THE INSIDER

                         SHARON (CONT'D)
               Two p.m.  Great.  Bye-bye.
                   (hangs up)

                         LOWELL
                   (reading)
               ..."ignition propensity?"
                   (to Sharon)
               ...you understand any of this...?

     He gives her some papers.  We see formulas...scientific data
     in tables...

                         SHARON
               ...no...this looks like a table of
               temperatures...  Who's this from?

                         LOWELL
                   (shrugs)
               ...it's anonymous.  References to "P.M."
                   (motions)
               It's got to be Philip Morris, huh?

                         SHARON
               I have to take a shower.

     As he looks at the papers, Sharon goes into the bathroom...

     INT. THE FEDERAL DRUG ADMINISTRATION AGENCY, CAFETERIA,
     WASHINGTON - DAY

     We see a MAN in his forties, eating a late lunch, getting
     paged in a crowded cafeteria.  An old 1930's WPA mural on the
     wall...  His pager goes off...

     Doug Oliver walks across the cafeteria to a bank of pay
     phones and dials.

     INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, DEN - BERKELEY - MORNING

     The phone rings.  Lowell picks it up...

                         LOWELL
               Yeah.

                         DOUG OLIVER
                   (into phone)
               Hi, this is Doug Oliver...

                         LOWELL
               Oh, hi, Doug...it's Lowell.  I'm doing
               this story on fire safety...  People
               burning up from falling asleep smoking.
               I received a shitload of scientific
               papers from inside Philip Morris...
               Anonymous.  You or anybody in FDA know
               someone who can translate this stuff into
               English for me?

                         DOUG OLIVER
                   (beat)
               ...uh, yeah...

     EXT. A BERKELEY CAFE - CLOSE:  PAY PHONE

     There's the sound of a phone ringing.  PULL BACK to reveal
     Lowell outside a cafe with dry cleaning he collected over one
     shoulder.  A LITTLE GIRL'S VOICE OVER (Deborah's) answers.
     "Hello."

                         LOWELL
               Mr. Wigand, please.

     There's a whisper..."Someone's calling for Daddy, Mom."

     Behind Lowell is a humming Berkeley street.  He gestures
     familiarly to a Server, who brings out his two take-out
     cappuccinos.  Lowell nods his thanks, pays...

                         LOWELL (cont'd)
               Thank you, Bob.

                         LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
               Who's calling?

                         LOWELL
               My name's Lowell Bergman...  I'm --

                         LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
               Did you say Berman?

                         LOWELL
               No, Bergman...B.E.R.G.M.A.N....  I'm a
               producer with "60 Minutes"...

                         LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
               "60 Minutes"?

                         LOWELL
               Yeah.

                         LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
               "60 Minutes," the television show?

                         LOWELL
               Yes.

     Lowell waits for some moments, and...

     INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - DAY

                        LIANE
                   (on phone)
               He doesn't want to talk to you.

     EXT./INT. BERKELEY CAFE - DAY

                         LOWELL
               How does he know he doesn't want to talk
               to me?  He doesn't know what I'm calling
               him about...

                         LIANE'S VOICE (OVER)
               He doesn't care to know.

     And she hangs up.  Lowell's motionless...  And his interest
     piqued, he sets down his cleaning.  He calls back...  The
     phone rings and rings...  A MACHINE picks it up...  Jeffrey
     Wigand's Voice:  "This is the Wigands'...  If you'd like to
     leave a message or send a fax, start now..."

     INT. THE WIGAND HOUSE, JEFFREY'S OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY

     And we see Jeffrey Wigand, sitting at his desk in his office,
     working on his computer, hearing Lowell...

                         LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
                   (on the machine)
               This is Lowell Bergman with "60
               Minutes"...  I'm doing a story on fire
               safety and cigarettes...  I have
               scientific documents from a tobacco
               company, and I could use your help as a
               consultant explaining these documents to
               me...  My number is area code 510-555-
               0199...  I'll be there, at this number,
               in 10 minutes.

     He hangs up.  Jeffrey doesn't react, quietly working on his
     computer.

     INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY

     Lowell's restless, waiting...  And not getting a call back,
     he tries another tact.  He writes a FAX, "Please call me
     at..."  He writes his number down.  He sends the Fax.  He's
     still.  It's quiet.  And not getting an answer he gets up,
     starting to leave the room.  And suddenly the fax machine
     RINGS...  He turns.  He reads a message emerging from the
     machine..."I can't talk to you..."  He's quiet.  He writes on
     a piece of paper..."Can't talk to me?"  "Won't talk to me?"
     "Don't want to talk to me...?"  As he faxes it back...

     INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY

     Wigand reading the return fax from Lowell...

     INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY

     Lowell, waiting...  The fax machine rings again...  He reads
     Jeffrey's answer.  "Can't."  "Won't."  "Don't want to..."
     He's quiet, more than just interested, now.  There's
     something beyond intriguing here.  He turns.  He looks
     through a stack of phone books for something...a nationwide
     800 directory.  He looks through it and dials Wigand's phone
     number again...

                         LOWELL
               If you're curious to meet me...

     INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY

     Wigand working on his computer...  Lowell's VOICE on his
     answering machine...

                         LOWELL'S VOICE (OVER)
                   (on machine)
               ...I'm gonna be in the lobby of the
               Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, reading The
               New York Times, tomorrow, at five
               o'clock...

     Lowell clicks off.  And as Wigand sits at his computer,
     giving no indication what he might do...

     INT. THE SEELBACH HOTEL LOBBY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - EARLY
     EVENING

     An old hotel with faded carpets.  Lowell in the lobby reading
     a New York Times, waiting...  And instead of looking up every
     time somebody passes, he looks down at people's shoes.  A
     pair of black wing tips walking by...  A woman's high
     heels...  A pair of men's tasseled loafers.  A lace-up brown.
     A pair of tennis shoes.  A cordovan wing tip.  The pair of
     tasseled loafers walking by again...  And Lowell looks up...

     And the Man in the tasseled loafers, turns away...  It's
     Jeffrey Wigand in a suit and a tie with a Fortune 500,
     corporate-executive bearing...  Lowell crosses to the
     elevators.  Wigand looks around the lobby and follows Lowell
     in, and as the doors close...

     INT. A HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - EARLY EVENING

                         LOWELL (OVER)
               Have you always lived in Louisville?

     Brilliant late afternoon sunlight.  We PULL BACK to see
     Jeffrey, standing by a window, silently looking outside to
     the left...  Lowell, cool, waiting, hands in his pockets, in
     the middle of the large room...

                         WIGAND
               Mr. Bergman?  What did you want me to
               consult about?

     A sudden KNOCK on the door...

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
                   (turns, suspicious)
               Who's that?

                         LOWELL
                   (wry)
               That's room service.  They usually knock
               first.
                   (calls)
               Come on in...  Over here, please.

     Room Service brings in a tray with coffee.  As Lowell signs
     the bill, the Room Service Waiter waiting, looks at Wigand...
     Their eyes meet...  The Waiter looks away.

                         LOWELL (cont'd)
               Thank you.

     And the Waiter leaves...

                         LOWELL (CONT'D)
                    (pouring)
               How do you like your coffee?  Black?

                         WIGAND
               Black, black...

     Lowell gives him his cup of coffee.

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
               Look, I really don't have that much
               time...

                         LOWELL
                   (nods)
               Is there anything you want to know about
               me, Mr. Wigand...?

                         WIGAND
               Like what?  Your sign?

     Lowell smiles.

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
               I know what I have to know.

                         LOWELL
               Just so I know you know, when I talk to
               people in confidence, it stays that way.

                         WIGAND
                   (abruptly)
               How did a radical journalist from
               Ramparts Magazine end up at CBS?

     Lowell looks at him, he does his homework...

                         LOWELL
               I still do the tough stories.  "60
               Minutes" reaches a lot of people.

     Wigand's quiet, measuring him.

                         WIGAND
                   (after a beat)
               Let me see the documents...

     Lowell gives him the box of papers...  Wigand sits down, the
     box on his lap, quietly looking through them...flips to a
     different heading, consults a chart...

