Donnie Brasco

SONNY That’s some fucking irony, ain’t it?

LEFTY That’s hand-built in Taiwan, that boat.

BOOBIE What is that, half a million?

LEFTY Fuggedaboudit. There’s one thing I know, it’s boats. This’s gotta be a million dollars, this boat. (gestures toward boat) Go ahead. Get comfortable. I’m gonna wait for the man.

Sonny and the others head toward the boat. Lefty turns to Donnie.

LEFTY Can you imagine this? I’m gonna sit down with the boss. Remember that day when we were freezing our nuts off, watching all of them going to sit down with the boss?

DONNIE Sonny Red and all them big puffers.

LEFTY In New York I never sat down with the boss in my life. This was a great idea I had, Florida.

DONNIE Hey, Left.

Donnie nods toward the parking lot. Lefty looks, sees a LINCOLN TOWN CAR pull up.

LEFTY That’s him. That’s Trafficante.

Lefty jogs up the dock as STEVE DISALVO, 40s, Trafficante’s ENFORCER, emerges from the Lincoln.

DISALVO You Lefty?

LEFTY Nice to meet you, Mr. Trafficante.

DISALVO This’s Mr. Trafficante.

Lefty turns as SANTO TRAFFICANTE, 70s, a feeble old man with a pork pie hat, is helped from the car by his entourage of FLORIDA WISEGUYS.

He and Lefty shake hands.

LEFTY That’s the boat I arranged for you, Mr. Trafficante. We got a full bar, every kind of music, telephone, everything. You want anything — anything you want — you just ask Lefty.

Trafficante peers down the dock through thick prescription SUNGLASSES.

TRAFFICANTE Which one’s Sonny Black?

FLASH CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT. FBI

Hogue looks at large color SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS of “The Left Hand” as it tools around Tampa harbor. As the party progresses, Sonny Black and Trafficante split off and move to the bow. Then Donnie joins Sonny and Trafficante. Sonny introduces them…

OVER THIS

taped dialogue from the group in the stern, with seagulls, surf, and the sounds of a party…

CLOSE ON — HOGUE

as his face turns grim…

HOLD ON — SURVEILLANCE PHOTO

as Donnie shakes hands with Trafficante.

HOGUE An FBI man shaking hands with the boss of Florida? Did it ever occur to anyone that that is simply not possible?

JULES Score one for our side.

HOGUE What makes you so sure he’s on our side?

FLASH CUT TO:

EXT. THE PAST. BOAT

Sonny and Donnie stand in the bow, look out over the water.

SONNY You can live your life like a man down here. I bet if you took my blood pressure right now it’d be down one hundred per cent. Sonny Red’s got Jersey and we got Florida, and Florida’s better than Jersey, right?

DONNIE He can stick Jersey up his ass.

SONNY This is a great idea I had, Florida.

DONNIE Once Lefty arranged it with Trafficante —

SONNY Fuggedaboudit. What Lefty don’t understand is guys like Trafficante, their day is done.

SONNY A 70 year old brain can’t compare with guys like us, because where he’s got like 20 more years experience in his day, we got 50 more years in our day. And we’re living in our day. Capeesh?

DONNIE Simple arithmetic.

SONNY Like with jeans, who had the idea with jeans and now look how much money they’re making?

DONNIE Some young guy.

SONNY Lefty’s a dynamite-guy, no question. But you know, the thing with him is… he’s trying to help you but he hurts you. He gets those two or three wines in him…

DONNIE You just gotta take it with a grain of salt.

SONNY The books open up in December, I’m gonna propose you. You know what that means?

DONNIE Fuggedaboudit. Be a made guy? That would be unbelievable.

SONNY What I’m saying is this. You don’t have to report to Lefty no more. From now on you can report to me.

CLOSE ON — DONNIE

as he calculates the advantages and dangers of his new offer…

IN THE STERN

Lefty broods, nurses a spritzer. Watches Donnie with eyes full of anger and resentment. Boobie sidles up to him.

BOOBIE Can I ask you something? Did you get this boat or did Donnie get this boat?

LEFTY Some broad down here he used to know, it belongs to her brother.

BOOBIE He knows a lot of broads, Donnie.

LEFTY If Donnie had a dollar for every broad of all his broads, he could buy the fucking boat himself.

BOOBIE If Donnie’s got so many broads, how come we never seen none of them?

LEFTY He uses them broads like Kleenex. He won’t spend a dollar to take a lady out.

Boobie drinks, takes a beat.

BOOBIE You ever notice Donnie’ll buy guns from you, if you’re offing guns, but you never see him be the one offing guns?

Lefty thinks a beat.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT. TAHITIAN

Donnie takes off his cowboy boots. Takes the Nagra out of his boot Rewinds the tape. Plays it.

DONNIE (O.C.) I just got some things I gotta take care of, back in the city.

SONNY (O.S.) When you come back, you represent me in Florida.

He SNAPS it off. Hides it back in his cowboy boot.

CUT TO:

INT. DAY. LAGUARDIA AIRPORT

Donnie and Lefty wait with the crowd at the BAGGAGE CAROUSEL.

LEFTY I’m telling you, it’s good to be back in New York. That fucking Florida baked everybody’s brain. When Sonny gets out of the fucking sun he’s gonna realize what a miserable fucking idea you had.

DONNIE How long’s he gonna stay down there?

LEFTY Do I know? (resuming) I never saw so many old people in my life. Who the fuck wants to go to Florida? Sometimes you are one stupid cocksucker, Donnie.

Donnie FLARES at the word “cocksucker.”

THEIR POV

as Lefty’s SUITCASE moves toward them. Donnie doesn’t budge.

LEFTY Donnie — that’s my bag, Donnie. Donnie —

DONNIE Nobody calls me cocksucker. Understood?

LEFTY You get that fucking bag.

DONNIE I’m not getting it.

LEFTY Pick it up.

DONNIE NO.

LEFTY Pick up the fucking bag.

DONNIE No fucking way, Left.

LEFTY Don’t think you got the wood over my eyes, Donnie. I watch you siding up to Sonny Black.