Public Speaking
Academic Workshops
at your school, or in my studio
Best Foot Forward
Academic Workshop
How to be calm, clear and convincing
when speaking in public
Keeping cool
Academic Workshop
How to handle job interviews,
university acceptance interviews and more
Cat on a hot tin roof
Death of a Salesman
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
Private Lives
Films
A Few Good Men
Don Francis
Scene: You cant handle the truth
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee (Tom Cruise): I think I'm entitled to them.
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: You're goddamn right I did!!
CAROL
Don Francis
SCENE - Custody Battle
​
FRED - Not so fast, my clients psychotherapist is perfectly satisfied with her recovery from the events of the winter, asserting she’s more than capable of caring for her own child.
She has no further contact with the girl in question…
Carol - May I speak. Harge, I want you to be… Happy. I didn’t give you that – I failed you – we both could’ve… Given. More. (beat) But we give each other Rindy, and that is – the most – breathtaking, the most… Generous… Of gifts. (beat) so why are we spending so much time… coming up with ways to keep her from each other. (beat) Now what happened with Therese, I wanted. And I will not deny it or say that I …
But I do regret, I – grieve…the mess we’re about to make…of our child’s life. We, Harge, we are both …responsible. Let’s … set it right. Beat. I want Harge to have …permanent custody-
(talking over each other)
FRED - Could I suggest we just take a break for a moment
JERRY - No, I think your client has made it perfectly clear
Carol
No, Fried, Let me have my say, because if you stop me, I wont be able - to bear...
(Beat) I want visits with her, Harge. I don’t care if they’re supervised. But they need to be regular. (beat) there was a time … I would have locked myself away – done most anything…just to keep Rindy with me. Bu…what use am I to her…to us…if I’m living against my own grain
That’s the deal. You take it or leave it. But if you leave it, we got to court. And if we go to court, it’ll get ugly. And we are not ugly people, Harge.
DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Don Francis
Scene: Job Interview with Miranda
MIRANDA Who are you?
ANDY hands her resume to MIRANDA. MIRANDA ignores it.
ANDY My name is Andy Sachs. I recently graduated from-- MIRANDA What are you doing here?
ANDY I think I could do a good job as your assistant and--
MIRANDA gives her a look. ANDY (CONT’D) (fast, blurting)
I came to New York to be a journalist and I sent letters to everyone and I finally got a call from Elias-Clarke and met with Sherry in Human Resources and basically it’s this or Auto Universe.
ANDY stops, can’t quite believe she said that. MIRANDA takes in this burst of honesty.
MIRANDA So you don’t read Runway?
ANDY No.
MIRANDA And before today, you had never heard of me?
ANDY No.
MIRANDA And you have no style or sense of fashion.
ANDY That depends on--
MIRANDA That wasn’t a question.
ANDY I was Editor in Chief of the Daily Northwestern. I won a national competition for college journalists with a series on the janitor’s union --
MIRANDA holds up her hand.
MIRANDA That’s all.
ANDY, startled by the abruptness, keeps talking.
ANDY --that uncovered the exploitation of--
MIRANDA stares. ANDY abruptly stops talking. Heads for the door. Then she stops and turns.
ANDY (CONT’D) Okay, you’re right. I don’t fit in here. I’m not glamorous or skinny and I don’t know much about fashion. But I’m smart, I learn fast and I will work very hard. And...
MIRANDA says nothing. Just then we hear a voice, someone heading into MIRANDA’S office.
little women
Don Francis
SCENE: Amy and Laurie in the Atelier
LAURIE Now that you’ve given up all your foolish artistic hopes, what are you going to do with your life?
AMY Polish up my other talents and be an ornament to society.
LAURIE Here is where Fred Vaughn comes in, I suppose.
AMY Don’t make /fun! LAURIE (laughing) /I’m not!
LAURIE You are not engaged, I hope?
AMY No...
