Script To Screen: “Philadelphia”
The 1993 movie Philadelphia was written by Ron Nyswaner and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
The 1993 movie Philadelphia was written by Ron Nyswaner and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Setup: When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
WHEELER
We've been talking it over, Andy.
Your future that is... We feel that,
because we respect you so much, we
have to be honest with you. ANDREW
Honesty is always best. SEIDMAN
Do you really think so, Andy? ANDREW
Yes, Bob, I do.
(to the group)
Excuse me? Am I being fired? WHEELER
Let's put it this way, Andy:
your place in the future of this
firm is no longer secure. JOE
In a word, yes. WHEELER
We don't think it's fair to keep
you here, where your future is
limited. But we wish you luck,
Andy, all the luck in the world.Wheeler rises, wearing a friendly smile. WHEELER (CONT.)
And I hate to rush you out of
here, but... JOE
But he's got lots of other
people's lives to ruin... WHEELER
... we've got a committee meeting. ANDREW
Excuse me, Charles. With all
due respect... this is...
preposterous! It doesn't make
any sense, it sounds as if we're
talking about someone else.
Pardon the lack of humility, but
I've had the distinct impression
I was kind of... one of the
rising stars around here. And I
feel that wasn't just my
imagination. And I also think I
deserve to know what's really
going on here, Charles. KENTON
Oh, you're right, Beckett, you
don't have an attitude problem. WHEELER
Take it easy, Walter. ANDREW
If you'd lost confidence in me,
why did you give me the Kronos suit? WHEELER
I hoped the challenge would
improve your performance. You
could say it was a carrot. ANDREW
A carrot?! JOE
I buy that. ANDREW
As in, the vegetable? SEIDMAN
(suddenly emotional)
Andy, you nearly blew the case,
for God's sake! That alone is
inexcusable. It would have been
catastrophic for us. Put
yourself in our shoes, Andy.
There's no coming back from an
error like that, regardless of
who you are!
(softer)
I'm sorry, Andy.Andrew FREEZES -- the full nature of this situation hitting
home. He looks each of the PARTNERS in the eye... ANDREW
Uh huh... Okay... I see...... at last LOOKING DIRECTLY AT Wheeler's secretary Lydia,
whose pen is poised above her notebook, waiting for someone
to say something.Wheeler breaks the silence. WHEELER
Good luck, Andy.Wheeler, Kenton, Killcoyne, Seidman and Lydia file out.Andrew doesn't move.A SECURITY GUARD enters the room. ANDREW
Who are you? SECURITY GUARD
I'm here to escort you to your
office so you can organize your
belongings. CUT TO:CAMERA PULLS BACK FROM ANDREW, WE'RE IN JOE'S OFFICE (DAY) ... JOE
Okay. Explain to me like I'm a
two year old, because there's an
element to this I can't get
through my thick head: Didn't
you have an obligation to inform
your employer you had this
dreaded, deadly, infectious
disease?Andrew removes his ballcap -- his hair is cut short, to
disguise the effects of chemo. ANDREW
The law says people with
disabilities cannot be
terminated, so long as they can
perform the duties required by
their position... JOE
Okay, okay... They discover you
have this horrible, disgusting,
terminal illness, and they
panic, for any number of
perfectly valid reasons.
They're frightened for
themselves, their families...
Maybe it's the homo angle.
Maybe they don't want to rub
elbows with someone who's just
popped out of the closet with a
terminal case of acne. And how
do they explain your status to
the client for Chrissake? ANDREW
Joe, from the day I arrived to
the day they fired me, I
performed consistently,
thoroughly and with absolute
excellence. And if they hadn't
fired me, that's what I'd be
doing today.
JOE
Okay... They want you out. It's
against the law to fire you for
having AIDS, so they make you
look like a fuck up. Which
leads us to the mysterious, lost
file. ANDREW
They sabotaged me. JOE
I knew you were going to say
that. I don't buy it, and I
don't see a case. ANDREW
Look. I know I have a case. If
you don't want to take it for
personal reasons... JOE
Correct. I don't.Andrew rises, thoroughly business-like. ANDREW
Thanks for your time. JOE
Beckett? I'm sorry about...
what's happened to you. It's a
fucking kick in the head. ANDREW
(a smile)
Don't send flowers, Joe. I'm
not dead yet.Andrew exits.
Here is the scene in the movie:
There is one huge takeaway from the transition of this script to scene. Can you spot the one I’m thinking of? See you in comments to discuss Philadelphia.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more Script To Screen posts, go here.