THE INSIDER

     And for the first time, Wigand smiles.

                         WIGAND
                   (a beat, wry)
               Yeah, guys like you, too.

     And the grave situation passes.

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
                   (after a beat)
               Where are you, anyway?

                         LOWELL
               I'm on a leave of absence.  Forced
               vacation.

                         WIGAND
                   (a rare laugh, his sarcasm)
               You try and have a good time.

                         LOWELL
                   (droll)
               Yeah.  Yeah, I will.

     INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT

     Sharon's cooking across the room...  And there's just the
     sound of the ceiling fan turning.

                         LOWELL
               "I'm Lowell Bergman, I'm from '60
               Minutes.'"  You know, you take the "60
               Minutes" out of that sentence, nobody
               returns your phone call.  Maybe Wigand's
               right.  Maybe I'm hooked.  What am I
               hooked on?  The rush?  "60 Minutes"?
               What the hell for?  Infotainment.  It's
               so fucking useless, all of it.

                         SHARON
                   (a beat)
               So, it's a big country with a free press.
               You can go work somewhere else.

                         LOWELL
               Free press?  Press is free...for anyone
               who owns one.  Larry Tisch has a free
               press.

                         SHARON
               Get some perspective, Lowell.

                         LOWELL
               I got perspective.

                         SHARON
               No, you do not.

                         LOWELL
               From my perspective, what's been going on
               and what I've been doing is ridiculous.
               It's half-measures.

                         SHARON
               You're not listening.
                   (beat)
               Really know what you're going to do
               before you do it.

     And as the fan squeaks, turning...  Lowell stares at Sharon.

     WE SEE SNOW IS ON THE GROUND.

     EXT. LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY

     Between two curved colonnades of SNOW-covered trees drives a
     rental car.  CLOSER, it's Lowell.  His POV spots a dirty SUV
     and he pulls into park across from a coffee shop in this out-
     of-context mountain town.  His pager beeps.  He looks at it.
     He detours from the coffee shop to a pay phone on the corner
     of the Moose Lodge.

                         DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE (OVER)
               I've got Richard Scruggs on the phone...

                         LOWELL
               Patch him through.

                         RICHARD SCRUGGS' VOICE (OVER)
               Well, Lowell, you are not going to
               believe this...

     INT. A COURTROOM + ROTUNDA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY

     And we see the back of a crowded courtroom.  Richard Scruggs
     is standing in the rear amongst bailiffs an witnesses,
     talking on his own cell phone.

                         RICAHRD SCRUGGS
               The Governor of Mississippi is suing his
               own Attorney General...to abandon
               litigation against Big Tobacco...

                         LOWELL
               Oh, good...

     Waiting media are relaxing as Scruggs continues to Lowell...

                         RICHARD SCRUGGS
                   (after a beat)
               But, now that the version without Jeff
               ran...what's the chance of getting his
               interview on the air...?
                   (beat)
               Hello?

     Sudden STATIC.  Scruggs now exits the building, past the
     metal detector, seeking better reception.

                         LOWELL
               Yeah, I'm here.

     EXT. COURTHOUSE STAIRS, MISSISSIPPI - DAY

                         RICHARD SCRUGGS
               What chance is there of getting Jeff's
               interview on the air...?

                         LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
                   (droll)
               Less than great.

     And the courthouse doors suddenly burst open, Michael Moore
     and his attorneys coming out.  Scruggs comes further down the
     steps so he can hear, away from Michael Moore who begins
     answering questions from the Press.

                         RICHARD SCRUGGS
                   (after a beat)
               ...I'd be lying to you if I did not tell
               you how important it was in the court of
               public opinion...

     EXT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY

                         LOWELL
                   (a beat)
               ...and I'd be lying to you if I didn't
               tell you, I'm about out of moves, Dick...

                         RICHARD SCRUGGS
               All right.  See you...

     INT. CAFE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY

     Lowell walks right in and up to a booth and a COUPLE in
     hiking pants and hiking boots.  They look up at him...

                         LOWELL
               Hi.  So, what are you folks doing here in
               Lincoln?

     And we sense something is all wrong here.

                         MAN GEOLOGIST
                   (affable)
               Geology survey.

                         LOWELL
                   (nods)
               Geology.  Yeah?  Really?

                         WOMAN GEOLOGIST
               How about you?

                         LOWELL
                   (direct)
               I work for CBS News.

                         MAN GEOLOGIST
                   (after a beat)
               Oh, yeah?

     Lowell nods.  They look at each other and they both know
     there's a lot more than meets the eye.  And as Lowell gets up
     and leaves...

     EXT. A PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY

     And we see Lowell on the PAY PHONE again.

                         LOWELL
               Just ran into two of your "geologists."
               Geologists whose hands aren't all chewed
               up...?

                         BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
               Lowell?

     INT. THE FBI, BILL ROBERTSON'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON - DAY

     And we see Bill Robertson's on the phone...

                         BILL ROBERTSON
               Do not...screw this up.  We are a week
               away from an arrest...

     EXT. THE PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY

                         LOWELL
               So, I'll hold it...  And...

                         BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
                   (on the phone)
               We'll give you a heads up before we
               launch.

                         LOWELL
               How long?

                         BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE (OVER)
               Three hours.

                         LOWELL
               You got a deal.
                   (hangs up)

     INT. LOWELL'S ROOM, MOTEL, MONTANA - NIGHT

     Lowell is in a T-shirt and sweat pants, sitting in an old, re-
     upholstered-one-too-many-times chair in a room barely big
     enough for a chair, a bed and the TV/VCR combo on the cheap
     dresser.  It's playing Lowell's cut of the full Wigand
     interview.  He watches the show that will never see the light
     of day.

                         MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
               "...like the testimony before Congress of
               Dr. Wigand's former boss, Brown &
               Williamson's Chief Executive Officer,
               Thomas Sandefur."

                         THOMAS SANDEFUR
                   (in CLOSE-UP)
               "I believe that nicotine is not
               addictive."

                         WIGAND
                   (in matching CLOSE-UP)
               "I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured
               himself...  Because I watched those
               testimonies very carefully."

     Then it cuts to all seven CEOs of Big Tobacco raising their
     hands and taking the oath in front of Congress to tell the
     truth while...

                         WALLACE'S VOICE (OVER)
               "All of us did...there was this whole
               like of people, the whole line of CEOs up
               there, all swearing that."

                         WIGAND'S VOICE (OVER)
               "Part of the reason I'm here is I
               FELT..."

     And the PAUSE after the word makes "FELT" resound, and as it
     CUTS TO Jeffrey ON CAMERA saying...

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
               "...that their representation..."

     And Lowell FREEZES after the image...  He gets up, looking
     out the window through the curtain with the spill from the
     neon motel sign.  Outside are horse trailers.  He goes back
     to watching the show...standing there...in touch with his
     own creative work product and the ideas inherent in it in
     this decision-making process that we feel is critical to him.
     Turning, he dials the phone and we intercut with...

                         JIM COOPER'S VOICE (OVER)
               Hello?

                         LOWELL
               Jim, it's Lowell.

     INT. NEW YORK TIMES - NIGHT

                         JIM COOPER
               Hey!  Where are you?

                         LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
                   (doesn't answer)
               Remember that night at P.J.'s?  You asked
               me if we were sitting on something
               "explosive"?
                   (beat)
               Well, we're not "sitting on" it.
                   (beat)
               CBS corporate leaned on CBS News which
               yanked an interview we did with a top-
               ranking tobacco scientist.  A corporate
               officer.  They are trying to close down
               the story.