LAURIE But you will be, if he goes down properly on one knee?
AMY Most likely, yes.
AMY He’s rich, richer than you, even.
LAURIE I understand queens of society can’t get on without money. But it does sound odd coming from one of your mother’s girls.
AMY I’ve always known that I would marry rich. Why should I be ashamed of that?
LAURIE There is nothing to be ashamed of, as long as you love him.
AMY Well, I believe we have some power over who we love, it isn’t something that just happens to a person.
LAURIE I think the poets might disagree.
AMY Well. I’m not a poet, I’m just a woman. And as a woman I have no way to make money, not enough to earn a living and support my family. 68. AMY (CONT'D) 69. Even if I had my own money, which I don’t, it would belong to my husband the minute we were married. If we had children they would belong to him not me. They would be his property. So don’t sit there and tell me that marriage isn’t an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you but it most certainly is for me.
Malcolm x
Don Francis
SCENE: God is Black
​
MALCOLM Come on, daddy, pull my coat. What happens if you give all that up? You get sick or somethin'? I pulled a hustle once and got out of the draft.
BEMBRY I'm telling you God's words, not no hustle. I'm talking the words of Elijah, the black man's God. I'm telling you, boy, that God is black.
MALCOLM What? Everybody knows God is White.
BEMBRY (contd) But everything the white man taught you, you learned. He told you you were a black heathen and you believed him. He told you how he took you out of darkness and brought you to the light. And you believed him. He taught you to worship a blond, blue-eyed God with white skin -- and you believed him. He told you black was a curse, you believed him. Did you ever look up the word black in the dictionary? MALCOLM What for?
BEMBRY Did you ever study anything wasn't part of some con? MALCOLM What the hell for, man?
BEMBRY Go on, fool; the marble shooters are waiting for you. MALCOLM Okay, okay. Show me, man.
CLOSE SHOT - A DICTIONARY WE CAN READ the fine print of the definition: DICTIONARY Black, (blak), adj. Destitute of light, devoid of color, enveloped in darkness. Hence, utterly dismal or gloomy, as "the future looked black."
MALCOLM'S VOICE You understand them words?
BEMBRY'S VOICE Read it.
PULLBACK TO SHOW Bembry and Malcolm in a small PRISON LIBRARY. No one else is in the book-lined room.
MALCOLM I can't make out that shit.
BEMBRY Soiled with dirt, foul; sullen, hostile, forbidding -- as a black day. Foully or outrageously wicked, as black cruelty. Indicating disgrace, dishonor or culpability.
DICTIONARY See also blackmail, blackball, blackguard.
MALCOLM Hey, they's some shit, all right.
BEMBRY Now look up "white." Bembry turns the pages of the dictionary to "w."
BEMBRY (contd) Read it. CLOSE SHOT - DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF "WHITE" MALCOLM'S VOICE White (whit), adj. Of the color of pure snow; reflecting all the rays of the spectrum. The opposite of black, hence free from spot or blemish; innocent, pure, without evil intent, harmless. Honest, square-dealing, honorable. Malcolm stumbles through the definition as well as he can. Bembry takes over the reading, giving it ironic emphasis. MALCOLM That's bullshit. That's a white man's book. Ain't all these white man's books?
SHOT - THE SHELVES OF BOOKS
BEMBRY They sure ain't no black man's books in here. MALCOLM Then what you telling me to study in them for? B
EMBRY You got to learn everything the white man says and use it against him. The truth is laying there if you smart and read behind their words. It's buried there. You got to dig it out.
Taxi driver
Don Francis
Scene: You talkin to me?
