The Horse Whisperer

 The room goes dead quiet, instantly. Then erupts in laughter
 as everyone realizes it. Annie, however, waves her hand as
 she takes the phone...

      ANNIE
      Quiet... Quiet!

 Everyone obeys. Annie presses SPEAKER PHONE.

      ANNIE
      David?

      DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO)
      Who's there?

      ANNIE
      Everyone. Working overtime. Just for you.

      DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO)
      Did you speak to Farlow?

      ANNIE
      Yes. We're suing.

      DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO)
      Is that absolutely necessary? It'll just
      make it a bigger story.

      ANNIE
      David, he signed an agreement that he
      wouldn't talk to the press and he's
      libeled me by saying I faked the figures.
      You're not going soft on me, are you?

 Silence. Gottschalk doesn't immediately respond. Everyone
 waits. Covert looks between characters suggest this is
 interesting -- has Annie over-stepped her bounds with the
 magazine's owner? Annie waits without a shred of anxiety --
 even though she might have some. Finally:

      DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO)
      Well, I suppose we could use another
      good public feud...

      ANNIE
      Exactly...

 Everyone silently acknowledges Annie guts and influence.

 EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING

 It's perfectly still. We are looking down an empty TWO-LANE
 ROAD covered with fresh snow. We see the girls slowly riding
 out of the woods, talking. They cross the road and start up
 into the woods on the other side... They are trying to sing a
 LIZ PHAIR song, "CHOPSTICKS"

      GRACE/JUDITH
       (singing)
      "I met him at a party and he told me how
      he like to drive me home... He said he
      liked to do it backwards..."

      GRACE
       (singing)
      "... I said it--"

      JUDITH
        (singing)
      "... and I said that"...

      GRACE
       (stops singing)
      No, wait, it just goes... "he said he
      liked to do-"...

 Suddenly there's the SOUND OF THE METAL OF JUDITH'S HORSE
 scraping on some sheer ice hidden under the soft snow. Judith
 notices first...

      JUDITH
      What was --

 The horse staggers... Judith looks to Grace --

      JUDITH
      Grace!

 The horse tries to find tracing with his hindfeet, kicking
 up sprays of snow and ice shards. The horse suddenly falls on
 the ice and goes down hard on its knees...