Original subtitles

Linda, that is not what I asked you to do.

Yes, it is.

You said I should send your report to editing and confirm your flight to

Nebraska.

I said you should send my receipts to auditing and confirm my flight to

Nicaragua.

Oh.

Do you want me to change it?

No. I'm sure Nebraska's lovely this time of year.

Yes, I want you to change it.

Oh, excuse me, Mr. Fontana.

My name's Newton Green.

Can I speak with you a moment? Sorry, this isn't a good time. I'm on my way to

traffic school.

As it is, I'm going to have to speed to get there.

I'll make a brief.

I worked on the White House staff during the Nixon years, mostly on low -level

policy decisions, but I worked under Ehrlichman. I saw everything.

I knew everything.

Why don't you check with personnel? They handle all the hiring.

Mr. Fontana.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm deep throat.

Right, and I'm Amelia Earhart.

I gotta go. No, I'm dead serious.

I'm the source who helped Bob Woodward expose the Watergate scandal. I can

it. Ask me anything.

How the committee to re -elect worked, how the plumbers got paid. Look, Mr.

Throat, if you want to go public with this, why don't you go bother Woodward?

You were his contact.

Woodward.

I would never go to him.

It's been 17 years since I gave him the story of his career.

And do you think he ever calls?

Ever writes?

I had gallbladder surgery, not a card.

Okay. So let's pretend for a minute that I believe your deep throat.

Why are you coming clean now?

Well, everybody else has made a fortune off of Watergate.

And me, I'm still doing my wash in a public laundromat.

Now it's my turn for a little attention. And you want me to put you on TV,

right? I get it. Look, Mr. Fontana, I didn't expect you to believe me right

away. Why should you?

But someday, somewhere, Deep Throat will surface in a scenario very much like

this one.

And the reporter that he goes to will have to make a choice.

Don't wait too long to make that choice, Mr. Fontana.

I'd hate to see this turn into something that just haunts you the rest of your

life.

Good, you're still here. How about grabbing a bite to eat?

I can.

Maybe another time, all right?

Yeah, another time.

Something's up with you. The tips of your ears are all pink.

Come on, Frank, out with it.

It's just a reporter's instinct, the kind of gut feeling you get maybe once

twice in your whole career.

But I can't really talk about it just yet. Murphy, I may be on the deep

Frank, that's great.

And I'm having dinner with the...

If you were Deep Throat and you wanted a surface, who would you go to? Oh, you,

Frank. I'd run to you in a second.

There's one way to check this out. What are you doing?

Just a minute.

Bob Woodward, please.

Frank Fontana.

Hi, Bob.

It's been a long time. Not since that racquetball game.

Bob, I don't think it's fair to say you beat me. I had a groin injury.

some guy.

Does this name ring a bell?

Newton Green.

Bob, you still there?

Oh, good.

So, uh, is this guy Deep Throat?

I see. So, you won't confirm or deny?

Uh -huh. Oh, and you've got to run. Well, thanks, Bob. I think I've got

everything I need.

I've got Deep Throat.

Frank, let me work with you on this.

No way. This one's all mine. Come on. I'll trade you my Paul McCartney

interview. He'll probably let you sing with him. Okay. All right,

Frank.

What can I get you? A beer and some information.

Oh, boy.

It never stops.

I just got off the phone with Ronald Reagan.

He asked me, Phil, what do I know about Iran -Contra and when did I know it?

Phil, this is important.

I need you to tell me about Deep Throat.

There are only two people who know who he is, and you are one of them. I'm

sorry, Frank.

Woodward swore me to secrecy.

It was a pinky pledge.

How the hell do you break one of those?

Phil, I have a name. All I need is a confirmation.

You don't even have to say yes or no. Look, this is what we'll do.

I'll give you the name, then start towards the door.

If you don't stop me before I'm out, I'll take that as confirmation.

Okay.

Deep Throat's name is Newton Green.

I'm turning around.

I'm walking towards the door.

Walking.

Walking.

Walking.

I had to get him back for the time he listed my house in the Washington Bed

Breakfast Guide.

I couldn't get rid of that German couple.

Well, I don't like being put in the middle. This bar is mutual territory.

But I was good one night.

Well, enough gloating for now. I better save some for when I tell Frank.

When's that?

Tomorrow, I guess. I want to give him a date and decide whether Kevin Costner or

Tom Cruise should play him in the movie.

parked for two hours on somebody else's quarter, and I've got Frank stuck in the

greatest practical joke of all time.

How about we celebrate with a pizza? My treat.

This is a side of you I haven't seen before.

I'm not going to question it.

