Part 3 - Danielle's Ultimatum

(Please read the previous episodes before reading this posting)
Part 1 - Meet Jack Collins
Part 2 - Jack Would Rather Be in the Coffin Than Giving the Eulogy

Warren and Jack unwind after work, then Jack meets his girlfriend Danielle for a non-celebratory dinner.

EXT. SKATEBOARD PARK – DAY.
The scene opens on a busy outdoor skateboard park. We see Jack and Warren’s backs as they overlook the edge of a concrete halfpipe. All around them are skater-kids performing aerial stunts.

LOUD RAP MUSIC THROBS from an unseen boom box.

QUICK PAN OF:

JACK AND WARREN’S FACES.
We see Warren first. Below a helmet perched on his large head like Jackie Kennedy’s pillbox hat, Warren’s eyes are full of wonder and excitement as he takes in the spectacle. Jack’s eyes are full of dread and his face is white as he watches kids half his age defy gravity without fear.

.

EXT. SKATEBOARD PARK – DAY.
Jack keeps ducking for fear he is about to be struck by a runaway board. Warren is oblivious as he tightens the helmet under his several chins. The knee and elbow pads strain to keep his flesh
in.

WARREN

All I’m saying is I’ve seen worse
presentations. Now, I’ll take a couple of
runs and then you can have a turn. Okay?

.

JACK

I think I’ll pass. I’d rather not meet
Danielle for dinner in a body cast.

He looks again in awed appreciation the spectacle of youthful skill and daring.

.

JACK (CONT’D)

Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider,
or at least start with something
less...concrete? Maybe a mattress?

.

WARREN

Nah. Where’s the fun in that? I may be big,
but I’m agile. Like a cat.

.

Warren shoves off from the edge. The camera FOLLOWS his decent into the half pipe. He gathers great speed and the momentum carries him up the other side.

.

The camera PULLS BACK LEVEL with the top of the half pipe at Jack’s feet. We see Warren SHOOT over the top of the wall. He is airborne, rising higher. All the other skaters watch as he passes overhead. Warren’s accent peaks, and he plummets back to earth outside the pipe. He DISAPPEARS behind the grassy knoll on the other side.

.

Before Jack can call out to him, Warren pops back up over the edge of the knoll. His helmet is askew and there are clumps of grass in his elbow and knee pads. He waves the skateboard over
his head.

.

WARREN

I’m all right. I’m okay.

.

JACK
(to himself)

I think you’d find those who would disagree
with that.

CUT TO:

INT. BUSY RESTAURANT – NIGHT.
The camera moves through the room past the diners. We see an attractive woman in her early thirties talking as she cuts her food. This is DANIELLE MORGAN, Jack’s girlfriend.

The camera SWINGS AROUND to show Jack. His hands are in his lap, shoulders hunched. He hasn’t touched his food.

.

DANIELLE

Really, Jack how bad could it be?

.

JACK

I ordered medium and this is rare.

.

DANIELLE

So send it back.

.

JACK

Nah, that’s all right.

.

Jack pokes half heartedly at his meat.

.

DANIELLE

Anyway, I was talking about the
presentation.

.

JACK

Oh that.

.

DANIELLE

I mean...

.

Danielle stifles a laugh.

.

DANIELLE (CONT’D)

You really sat down after only the

second screen?

.

JACK

Apparently. I really don’t really remember.

.

DANIELLE

And nobody said anything?

.

JACK

Nope.

.

A WAITER steps to their table.

.

WAITER

And how is everything?

.

JACK

Fine.

.

DANIELLE

Mine is good, but his steak is

undercooked.

.

WAITER

I’m so sorry Sir. I will have it fixed

right away.

.

JACK

No, that’s okay.

.

Jack moves to protect his plate with his body.

.

WAITER

Please Sir, I insist.

.

The waiter dodges left, then right. Jack tries to wrap his arms around the plate, but the waiter goes over the top. The waiter is quicker than Jack and he snatches away the plate. A couple of
roasted potatoes fall on the place mat. Jack spears one with his fork and eats it.

.

Danielle continues to eat vigorously while chuckling.

.

DANIELLE

So Bryan did your presentation. The
presentation you’ve been working on for...
what, six weeks?

.

She takes a big bite of steak. Danielle is a great girl, beautiful, feminine, and confident enough to enjoy life without worrying what people think about her.

.

JACK

Yup.

.

DANIELLE
(talking through a mouthful of food)

I’m sorry, I really am Jack. But you have
to see the humor in this.

.

Jack looks down and begins to cut his remaining potato with sadistic fervor, slicing it into ever smaller pieces.

.

JACK

Humor? What, like burying Grandma humor?
Funny like re-breaking a leg that was set
wrong? Or how about if you married my best
friend? That would be a scream. Fucking
hilarious.

.

DANIELLE
(playfully)

Would you be upset if I married Warren?

.

JACK

Sure.

.

DANIELLE

Why? Do you want to marry me?

.

JACK

Yes. Yes I do.

.

Danielle has just asked Jack to marry her. They both pause to let the significance of what just happened sink in. Jack is not exactly sure how he just became engaged. Finally Danielle breaks the silence.

.

DANIELLE

Okay. I’ll be serious. Will FuBaste go
ahead? And hopefully get a better name.

.

JACK

Maybe, but I won’t get to lead any of it.
(beat)
Of course in The Great Escape, most of the
prisoners didn’t make it out of the camp.

.

DANIELLE

Jack...

.

JACK

We can’t have success if everyone is a
glory hog.

.