​
​
TRAVIS, standing, his shirt open. He is wearing the empty chest strap holster, and the .44 is in his hand. In the SHOTS that follow TRAVIS gives the audience a lesson in gunmanship: TRAVIS practices fast-drawing the .38 Special from his holster and firing it. He hooks the .44 into his pants behind his back and practices withdrawing it. He holds the .44 firmly at an arm's length, tightening his forearm muscles. He has worked out a system of metal gliders taped to his inner forearm, whereby the Colt .25 can rest hidden behind the upper forearm until a spring near the elbow is activated, sending the .25 flying down the gliders into his palm. He has cut open his shirt to accomodate the gun mechanism and now checks in the mirror to see how well the gun is hidden. Pretending to confront various thugs and lowlives on his taxi route, he ADLIBS his imagined successful intimidation
In his fantasy, he outguns them all
​
TRAVIS: (in the mirror, testing how quickly he can pull his guns from their sliding holsters)
huh? huh? faster than you. Saw you comin, you fucker...shitheal. I'm standin here. you make the move. you make the move. it's youre move. ..... try it you fuck.
you talkin to me? you talkin to me? ...You talking to me? Well who the hell else are you talkin...you talkin to me? Well i'm the only one here? Who the fuck do you think you're talkin to...oh yeah? huh? K. (pulls gun) Huh?
TRAVIS (V.O.)
TRAVIS lies on his mattress, all bundled up in his shirts, sweater, jacket and guns. His face is turned toward the ceiling, but his eyes are closed.
Listen you fuckers, you screwheads: Here is a man who would not take it anymore... who would not ...let
listen you fuckers, you screwheads, here is a man - who would not take it anymore, a man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit, here is someone who stood up, ...
here is....
​C.U. of diary: entry ends with words "Here is" followed by erratic series of dots.
​
Travis, practicing in the mirror - pulls his arm holster
you're dead
​
CLASSIC Films
CASABLANCA
Don Francis
FERRARI, owner of the Blue Parrot, a competing night
spot, comes into the cafe, sits down, and watches Sam.
Then he sees Rick and they smile at each other. At the
end of the number Ferrari goes to the bar to speak to Rick.
FERRARI Hello, Rick.
RICK Hello, Ferrari. How's business at the Blue Parrot?
FERRARI Fine, but I would like to buy your cafe.
RICK It's not for sale.
FERRARI You haven't heard my offer.
RICK It's not for sale at any price.
FERRARI What do you want for Sam?
RICK I don't buy or sell human beings.
FERRARI That's too bad. That's Casablanca's leading commodity. In refugees alone we could make a fortune if you would work with me through the black market.
RICK Suppose you run your business and let me run mine.
FERRARI Suppose we ask Sam. Maybe he'd like to make a change.
RICK Suppose we do.
FERRARI My dear Rick, when will you realize that in this world today isolationism is no longer a practical policy?
Rick and Ferrari walk over to the piano.
RICK Sam, Ferrari wants you to work for him at the Blue Parrot.
SAM I like it fine here.
RICK He'll double what I pay you.
SAM Yeah, but I ain't got time to spend the money I make here.
RICK Sorry.
Philadelphia Story
Don Francis
SCENE: High Priestess
DEXTER: WHISTLES
TRACY: Oh, heck, that's Dexter. Look, stand by, will you, Connor? I don't want to be alone with him.
DEXTER: Well, well. There you are. Found you just where I thought you'd be. TRACY: Fancy seeing you here.
DEXTER: Orange juice? Certainly.
TRACY: Don't tell me you've forsaken your beloved whiskey and whiskeys? DEXTER: No, but I think a pale pastel shade would be a better color for me today. How about you, Mr. Connor? You drink, don't you? Alcohol, I mean. CONNOR: Hmm? A little.
DEXTER: A little? And you a writer.
TRACY: Dexter, will you do something for me?
DEXTER: Anything, Red. What?
TRACY: Crawl into some small hole until after the wedding.
DEXTER: I couldn't do that. At least not until I've--
TRACY: Connor, don't miss a word. Don't miss a word. We're gonna talk about me.
