a shipment from
Nicaragua one time. That's as
close as I've gotten.
PEYTON:
How much are you willing to invest?
GAVIN:
(pause)
Look, Peyton. I'm not going to put
any money into this. My suggestion
is that you look closer to home.
PEYTON:
Closer to home? What does that
mean?
CUT TO:
EXT. HALFWAY HOUSE - DAY
PEYTON and DAVID walk up the few steps to the front door.
DAVID:
And then the guy is leaving pieces
of his victims in mailboxes across
the city. But there's a pattern.
PEYTON:
But why mailboxes?
DAVID:
And he keeps calling the
detectives. He asks for them by
name.
PEYTON:
Do they record the calls?
DAVID:
Not the first one because they're
not expecting it.
PEYTON:
Does he give them clues in these
phone calls?
DAVID:
He tells them what mail carrier
will find a body part next.
PEYTON:
I don't think you really saw this.
DAVID:
No, I did. That was how it
happened.
PEYTON:
But it has the logic of a dream, it
doesn't make sense.
DAVID:
Does anything make sense?
PEYTON:
Did they catch the guy?
DAVID:
Yeah, but I don't remember how.
PEYTON knocks on the door. An OLDER WOMAN, smoking a
cigarette and clad in a bathrobe, opens the door.
PEYTON:
Hello, my name is Edward and this
is my associate Jeremy. We were
wondering if we could speak to some
of your residents about a business
opportunity.
OLDER WOMAN:
They're at work.
DAVID:
All of them?
OLDER WOMAN:
Yes, all of them.
She shuts the door.
PEYTON:
I guess we wait.
DAVID:
She was pretty.
PEYTON:
She was an attractive older woman.
DAVID:
Listen, I've been thinking. These
are ex-cons. They're rough. We
should have a signal for if we get
into any danger.
PEYTON:
What kind of signal?
DAVID:
Like, start singing a Queen song.
PEYTON:
Which song?
DAVID:
Fat Bottom Girls?
PEYTON:
I don't remember that one. Let's
just call something out.
DAVID:
Like what?
PEYTON:
I don't know. Gorillas?
EXT. HALFWAY HOUSE - DUSK
PEYTON and DAVID are sitting patiently on the porch as men
begin to stream in. They stand up and introduce themselves.
One of the men decides to give them a chance. He is a burly,
bearded man in a plaid shirt and jeans with work boots. This
is BELLA.
PEYTON:
Is there a place we could talk in
private? This is a project of a
delicate nature.
CUT TO:
INT. BELLA'S ROOM - MINUTES LATER
PEYTON:
And what is your name, sir?
BELLA:
(curt)
Bella.
PEYTON:
Great. I'm Franz, this is my
associate Christopher.
BELLA:
You said downstairs. But you gave
different names.
PEYTON:
Okay. Okay. So what we're doing
is, we're offering a business
opportunity to someone with your
unique skill set.
BELLA:
You need me to burn down a
building?
DAVID:
That's what you meant when you said
you're a flamer?
CUT TO:
I/E. PEYTON'S CAR - NIGHT
PEYTON:
Okay, so that one didn't pan out.
We'll have to eat the day as a
loss.
DAVID:
You know who's always addicted to
cocaine?
PEYTON:
No, I don't.
DAVID:
Head down to Troost.
PEYTON:
(suspicious)
Troost?
DAVID:
52nd and Troost.
CUT TO:
EXT. 52ND AND TROOST - NIGHT
A prostitute stands on the street corner. PEYTON'S car pulls
up. DAVID leans out the window to talk to her.
JUSTINE:
I don't do double johns.
DAVID:
No, we just want to- Justine?
JUSTINE:
Shit.
DAVID:
Justine Carter? White Lake High?
(back in the car, to
PEYTON)
It's fucking Justine Carter!
CUT TO:
I/E. PEYTON'S CAR - LATER
JUSTINE is now in the back of the car.
JUSTINE:
No, I don't do any cocaine.
DAVID:
But you know people.
JUSTINE:
Well, there are a few girls that do
it. But they don't need to buy
any.
DAVID:
Have you got a pimp?
JUSTINE:
See that car following you in your
rearview?
DAVID turns completely around to look out the back window.
PEYTON:
Don't turn around like that! It's
too obvious!
JUSTINE:
Listen, I make fifty dollars a
ride. So you're going to have to
pay me that or Li'l Jay will fuck
you up.
PEYTON:
We don't have any money on us,
really.
JUSTINE:
I'm not kidding, he'll fuck you up.
PEYTON:
He's a businessman. He'll be
interested in our venture.
CUT TO:
EXT. SEEDY NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT
PEYTON is out of the car and LI'L JAY, a scrawny, very short
young man, has his arms wrapped around PEYTON and is spinning
him in circles. PEYTON punches at him but he is too close to
cause any real injury. DAVID makes a move to help PEYTON but
JUSTINE restrains him.
JUSTINE:
Let them fight.
PEYTON:
David! Get him off me! Gorillas!
Gorillas!
The two fall to the ground and begin rolling around the
street.
PEYTON:
David! Gorillas!
CUT TO:
I/E. PEYTON'S CAR - LATER
PEYTON drives without talking. DAVID is looking through the
yearbook.
DAVID:
What about Roy McCutcheon? He was
always sort of drugged out, wasn't
he?
PEYTON:
Did you actually have Justine sign
that thing?
DAVID:
Yeah, like that's weird.
(beat)
I missed this.
PEYTON:
We've never done this before.
DAVID:
You know what I mean.
PEYTON:
Look, I'm beat. Totally beat.
Here's what I think we should do.
I want you to set up a network to
move the stuff when I get it.
DAVID:
I don't know, man. I may not be
the right guy. When Li'l Jay was
attacking you, I just stood there.
PEYTON pulls the car over.
CUT TO:
EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT
PEYTON'S car is parked and they are sitting on the hood of
it.
DAVID:
Do you know how hard it is to set
up a distribution network? I'll
need your help.
PEYTON:
I can't help you.
DAVID:
But you see what kind of problems
we've had already. I deal pot,
man. Fucking pot to teenagers for
Friday nights. Why can't you help
me?
PEYTON:
I just think we should split up the
duties.
(beat)
And I'll be in South America.
DAVID:
What?
PEYTON:
I'm going to South America to find
the cocaine.
There is a long pause. Then DAVID slugs PEYTON in the face.
PEYTON falls backward off the hood of the car. "Mr.
Sandman" by the Chordettes immediately begins playing.
PEYTON is on his back, staring up at the black sky. DAVID'S
head comes into the frame, cocked at an angle of curiosity.
FADE OUT.