People change.

Did you receive a blow to the head recently?

I'll get the door. You order the pizza.

Oh, domestic bliss. I've dreamed of this.

I've been running around like a crazy person, digging through the archives,

putting together background material for my deep throat story.

God, you know, Frank, I've had some big pieces in my time, but this.

How does it feel?

Oh, Murph, it feels great.

While I was driving around today, it hit me.

This story is going to change my life.

Tell me. Tell me all about it.

Murphy, I have been touched by the hand.

He has come to me to close out the final chapter of the downfall of a

presidency.

Damn, I envy you.

Well, I was on my way home. I thought I'd stop by. Look, I'm going to have to

cancel our lunch tomorrow. This story's going to be taking up so much of my

time. I've had to cancel everything. I even gave away my Noriega interview.

What? Yeah, I gave it to Dan Rather. There's no way I could do both.

But... Gee, Frank, you were so excited about it. You spent months setting it

You called it the story of the year. You said that.

Murph, what is the story of the year when you've got the story of the decade,

maybe, of the century?

Frank, listen to me. Call Rather. Get the story back.

Watergate is done. It's old.

Nixon lives in New Jersey.

Sorry, Murph. I've got to run. I've got a photographer meeting me in front of

the White House. I'll see you later.

Look, Dan, if you don't want the box seats, what about two in the orchestra?

I've got to get Frank's story back.

What do you mean I'm unreasonable?

You won't take the tickets. You won't take the timeshare in Aspen. How the

am I unreasonable?

Your wife fantasizes about Peter Jennings.

What do you think, huh? The new and improved Frank Fontana. I figure once my

story hits, I'm good for the cover of Time Newsweek and Now.

GQ.

See, the hand stays in the pocket. It's all part of the look.

Frank, sit down. I have to tell you something.

It's the pocket hanky, right? Makes me look like a 50.

Frank, I was going to tell you something that was going to give me a great deal

of pleasure.

The kind of thing we tell our grandchildren about.

And then a funny thing happened.

You gave away your Noriega interview.

Murphy, there's a tone in your voice, kind of a sickening tone.

Frank, the man who said he was deep throat isn't.

I set it all up, the whole thing.

Woodward, Phil, everything.

Why? It was a joke.

You know, funny, the kind of thing we always do to each other. A joke.

A joke.

It was a joke.

Okay, you have every right to be mad, so go ahead, yell at me.

Oh, no, not fair. You've got to say something.

Wait a moment, Mrs. Thatcher.

Oops.

Frank, can we talk about this, please?

Frank. Murphy, Frank, what is it?

Frank doesn't have deep throat.

It was just a practical joke.

A dumb, idiotic gag, and it backfired. And, Frank, I'm sorry.

Oh, you're sorry?

Well, I'm sick of these childish pranks.

I thought you might have learned something after poor Earl in the

his eyebrows.

It's awful.

Now that he's surprised, nobody can tell.

Frank, I blew it. I'm sorry. I know that. I promise I'll never pull this

thing on you again.

Swear it. Okay, I will.

You're all my witnesses.

I will never pull another stunt on Frank Fontana again. I swear it.

I swear it. I swear it. I swear it.

You knew.

You knew and you let me suffer.

You knew.

Oh, for the love of Mike. What's next?

Soaping the windows at the Pentagon?

When did you find out?

Oh, right away. Two phone calls and I was on to you. Oh, there was a Newton

Green in the Nixon White House, but he found God in 75 and is now raising

turnips in a commune outside Santa Fe.

Oh, now, come on. Don't get down on yourself. I was just returning your

What do you say we call a little ceasefire on this one?

You got yourself a trip.

There you are, Frankie.

My man.

to Costello's office. We were talking about your deep throat story.

You told Costello?

Yesterday. He actually did a little dance. Then he called New York. They

nuts. We're talking major ad campaign, total media blitz.

Franco, we are hot. We are scoring major points with the boys upstairs.

You went to Miles with this gag?

What happened, Sherlock? I thought you saw through it right away.

Okay, so it took me a little while.

Guys?

I'm hearing words I don't like.

Words like gag and saw through it.

Bad words.

My old deep throat story is bogus.

I set it all up to get Frank.

But you said you had confirmation.

You said you had a story. I said I thought I had confirmation. I said we

proceed carefully.

Sure, but you said it jumping up and down in my office singing the theme to

Chariots of Fire.

Kinsella has a terrific sense of humor.

Probably. Well, I guess I'll just go tell him the hilarious news.

Maybe he'll share it with Rune Arledge, who he called at 3 a .m. to say we were

going to kick ABC's butt at the Emmys.