DEXTER: Why not? You find the subject fascinating. You're far and away your favorite person in the world. Of course, Mr. Connor, she's generous to a fault. TRACY: To a fault, Mr. Connor.
DEXTER: Except to other people's faults. For instance, to what used to be my deep and gorgeous thirst.
TRACY: Disgusting!
DEXTER: A weakness, sure. And strength is your religion. Well, when I realized I was not expected to be a loving husband and a good companion but a kind of a high priest to a virgin goddess.
TRACY: Dexter, you--
DEXTER: Well, then my drinks grew more frequent and deeper, that's all.
TRACY: Connor, don't you let him make you think--Why, he's gone.
DEXTER: (SMUG LAUGH) I like him.
TRACY: Dexter, what are you trying to make me out as?
DEXTER: Red, what do you fancy yourself as? What are you trying to do with this marriage to George? How can you even think of it?
TRACY: George Kittridge is everything you're not. He's been poor and he's had to work and he's had to fight for everything and I love him as I never even began to love you.
DEXTER: Really? You really are in love.
TRACY: Yes I am and you needn't sound so contemptuous.
DEXTER: I'm not, Red. Never of you. You could be the finest woman in the world if you could just learn to have some regard for human frailty. If only you'd slip a little sometime. But I guess that's hopeless. Your sense of inner divinity won't allow that. This goddess must and shall remain intact. This woman must represent her class, a special class. The married maidens.
TRACY: So help me, Dexter, if you say another word--
GEORGE: (SLIGHTLY OFF MIKE, CALLING) Tracy! Darling, you there by the pool? TRACY: George--
DEXTER: That's the new high priest. I'll run along. Here, Red, I brought you a little wedding present. Sorry I had no ribbon to wrap it up with. (GOING OFF) So long, Red.
Sabrina
Don Francis
SCENE: SABRINA SEES DAVID FOR THE FIRST TIME UPON RETURNING FROM PARIS
​
EXT. GLEN COVE STATION - DAY
Sabrina is waiting for her father. David drives down the road.
DAVID: Taxi, miss? Cheapest rates in Glen Cove.
SABRINA: Well hello! How are you?
DAVID: Well, I'm fine. How are you? And I might add, who are you?
SABRINA: Who am l?
DAVID: Am I supposed to know?
SABRINA: Come to think of it, no, you're not supposed to know. DAVID: Are you stranded?
SABRINA: My father was supposed to pick me up, but something must have happened.
DAVID: Whoever your father is and whatever happened, I'll be eternally grateful. That is, if I can give you a lift.
SABRINA: You certainly can. You can drive me home.
DAVID: Good! I'll get your bags. Where do you live?
SABRINA: Desoris Lane.
DAVID: Desoris Lane? Say, that's where I live!
SABRINA: Really?
DAVID: Sure. We must be neighbors, and if there's one thing I believe in, it's "Love thy neighbor."
SABRINA: Oh, so do I. (to her pet dog) Come on, David.
DAVID: David? Is his name David?
SABRINA: Yes, it is.
DAVID: That's funny. My name's David, too.
SABRINA: That is funny, isn't it?
Some like it hot
Don Francis
SCENE - SUGAR AND JOE MEET ON THE BEACH
​
Just as Sugar runs by, Joe extends his foot a couple of inches -- enough to trip her and send her sprawling to the sand.
JOE (lowering paper; imitating Cary Grant ) Oh, I'm terribly sorry. SUGAR My fault.
JOE (helping her up) You're not hurt, are you?
SUGAR I don't think so.
JOE I wish you'd make sure.
SUGAR Why?
JOE Because usually, when people find out who I am, they get themselves a wheel chair and a shyster lawyer, and sue me for a quarter of a million dollars.
SUGAR Well, don't worry. I won't sue you -- no matter who you are. JOE (returning to chair) Thank you.
SUGAR Who are you?
JOE Now, really -- Jerry and the other girls are looking off toward Sugar, waiting for the ball.