DANIELLE

Jack, there’s a difference between grabbing
the spotlight and collapsing from stage
fright.

.

Jack doesn’t hear her.

.

JACK

Bryan actually did a pretty good job. He
may not know much but he sure can fake it.

.

The waiter returns with his plate.

.

WAITER

Here you are Sir. I hope this is more
satisfactory.

.

Jack ignores him as he is engrossed in his movie thoughts. He starts to eat his meal.

.

JACK

He’s like Chevy Chase in Fletch.

.

DANIELLE

Oh Jack, please don’t start with that. No
movies tonight.

.

JACK

Because Fletch was able to talk his way
into anything. It’s the same kind of self-confidence.

.

Danielle looks bored. She chews disinterestedly as he becomes more animated. He may really be onto something.

.

JACK (CONT'D)

Except that Fletch really did know what he
was doing. Bryan doesn’t know anything
about software, or business -- or anything
I can see. Maybe he’s more like one of The
Three Amigos.

.

Danielle puts down her silverware.

.

DANIELLE

Okay. This needs to stop.

.

JACK

(startled from his movie talk)

What? Is there something wrong with the
food?

.

DANIELLE

No. It’s you and your Macho Man movies.

They run your whole life.

.

JACK

No they don’t. They -- they liberate me.

.

DANIELLE

They cripple you Jack.

.

JACK

You’re wrong Danielle. Guy movies deal with
all the elements that cause stress and show
how you can solve them so you can walk off
into the sunset while the villagers pray
for your return.

.

DANIELLE

Oh please. I’ve heard the speech before.

.

JACK

A guy movie exists on the basic premise
that action is better than talk, that honor
is better than compromise and sometimes all
a guy needs is the right line to get out of
any situation. “Hasta la vista, Baby.”

.

DANIELLE

But Jack, they keep you from taking any
risk. That’s your problem. I don’t
understand why, maybe you’re afraid to act
in case it doesn’t turn out like you’ve
seen.

.

JACK

It’s not unusual to hate public speaking
Danielle. Lots of people do.

.

DANIELLE

But it’s more than that. You’re the
smartest guy at GL but you can’t step out
to get noticed. In twenty years, you’ll
still be writing code and helping new
college grads become your boss. We’ve been
dating for over three years, and in case
you didn’t notice tonight, we’re now
engaged only because I asked you.

.

JACK

Yeah. -- I did notice that.

.

DANIELLE

I love you. But that’s not how I want a
proposal. I want to be romanced by a man
who is willing to do whatever it takes to
win me. I think I deserve it.

.

JACK

You do. I -- I love you too.

.

DANIELLE

But you don’t know how to do that Jack
because you’ve never seen it in a movie.
Not the Dirty Dozen, not Dirty Harry or any
other unwashed action hero.

.

JACK

There’s James Bond. He does okay with the
ladies.

.

DANIELLE

That’s not love and those aren’t women.
They’re some old man’s martini masturbation
fantasy come to life.

.

This is said loudly enough that people at the surrounding tables stop eating. The word “masturbation” will do that in a restaurant. Danielle turns to speak to one particularly outraged man in his sixties.

.

DANIELLE (CONT'D)

Oh come on. Pussy Galore? Honey Ryder? What
kind of names are those?

.

JACK
(impressed)

I can’t believe you know that.

.

DANIELLE

Of course I do. It’s hard to forget
anything so juvenile and embarrassing.
Those ridiculous names, and the shallow,
unprotected sex that go along with them,
ruin what are some decent films.

.

Neither Jack nor Danielle has touched their food for some time. The waiter continues to circle the table but does not dare break into the conversation to ask if everything is all right.

.

JACK

If you want me to try harder at work...

.

DANIELLE

Jack, it’s not your position at work that’s
the problem; it’s just a symptom. If I
believed you were happy, then that would be
great. I don’t care if you’re the president
or the janitor, as long as it’s what you
want to do.

.

JACK

But it’s just a job. I can ignore all that
because you are what’s important to me.

.

DANIELLE

But it’s not enough. I don’t want to be in
a relationship where you relate to the
world only through what happened in some
movie. You need to want to be with me more
than your need to stay up late to watch
Sonny Corleone get gunned down for the
hundredth time.

.

Jack is about to say something to object but Danielle raises her hand to stop him.

.

DANIELLE (CONT'D)

I know The Godfather is an Oscar winner,
and believe it or not, I do enjoy watching
it, but maybe once every five years, not
once a week.

.

JACK

So what are you saying?

.

DANIELLE

I’m going to make this real easy for you:
me or the movies.

.

JACK

Dee -- I don’t see that they are two things
I need to choose between.

.

DANIELLE

They are when your obsession with them puts
them ahead of our life together.

.

Danielle pushes her chair back and wipes her hands as she stands.

.

DANIELLE

Either you give up the films Jack, or me.

.

Danielle kisses Jack on the top of his head and walks out of the restaurant. Jack makes no move to follow her. He knows this is a critical moment when a grand gesture could save him. However, another anxiety attack, like earlier in the day, keeps him glued to the chair, rubbing his sweaty palms against his sides as he tries to control his breathing.

.

The waiter approaches.

WAITER

Is everything all right Sir?

.

JACK

Huh?

.

WAITER

Is everything all right Sir? Can I get you
something else?

.

JACK

No. I’m fine.

.

Jack adopts a southern drawl a la the sadistic sheriff in Cool Hand Luke.

.

JACK (CONT'D)

What we’ve got here is a failure to
communicate.

.

The waiter just stares at him blankly, not knowing the reference.