13. INT. – DAY – DAILY PLANET, PERRY WHITE´S OFFICE
We see LOIS` face
screaming with disbelief.
LOIS
What???...what
14. INT. –DAY – DAILY PLANET, PRESS ROOM
We see a bunch of the
staff of the Daily Planet staring to PERRY WHITE´s office.
Among them is JIMMY OLSEN (18, red hair, freckled
face, wide eyes), starting too with
a digital camera in his hands.
JIMMY looks
surprised; some of the others look as if laughing at the scene.
15. EXT. – DAY –DAILY PLANET, PERRY WHITE´S OFFICE
This time we see LOIS
with her knuckles on a desk, she almost looks as if a wild animal were about to
jump to its prey’s neck.
LOIS
What do you mean you
are not printing it???
We see at the other
side of the desk a man sitting on a comfortable leather chair, he is PERRY WHITE (57, gray hair, tough
looking, dresses old-fashioned).
PERRY WHITE looks
amused at LOIS`attitude, he smiles while he lights a cigar.
LOIS looks disgusted
as the smoke get near her face and leans back away from the desk.
PERRY inhales some
smoke, exhales and lets some ashes fall on an ashtray, then he speaks calmly,
like a father talking to his own daughter.
PERRY
Yes, Lois. I`m sorry... It`s an
order from Publisihing... We cannot print your story cause it seems Lexcorp is
about to buy the Daily Planet and they don´t want no problems with the
transaction... I know it stinks but...
LOIS
You bet your own cuban cigars
this stinks, Perry! It’s got Lex Luthor’s stench all over and you know it! ... Perry, I`ve
been working hard for this story for about half a year and all this time I`ve
been covering soft stories in order to concentrate on this big fish... You knew
I was working on this!!
LOIS falls heavily on
a sofa, she really looks desperate.
LOIS (with resolution)
Perry, I`m quitting
the Daily Planet...
PERRY
Oh, C`mon, Lois! And
where will you go to? The Gotham Gazette?
LOIS
Well, it´s an option...
PERRY
Yeah, right... All there
is to report in Gotham is how many bats they got flying out of the rooftops
this year! You will make a great career there...
LOIS looks at PERRY
with an interrogative look and then she finally cracks a smile.
PERRY smiles back at
her then walks towards her, sits on a chair and stares at her straight into the
eye.
PERRY
Look, kiddo... I know
it`s a tough break, and it certainly wouldn´t have happened back in the good
old days when the Daily Planet stood for truth and justice. But nowadays money
is the new value and that´s all the big
chiefs up there want to hear about. The Plant hasn´t been pulling its weight in
the last years and they are looking for the first chance to close it, that`s
why I got to play their game for now, get it?
LOIS
I do get it,
Perry... I
just hate it to see Lex Luthor win another one!
PERRY
I know, kiddo, I
know... Let
me tell you this: we`ll get that scoundrel! One way or another, we will. For
the moment let it roll, just this once, ok? Do it for me, or even better do it
for The Planet.
LOIS (exhales)
*Sigh* ... All right, Perry. For
the Planet...and for you.
PERRY
Thank you,
kiddo! You
are a true sport! Now, I just need you to do us one more favor.
LOIS
“Us?”
PERRY
Yes, both you and me.
I need you to storm out of here. First it will maintain your reputation with
the rest of the staff and second it gives me the chance to nag at those lazy no
good peeping-toms!
16. INT.- DAY-
DAILY PLANET, PRESS ROOM
Everybody keeps staring into Perry’s office.
JIMMY
It`s awfully quiet in
there, isn´t it?
WOMAN NEXT TO JIMMY
If you ask me I think
she finally did it...
JIMMY
What?
WOMAN NEXT TO JIMMY
Killed the chief...It
was a matter of time before that woman went crazy and did something
desperate...Loneliness will do that to you. She´s too career-centered for her
own good...
JIMMY
Oh, but Ms. Lane…she`s
not like that, you know? Well, not exactly…I mean, she´s just too professional,
that`s all.
THE WOMAN looks at
JIMMY upside down and then she goes away.
JIMMY looks back at
the door of Perry`s office.
JIMMY (whispering)
Come on, Ms
Lane...please don`t kill the chief!
We notice a tall
figure in a gray suit that stands next to JIMMY.
TALL FIGURE
Er...excuse me...
JIMMY doesn`t seem to
notice him.
TALL FIGURE
Ahem!...Excuse
me,er...sorry to interrupt you but...
JIMMY (without looking back)
Not now, buster!
You can
get your own coffee... I want to see what`s going on with Ms. Lane...
TALL FIGURE
Well, actually I
don´t drink coffee...it´s not good for my stomach, you know? I`m just looking
for Perry White, I have an appointment with him.
JIMMY looks back up
to the tall figure and we see CLARK, dressed with a gray suit and wearing thick
glasses. He looks very polite.
JIMMY
Oh, I`m
sorry, sir. I thought you were some one else, er…who did you say you are?
CLARK
I`m Clark Kent, I`m
here to ask for a job, very nice to meet you...and you are?
JIMMY
I am James Olsen,
star photographer at the Planet, perhaps you’ve seen my work?
CLARK
I`m sorry, I
can`t say I have.
JIMMY
Oh, well...Doesn´t matter.
It`s just that I haven´t taken MY picture, you know? That one every
photographer takes at some point, the one that makes them a legend.
CLARK
I wish you luck
on that, then, Mr. Olsen.
JIMMY
Thank you, sir! By
the way, you can call me Jimmy, every one here calls me that.
CLARK
Sure thing,
Jimmy. And you can call me Clark.
JIMMY
That`s swell, sir!
Mister Trent, right?