JERRY Hey, Sugar -- come on. Sugar picks up the ball.
JOE (blase) So long.
He buries himself behind the Wall Street Journal again. Sugar hesitates for a second, then throws the ball back to the girls. She steps closer to Joe, peers around the paper, studying him.
SUGAR Haven't I seen you somewhere before?
JOE (without looking up) Not very likely.
SUGAR Are you staying at the hotel?
JOE Not at all.
SUGAR Your face is familiar.
JOE Possible you saw it in a newspaper -- or magazine -- Vanity Fair --
SUGAR That must be it.
JOE (waving her aside) Would you mind moving just a little? You're blocking my view.
SUGAR Your view of what?
JOE They run up a red-and-white flag on the yacht when it's time for cocktails.
SUGAR (snapping at the bait) You have a yacht? She turns and looks seaward at a half-a-dozen yachts of different sizes bobbing in the distance. SUGAR (continuing) Which one is yours -- the big one? JOE Certainly not. With all that unrest in the world, I don't think anybody should have a yacht that sleeps more than twelve. SUGAR I quite agree. Tell me, who runs up that flag -- your wife? JOE No, my flag steward. SUGAR And who mixes the cocktails -- your wife? JOE No, my cocktail steward. Look, if you're interested in whether I'm married or not --
SUGAR I'm not interested at all.
JOE Well, I'm not.
SUGAR That's very interesting.
Joe resumes reading the paper. Sugar sits on the sand beside his chair. SUGAR (continuing)
Gilmore Girls:
Emily & Lorelei Fight
Don Francis
SCENE - Lorelei and Emily's fight at Richard's Funeral
​
I didn't know there'd be a test.
A test?
Yes.
You didn't know there'd be a test? Is that what you just said to me?
I also said I'm sorry.
Did you?
Yes. -
Did you?
Yes.
Did you really?
Okay. You're making me doubt it now...
I asked you for a story. "Oh, there was a time when Dad bought me a doll. I loved this doll." Something like that.
Get out! Now! "Oh, I remember when he took me to the park." He didn't take me to a park.
The zoo.
That either. T
he store! The club! Kathmandu! I don't give a damn where he took you. All I wanted was a fond anecdote from his only daughter and what I got was a rambling diatribe on being abandoned in a steamer trunk.
I didn't...
You have nothing but contempt for this family.
That is not true.
What did we ever do to you that filled you with such contempt? Love you? Support you? Love Rory? Support Rory? I'm not filled with contempt.
All my other friends have children who worship them, who call them every day, who take pride in the family name and traditions.
I have pride.
(DISHES SHATTER) Your father was a great man. A pillar of the community. A man amongst men.
(VOICE BREAKING) I know.
And you dishonor him today like this in his own house.
I didn't mean to dishonor him.
Well, what did you mean to do, Lorelai? Break my heart in public? No fun doing it in private anymore?
Mom. I know that you are in massive pain. Believe it or not, I'm in pain, too. I'm tired and my head is spinning, and I haven't eaten in two days.
You? Not eaten? Please.
Yes, me!
I'm surprised you didn't have a pizza delivered during Ave Maria.
Well, I haven't eaten and I drank my weight in single malt scotch. I screwed up. I made a mistake.
That was not a mistake. That was premeditated.
How could it have been premeditated if I didn't know it was coming?
You never do anything unless it's exactly what you want to do. You never have. You blow through life like a natural disaster knocking down everything and everyone in your path. I wonder if Luke knew what he was getting into with you?
Don't.
Did you ever ask him what he wanted? Where he wanted to live? If he wanted children? I'm sure none of that mattered to Lorelai Gilmore. Nothing ever matters to her except what she wants, what she feels. And God help you if she thinks you've wronged her. She will hold onto that grudge forever just waiting for the moment to get back at you.
I made a mistake! A g*dd*mn mistake! You've never let me make a mistake ever. Not once in my life, which is how we always find ourselves here.