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
               ...this is a Fire-Safety Product Study
               for Philip Morris.  Burn rates...ignition
               propensity...things of this nature.
                   (after a beat)
               I could very easily explain this to you
               in layman's terms, because it's from
               another company...

     He puts the papers down...

                         WIGAND (cont'd)
               ...but that's as far as I go...

                         LOWELL
               Far as you go where?

                         WIGAND
                   (a beat)
               This issue is a drop in the bucket.  I
               can talk to you about what's in here.
               But I can't talk to you about anything
               else.

     And Lowell knows something else is going on here...

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
                   (meaning Philip Morris
                    documents)
               I signed a confidentiality agreement.  I
               honor agreements...

     A lot more is going on here...  Lowell nods, a good
     reporter...

                         WIGAND (CONT'D)
               Doesn't CBS have confidentiality
               agreements, Mr. Bergman?

                         LOWELL
               Between journalists and management, yes,
               I believe they do...but I don't take that
               seriously.
                   (after a beat)
               Where do you work?

                         WIGAND
               Did work.

                         LOWELL
                   (fast)
               Did work.

                         WIGAND
                   (the bottom line)
               How much would I get paid?

                         LOWELL
               That, you have to discuss with CBS
               Business Affairs.  But, for something
               like this, I would say anywhere between
               10, 12 thousand.

     Wigand nods "Okay."

                         WIGAND
               Should I just take the documents now?

                         LOWELL
               If you want to do it.

     He turns to leave...  Lowell gets the door for him...  Wigand
     momentarily slows...

                         WIGAND
               I worked as the head of Research and
               Development for Brown & Williamson
               Tobacco Company.  I was a Corporate Vice
               President.  Mr. Bergman...

     And he goes out the door...  Lowell's still.  Wigand's job
     title resonates.  Lowell turns to the window, casually
     looking into the early evening...and he comes face to face
     with what Wigand was staring at, The Brown & Williamson
     Tobacco Company Headquarters Building, lit up right across
     the street...

     INT. CBS, A SCREENING ROOM - DAY

                         MIKE WALLACE
                   (on screen)
               "President Assad of Syria said that
               difficult obstacles remain but that his
               country, quote, 'looks forward to a
               great, long peace with Israel.'"

     TAIL LEADER.  THEN BLACK.  Suddenly lights come on.
     Executive Producer DON HEWITT is suddenly on his feet.  A
     veritable dervish, in constant motion...

                         DON HEWITT
                   (kissing Mike)
               It's a Peabody, Mike.  When you're dead
               and buried, Hezbollah is the one they're
               gonna remember you for...

     Mike, used to him, ignores him, getting up, turning to leave,
     Hewitt on his tail...while...

                         LOWELL
                   (to his Editor)
               ...come in earlier on Mike's Marine
               barracks line when he's talking to Sheikh
               Mussawi...

                         MIKE WALLACE
               You eating with us?

                         LOWELL
               Yeah.

                         MIKE WALLACE
               Bring a tie so they'll let us in the
               front door...

     And Lowell gestures for an olive-skinned Woman in her late
     thirties, Lowell's assistant, DEBBIE DELUCA, to join them.
     The eye contact on the way out says there's something
     important he needs to tell her...

     EXT. CBS - DAY

     There's a blast of NOISE.  The City.  Lowell, Wallace,
     Hewitt, Debbie, enter from the CBS lobby, moving through the
     reflections.  Lowell is about to say something to Debbie, but
     BILL FELLING, Evening News' Assignment Editor, coming the
     other way...

                         LOWELL
               Debbie...

                         FELLING
               Hey, Lowell.

     Midstream, fast:

                         LOWELL
               Oh, Bill...  Main Justice is
               investigating a major New York bank.
               Laundering narco dollars out of their
               Mexico City branch.  You want it for the
               Evening News?

                         FELLING
               What about you, you got a crew already?

                         LOWELL
               I'm gonna do a follow-up.

                         FELLING
               Okay.
                   (leaves)

                         LOWELL
               Catch ya' later.

     EXT. 53RD STREET, NEW YORK - DAY

     Lowell, crossing...

                         LOWELL
               Debbie...

     And, now, as they cross Madison...