Let me continue the script in the last act:
EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
A helicopter prepares to land.
INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
Carlo is looking into the night with binoculars, trying to see what
is going on. He looks troubled by this new helicopter.
EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
The helicopter lands and the President gets off, met by the Colonel.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
This way, Mr. President.
The Colonel leads the President off.
INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
With his binoculars, Carlo sees that the President himself has arrived.
He looks at the First Lady, who is sleeping on the sofa.
He moves past her to the rear of the house, where Andres is taking
watch.
Andres turns to meet him.
ANDRES
What is it?
CARLO
The President just landed.
INT. TRAILER - NIGHT
The President is meeting with the Colonel and some aides in a trailer
serving as the operation's command post.
They are huddled over a small table, speaking in low tones.
INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
Carlo comes into the living room and gently wakes the First Lady.
CARLO
Your husband is here.
The First Lady is not quite awake.
FIRST LADY
He's here? What's he want?
She sits up and looks around, as if expecting to find him in the
room.
CARLO
He landed and went into the trailer. We have
a plan. It depends on you.
INT. TRAILER - NIGHT
The meeting continues.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
There's a larger context here. We don't want
to encourage this sort of thing. If we're too
soft, we do.
PRESIDENT
My feeling exactly.
AIDE
But the issue is the First Lady, isn't it? Her
presence limits our options.
The door opens and a SOLDIER pokes his head in.
SOLDIER
Colonel, she's come outside.
EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
The President, Colonel and aides come out of the trailer.
The First Lady slowly walks away from the farmhouse, a white
handkerchief waving at the end of a fireplace poker.
PRESIDENT
Gwen, are you all right?
FIRST LADY
I need to talk to you!
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
We have her covered, Mr. President.
The First Lady continues walking toward them.
INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
Carlo and Andres watch carefully from the window, guns at the ready.
ANDRES
She was our only hope. Now nothing is here to
stop them.
CARLO
She won't abandon us.
EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
The First Lady reaches the others. She and her husband face one
another silently. Finally:
FIRST LADY
Can we talk alone?
The President gestures for her to follow him.
INT. TRAILER - NIGHT
They come into the trailer.
PRESIDENT
I hope you're here to tell me what the hell
is going on.
FIRST LADY
I want to help them.
PRESIDENT
Why?
FIRST LADY
Because I believe in their cause to make the
Basques a free people.
PRESIDENT
Are you that gullible to their rhetoric? I
thought you were more tough-minded than that.
Or is something more personal at stake here?
FIRST LADY
You are in no position to bring up our personal
lives.
PRESIDENT
Look, we gave them what they wanted, and they
refused to let you go. Doesn't that tell you
something?
FIRST LADY
They let me go. I refused to.
PRESIDENT
You stayed voluntarily?
FIRST LADY
I told them they were asking for too little.
That there's much more the President can do to
help them.
PRESIDENT
So when the hell did you get the idea that you're
making foreign policy? Jesus Christ, what is going
on with you? You're sleeping with one of them,
aren't you?
The First Lady suddenly slaps him. Hard.
FIRST LADY
God, that felt good.
The President stares at her. Then he turns to go.
FIRST LADY
What are you doing?
PRESIDENT
I'm giving the order to get those assholes out
of there.
He exits and the First Lady quickly follows.
EXT. TRAILER/FARM HOUSE - NIGHT
The President comes out, with the First Lady right behind him.
PRESIDENT
Colonel McLaughlin!
FIRST LADY
You can't do this!
PRESIDENT
Watch me.
The Colonel arrives.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
Mr. President?
PRESIDENT
I want them out of there. Do whatever it takes.
Hearing this, the First Lady suddenly starts running back to the
farmhouse.
The Colonel looks at the President, as if waiting for instructions.
PRESIDENT
Gwen! Goddamn her. Stop her, Colonel.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
Sir?
PRESIDENT
Stop her! Shoot her!
The Colonel looks at the President in shock.
PRESIDENT
In the leg or something.
INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
Carlo and Andres see the First Lady running toward them and don't
know what is happening.
Carlo moves quickly to the door.
ANDRES
Carlo, it's a trap!
EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT
As the First Lady runs toward the farmhouse, several warning shots
fire in the ground around her. She is terrified.
Carlo hears the shots and panics. He starts sprinting toward the
First Lady.
The President is red in the face.
PRESIDENT
Kill the sonofabitch!
The First Lady and Carlo rush into an embrace.
CARLO
Go back to them. They won't hurt you.
FIRST LADY
I'm staying with you.
Carlo nods, aware that she won't change her mind. More warning
shots land around them.
He takes her hand and starts back to the farmhouse. Just as they
reach the door, Carlo is shot in the back.
He falls to the ground.
The First Lady watches in horror. Then she hurries to his side.
Carlo tries to speak but can't. The First Lady is fighting back
tears.
Carlo dies.
The First Lady stands up in a rage, facing her husband, facing
the Army.
She starts walking quickly toward them.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
Hold fire!
The First Lady is blinded by tears and she moves with
determination toward her husband.
Behind her, in the doorway, Andres appears with his hands raised
high above his head.
PRESIDENT
Shoot him.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
He's surrendering, sir.
The President hurries to a nearby soldier and grabs his rifle.
He takes aim.
The First Lady sees what is happening, turns and sees Andres behind
her, approaching in surrender.
She quickly positions herself between her husband and Andres,
shielding him.
The President has the First Lady in his sights.
The Colonel arrives beside him.
COL. MCLAUGHLIN
Give me the weapon, Mr. President.
The President looks at the Colonel. Then he lowers the rifle and
hands it over.
The President turns and walks quickly toward a helicopter.
The First Lady sees this and starts running toward him.
The President now breaks into a trot. He climbs aboard the
helicopter.
The helicopter lifts up off the ground just as the First Lady
arrives.
She glares up at her husband.
The President stares down at his wife. Then he smiles.
The helicopter zooms away.
INT. WASHINGTON D.C. - OFFICE - DAY
Media people and their equipment crowd a large office prior to
a news conference.
This will be the First Lady's news conference and final victory, where
she criticizes her husband's use of overkill and announces her divorce.
SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting8/97