Where?
Standing in the middle of this room yelling at each other like idiots!
How dare you call me an idiot! I just lost my husband! (CRYING) I just lost my father!
And you couldn't care less!
(INHALES SHARPLY) That's horrible. You're horrible.
Get out!
First the help, then me. Seems about right.
Go home! Go back to your beloved town with its carnies and misfits, and tell them how your intolerable mother yelled at you at your father's funeral. And they can all console you and tell you what a witch I am and how perfect you are!
(SIGHS) Full freakin' circle.
Good Omens
Don Francis
SCENE - Crowly and Aziraphale meet
​
EXT. ON THE WALL OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN - DAY
Watching Adam and Eve leave, are the angel, AZIRAPHALE, and beside him, on a tree, a very, very large black SNAKE. The snake TRANSMUTES into a male Demon. He’s dressed in black robes, as opposed to the Angel’s white robes, and his eyes look like the eyes of a snake.
CROWLEY Well, that one went down like a lead balloon.
AZIRAPHALE Sorry. What was that?
CROWLEY I said, Well, that one went down like a lead balloon. AZIRAPHALE Oh. Yes, it did, rather.
CROWLEY Bit of an overreaction, if you ask me. First offense and everything. And I can’t see what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyway.
AZIRAPHALE It must BE bad...
CROWLEY Crowly
AZIRAPHALE Otherwise you wouldn’t have tempted them into it.
CROWLEY They just said, Get up there and make some trouble.
AZIRAPHALE Obviously. You’re a demon. It’s what you do.
CROWLEY Not very subtle of the almighty, though. Fruit tree in the middle of a garden, with a don’t touch sign. Why notput it on the top of a mountain. Or on the moon. Makes you wonder what God's really planning.
AZIRAPHALE Best not to speculate. It’s all part of the Great plan. It's not for us to understand. it's Ineffable.
CROWLEY The Great Plans ineffable?
AZIRAPHALE Exactly. It is beyond understanding, and incapable of being up into words.
CROWLEY Didn’t you have a flaming sword?
AZIRAPHALE Er...
CROWLEY You did. It was flaming like anything. What happened to it?
AZIRAPHALE Er...
CROWLEY Lost it already, have you?
AZIRAPHALE (mutters inaudibly) Gave it away.
CROWLEY You what?
AZIRAPHALE I gave it away. They looked so miserable. And there are vicious animals, and it’s going to be cold out there, and she’s expecting already, and I said, here you go, flaming sword, don’t thank me, and don’t let the sun go down on you here.... I do hope I didn’t do the wrong thing.
CROWLEY Oh, you’re an angel. I dont think you can do the wrong thing.
AZIRAPHALE Oh, thank you, oh thank you. It’s been bothering me.
In the distance, Adam uses the flaming sword on some poor lion. Aziraphale winces.
​
CROWLEY Well ...I’ve been worrying too. What if I did the right thing, with the whole eat-the-apple business. A demon can get into a lot of trouble for doing the right thing. Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? If i did the good thing and you did the bad one?
AZIRAPHALE heh...no! It wouldn't be funny at all!
The Thunderstorm begins in earnest.
The Newsroom
Don Francis
SCENE: America is not the greatest country in the world anymore
Will - It's not the greatest country in the world, professor, that's my answer.
Moderator- [pause] You're saying—
Will- Yes.
Moderator- Let's talk about—
Will- Fine. [to the liberal panelist] Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paychecks, but he [gesturing to the conservative panelist] gets to hit you with it anytime he wants. It doesn't cost money, it costs votes. It costs airtime and column inches. You know why people don't like liberals? Because they lose. If liberals are so fuckin' smart, how come they lose so GODDAM ALWAYS!
And [to the conservative panelist] with a straight face, you're going to tell students that America's so starspangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom. Two hundred seven sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom.