CLARK’s about to
correct JIMMY, when the sudden appearance of LOIS storming through the press
room calls everyone´s attention.
LOIS
You know something??
I bet my salary this piece of rag could not survive a day without me! The Daily
Planet would be lost without Lois Lane!
PERRY comes shouting
behind her.
PERRY
Oh, we can make
it, be sure of that Lane! In fact, take the rest of the day off! You are
suspended, you can come back tomorrow after you`ve cleared your head, young
lady, and are ready to give good damn apology!
LOIS goes away
storming out of the press room.
She is followed by
CLARK`s eyes.
The rest of the staff
are petrified at the scene, PERRY looks at them.
PERRY
What are you maggots
looking at? Ain`t you got enough work to do??? This is a newspaper not a damn
talk show! GET TO WORK!
PERRY slams the door
hard.
Every one gets to
work immediately.
CLARK and JIMMY stare
at the door.
CLARK
Wow...
JIMMY
Oh, don´t worry!
Just
usual business here at the Planet. You`ll see a lot of that if you get the job.
CLARK looks back to
the way Lois left.
JIMMY
Well, sir, I wish you
luck! I gotta go now, I have an important assignment to take care of.
PERRY opens the door
once more and shouts at JIMMY.
PERRY
Olsen! Where`s my
coffee??? I asked you for a black coffee, no sugar about half an hour ago,
what? You going all the way to Costa
Rica just to get a cup? Move it, boy!
JIMMY goes away
feeling embarrassed.
CLARK decides to move
ahead and talk to PERRY.
CLARK
Ahmm...Mr. White?
PERRY
Yeah! What d’ya want?
CLARK
Good day, Mr.
White...I am Clark Kent, I got a job interview with you today.
PERRY
Oh, yes...The one
George Taylor recommended, come in, boy. That George Taylor`s a good friend of
mine, and a true reporter. They don´t make them like that anymore, you know?
Come in, don´t stand there!
Fade-out.
17. INT. – DAY – LEXCORP BUILDING, LEX LUTHOR´S OFFICE
We see a view of
Metropolis from what appears to be a window; we know so due to the reflections.
We see part of
LUTHOR`s reflection on the window.
We now see LUTHOR
sitting on a chair, contemplating the view.
We see details of the
office: a wall with lots of recognitions and university degrees. Some of the
recognitions read”, “The World Philanthropist Association thanks Lex Luthor for
his outstanding work as a Humanitarian”, we can see the cover of a “Newstime
Magazine” on the wall with Luthor`s picture in it and the title: “Lex Luthor:
Man of the Year”.
On his desk we can
see a model of a plane and it reads: “LexWing-01”.
LUTHOR keeps staring
at the view when a buzzing sound interrupts his thoughts.He squeezes a button
on the right arm of his chair.
Suddenly the view
disappears from the window and it`s replaced with the projection of man in a
white coat that seems to be in a lab.
LUTHOR
Good day,Dr.
Happersen. What news do you have for me today?
DR HAPPERSEN
Good day, Mr. Luthor.
I thought you`d be pleased to know that TeamLuthor is ready for its first
public try-out, we seem to be running on schedule.
LUTHOR
That`s great news,
Happersen...and what about our little...device? Has there been any improvement
on it?
DR HAPPERSEN
Not as much as we`d
like, sir. All I can say so far it´s what we have been thinking all along since
we found it at the North Pole...Its technology just seems to be too advanced to
be from this planet, as fantastic as it may sound.
LUTHOR
I like to believe
that “fantastic” is where Humanity true genious resides in, Happersen...Where
would Lexcorp if I hadn´t dared dream about taking Metropolis to the next step
in technological evolution? If you say that device is alien then think of the
possibilities...We must keep studying it and find a way to figure it out
completely.
DR HAPPERSEN
Well, Mr Luthor...I
must say that we already seem to have figured a lot out of it, especially since
the technology Lexcorp threads on these days come in great part due to what
your own genious, sir, has managed to comprehend from this device.
LUTHOR
Don`t sell yourself
short, Happersen...I know you too have contributed a great to this
investigation, Team Luthor itself provides good proof to this.
HAPPERSEN
Thank you, Mr Luthor…
I…
LUTHOR
I only hire the best,
Happersen… Never forget that. Keep working now.
HAPPERSEN
Yes, sir, Mr
Luthor! Right away!
LUTHOR
Oh, and Happpersen?...
HAPPERSEN
Sir?
LUTHOR
I hate being wrong,
so you better prove to me you are as good as I think you are...Do not
disappoint me, you wouldn´t like to see me disappointed, would you?
LUTHOR’s last words
are said with a certain tone, like implying a threat with them.
HAPPERSEN seems to
notice that and looks very nervous as he signs off.
HAPPERSEN
N-no sir...Not at
all...I...I better get back to my assignment, sir...Good day!
LUTHOR (smiling maliciously)
Good day, Happpersen.
The projection disappears from the window leaving the
view of Metropolis again.
LUTHOR opens a keyboard from the right arm of the
chair, executes a sequence and we see the window become a screen again with
lots of graphics, we can also see a 3-D graphic resembling the device that had
detached from the ship at the beginning of the movie.
LUTHOR stares at it, he executes another sequence of
commands and we see only the graphic of the device on a corner of the window,
on the rest of the window we can see Metropolis again.
LUTHOR gets a bottle of champagne from a freezer next
to his desk, he opens it and pours some on a very elegant glass.
He stares at the graphic and raises his glass at it.
LUTHOR drinks the
whole content, then he stares back to Metropolis.
He raises his empty
glass so we can see the city as if it were inside the glass.
We can also see part
of his reflection on the glass, as if it were extending all over the city
inside it.
He smiles with
arrogance.
Fade-out.