We were just on a conference call in New York. I was chatting with the chairman

of the board. He invited me for drinks this summer on his yacht, the SS -40

Cher.

I was going to have my own cabin.

He called me Miles Superberg.

Well, what happened?

They yelled at me.

Shepard, Coffer, Raskoff.

Everyone with a corner office came in to yell at me.

Then they asked me to leave the room. They said they had to discuss the matter

privately.

Miles,

it probably doesn't mean anything. They were just testing you to see if you

could take the pressure.

And how am I doing?

You're doing just fine, buddy.

Miles!

Good afternoon.

I suppose my visit isn't a complete surprise.

So, Gene, I guess we goofed.

Silverberg, I'd like to speak to you privately.

No, Mr. Kinsella.

These are my people.

They're like family.

Anything you have to say to me, you can say right here in front of them.

Well, okay.

Silverberg, we're terminating your contract. What?

Oh, good Lord.

I can't.

I want you all to understand that we didn't make this decision easily.

But the executive committee feels that this sort of public embarrassment is a

symptom of immature leadership.

Now, we took a chance with Silverberg when we hired him, but this is a tough

business and there is no margin for error.

You have until the end of tomorrow to pack up your office.

Do something.

Gee, please.

What's the reason?

It's not Miles' fault. It's ours. Frank's and mine.

If anyone should be fired, it's us.

Or severely reprimanded.

I can't fire you two. You're talent.

The network's bread and butter.

But someone has to pay the piper. I'm sorry.

Is Murphy in?

Not yet.

But she just called from her car.

She says she's 15 blocks away and she'll be here in a few minutes.

Or she's a few blocks away and she'll be here in 15 minutes.

Silverberg, you're still here?

I just stopped down to say goodbye to Murphy and Frank.

Yes, well, make it brief.

They're not in yet.

Murphy was on my answering machine all night last night, pleading your case.

I know.

Suckers.

They really fell for it. The whole thing.

I mean, the meeting upstairs, the conference call with the chairman of the

of Superbricks. You're a genius.

No, no, no, no. Genius is going too far.

Yes, okay, genius.

I hope they like a taste of their own medicine. When are you going to tell

I thought I'd let them walk me out of the building before I sprung it on them.

might even start to drive away. I've been practicing a backward wave.

Silverberg, you've got a lot of gall asking me for a letter of reference.

Brownie, Frank.

Hi, Miles.

Hey, buddy.

Just came by to pick up my mug.

I love my mug.

Look, Murphy.

There's the chip from that time you threw it at me.

I'll keep this forever.

Well, I feel so bad about what happened to you yesterday. Just standing there

watching Kinsella fire you.

We felt we had to do something. Jim, Corky, we want you to see this too.

I know it's small in comparison to what happened to you, but Frank and I felt it

was important to make some sort of public statement.

So we wrote an open letter to journalists at this network and

And we had it put in the Wall Street Journal.

Oh.

Dear colleagues, yesterday, Miles Silverberg was let go as executive

FYI. The fact that the incident leading up to this action was a harmless

misunderstanding has made us painfully aware image is becoming more important

than substance in broadcast journalism.

The short -sighted and egotistical chairman of the board and his executive

hatchet men.

are sending a clear message that it is no longer the quality of your work as a

journalist by which you will be judged.

Miles, we extend our hearts in friendship and our voices in solidarity.

Murphy Brown, Frank Fontana.

It was a joke!

What? What joke?

I was never really fired. I overheard Frank telling Dan Rather how he was

to get even with Murphy. I want to teach you to a lesson.

Oh, this is terrific.

The Wall Street Journal?

Five million of the most influential readers in America?

This is some lesson, Professor!

You better keep this letter handy, because after Kinsella reads it, I

will be fired.

You better sit down, Miles.

It gets worse.

How much worse can it get? I still have 17 payments left on the BMW!

Silverberg duped.

I'd take you out there and tan your behinds.

You two are like a bad pair of shoes.

I don't know how, but you are.

Enough. It's enough. It's enough.

No, it's never enough. Let's talk about it a lot and relive every moment.

Okay. Uh, Miss Brown, I'm doing the filing like you asked.

Do you want me to file a copy of the letter?

What letter?

The one to the Wall Street Journal.

What? I didn't...

Real letter. The original.

Where? I saw it on your desk last night, so I took it to the mail room.

It'll go out first thing this morning.

I think we finally cured them of their stupid practical jokes.

And you, you were very convincing.

I almost believed you sent that letter.

Now I'm confused.

Didn't you want me to send the letter?

Because it's going out on the truck right now.