And you—sorority girl—yeah—just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there are some things you should know, and one of them is that there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. We're seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies. None of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are without a doubt, a member of the WORST-period-GENERATION-period-EVER-period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about?! Yosemite?!!!
We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed and struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, and we acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn't belittle it; it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn't scare so easy. And we were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.
​
Will- [to moderator] Enough?
THE NEWSROOM
Don Francis
SCENE - LEONA WONT LET THE NEWS ANCHOR TEAM RESIGN
​
WILL Did she seem mad?
CHARLIE Hmm?
WILL When you talked to her on the phone.
CHARLIE It's after midnight. You think we got her out of bed?
LEONA You did not get me out of bed. Good night.
I just paid $1,000 to see Skyfall and attend a party at the Museum of Modern Art. The proceeds are going to the Tribeca Film Festival. - You know why? –
To support the arts?
LEONA - To meet Daniel Craig.
CHARLIE - Did you?
LEONA Hurricane Sandy and the airports.
CHARLIE - He wasn't there? –
LEONA He was not there.
You look like Daniel Craig. Get up. Oh, you look less like him now. Sit back down. And what about you? Why so glum, sugarplum?
CHARLIE We're gonna resign, Leona. It's what has to happen now.
Elliot Hirsch, Sloan Sabbith, Terry Smith, Dayside ACN, ACN.
We understand the integrity of the news is more important...
LEONA Than one individual. That is beautiful. Not as beautiful as Daniel Craig.
CHALIE - Leona. –
LEONA I'd have sent my plane. - I'd have sent my plane. -
CHARLIE We're not fucking around.
LEONA You will resign when I fire you out of petty malice and not before.
CHARLIE- Our trust numbers are...
LEONA - Yeah, they're bad.
CHALIE They're fatal.
WILL Firing Jerry was obviously the right thing to do, but it wasn't enough and we've known that for two months. Charlie and I have to go.
LEONA - And Twiggy over here? –
MAC It was my fault.
LEONA McMac. Can I call you McMac? Doesn't matter, I'm gonna anyway, McMac.- Your head's up your ass. –
MAC Mrs. Lansing.
LEONA Guy comes in here into my hizzy...Guy comes in here, cooks an interview, no remorse. 30 lawyers vet the story, it goes on air. You, I don't know what you'd do to Sherlock Holmes this thing. I wouldn't be able to figure it out and I'm the smartest person in the room.
WILL Well, I wouldn't go that...
LEONA Oh, shut the fuck up, you Daniel Craig wannabe.
WILL I don't want to be Daniel Craig.
LEONA Well, you should want to be Daniel Craig. Everybody should.
CHARLIE Leona, are you stoned?
LEONA You know, my makeup lasts a long time.
MAC - Oh, jeez. - Mrs. Lansing.
LEONA No, no, please, call me... Continue to call me Mrs. Lansing.
CHARLIE - Leona...
LEONA - Guy comes into my house --- which I love.
Which I bet you guys didn't know. But I love it. I love ACN.
You don't make me a nickel and you cause headaches for the divisions that do,
but you make me... You make me so proud.
God, guy comes in here, cooks an interview, and this ends up with... 'Cause he's unemployable he gets a $5 million settlement and the three of you leave?
Oh, I don't think so. And McMac. That's a name that's really starting to grow on me.
She doesn't have to go. Nobody's ever heard of her. But she's gonna do the honorable thing. And what's expected of me, huh? Not to do the honorable thing? What's expected of me? No, I do not accept your resignations. And Jerry Dantana's not gonna get one fucking dollar. I’ve got some kick-ass courtroom outfits.
WILL You have to accept our resignations and you have to settle.
He'll take it to trial and win. There was an institutional failure and he was the only one fired.
BECCA Then you'll need a good lawyer. Lee, don't accept their resignations.
LEONA I already wasn't accepting their resignations, Becca. Don't horn in on my honorable thing. God, I mean, can't a lady have...
CHARLIE Leona, we don't have the trust of the public anymore!
LEONA Get it back!
Cat on a hot tin roof
Don Francis
Act 1
Maggie
​
Brick, y’know I’ve been so God damn disgustingly poor all my life!- That’s the truth, Brick!
(BRICK: I’m not sayin’ it isn’t)
Always had to suck up to people I couldn’t stand because they had money and I was poor as Job’s turkey. You don’t know what it’s like. Well, I’ll tell you, it’s like you would feel a thousand miles away from Echo Spring!- And had to get back to it on that broken ankle… without a crutch!
That’s how it feels to be as poor as Job’s turkey and have to suck up to relatives that you hated because they had money and all you had was a bunch of hand-me-down clothes and a few old moldy three per cent government bonds. My daddy loved his liquor, he fell in love with his liquor the same way you’ve fallen in love with Echo Spring!- And my poor Mama, having to maintain some semblance of social position, to keep appearances up, on an income of one hundred and fifty dollars a month on those old government bonds!
When I came out, the year I made my debut, I had just two evening dresses! One Mother made me from a pattern in Vogue, the other a hand-me-down from a snotty rich cousin I hated! -The dress that I married you in was my grandmother’s weddin’ gown… So that’s why I’m like a cat on a hot tin roof!
You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it. You’ve got to be old with money because to be old without it is just too awful, you’ve got to be one or the other, either young or with money, you can’t be old and without it.- That’s the truth, Brick…
Death of a salesman
Don Francis
Biff:
Now hear this, Willy, this is me. You know why I had no address for three months? I stole a suit in Kansas City and I was jailed. I stole myself out of every good job since high school. And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That’s whose fault it is! It’s goddamn time you heard that! I had to be boss big shot in two weeks, and I’m through with it! Willy! I ran down eleven flights with a pen in my hand today. And suddenly I stopped, you hear me? And in the middle of that office building, do you hear this? I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw – the sky. I saw the things that I love in the world. The work and the food and the time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! Why can’t I say that, Willy? Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you! I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash-can like all the rest of them!
I’m one dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it! A buck an hour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes any more, and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home! Pop, I’m nothing! I’m nothing, Pop. Can’t you understand that? There’s no spite in it any more. I’m just what I am, that’s all. Will you let me go, for Christ’s sake? Will you take that phoney dream and burn it before something happens?
the grapes of wrath
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Don Francis
Tom Joad said farewell to his mother Ma Joad
​
Well, maybe it's like Casy says. A fella ain't got a soul of his own - just a little piece of a big soul. The one big soul that belongs to everybody...Then it don't matter. I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere - wherever you can look. Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready. And when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise, and livin' in the houses they build, I'll be there, too.
of mice and men
Don Francis
George
​
Guys like us that work on ranches is the loneliest guys in the world. They ain’t got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch and work up a stake and then they go in to town and blow their stake. And then the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothin’ to look ahead to. (Still almost chanting)
With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no barroom, blowin in our jack, just because we got no place else to go. If them other guys get in jail, they can rot for all anybody gives a damn.
private lives
Don Francis
AMANDA: Thoughtful of them to play that, wasn' it?
ELYOT [in a stifled voice]: What are you doing here?
AMANDA: I'm on honeymoon.
ELYOT: How interesting, so am I.
AMANDA: I hope you're enjoying it.
ELYOT: It hasn't started yet.
AMANDA: Neither has mine.
ELYOT: Oh, my God!
AMANDA: I can't help feeling that this is a little unfortunate.
ELYOT: Are you happy?
AMANDA: Perfectly.
ELYOT: Good. That's all right, then, isn't it?
AMANDA: Are you?
ELYOT: Ecstatically.
AMANDA: I'm delighted to hear it. We shall probably meet again sometime.
Au revoir!
[She turns.]
ELYOT [firmly]: Good-bye.