TIN CUP - Daily Script

1 TIN CUPW ritten byJOHN NORVILLE and RON SHELTOND ecember 1995 DraftFOR EDUCATIONALPURPOSES CHEATIN' HEART MUSIC, the dull GROAN of a TRACTOR,CRICKETS CHIRPIN' love songs, sporadic ZAPS from BUGLIGHTS, and an occasional random THWOCK as we --FADE IN:1 EXT. TEXAS - DRAMATIC ANGLE - SUNSET1 Out west where the sun descends gloriously over desolatemountains. A sense of timeless and incorruptible beautyif you ignore the TWANG of the MUSIC, the SPUTTER of theTRACTOR, the ZAPS, the and something MEN'S VOICES. Garrulous with drink, fraternity PAN DOWN TO:2 EXT. DRIVING RANGE - LATE DAY2A man, JOSE, is on the roof, wrestling with a ricketysatellite dish, stringing wire, trying to get it to work.(We get glimpses of him throughout the scene as hestruggles with what is assuredly a pirate operation.)

2 Four of six floodlights nailed to the roof cast pools ofyellow into the gathering darkness. ROY " tin cup " McAVOY stands under the swarm of moths crowding the brightestlight, hitting golf balls. ! Launching them,really, into the deepening night. There's a beer betweenhis legs. Behind him:A group of men forms a semicircle, facing away from TinCup. These men are the range regulars: CURT, CLINT,EARL, and DEWEY. Each man has money in one hand and hispreferred libation in the other. They're all lookingback and forth between the bug lights hung on the backwall, and muttering what sounds like bets to:ROMEO POSAR -- a smaller man, he stands at the center ofthe group with a handful of cash. Romeo is a part-timebookie and full-time driving range man. Born across theriver in Mexico, Romeo is tin cup 's caddie, confidante,best , all bets are down!

3 Their eyes rivet on the bug lights, edgy, hopeful, ZAP! A BUG is ELECTROCUTED. And Dewey cheerstriumphantly while the other regulars mutter curses abouthow they woulda, coulda, shoulda one is the winner! Deweyhas the winner. Pays five to two!Romeo quickly pays Dewey and more quickly takes money fromthe losers. It's fast-paced, inane, time-killinggambling. tin cup looks CUPDon't you shitheels ever getbored?The regulars flap dismissive palms and mutter in thenegative as they turn back to Romeo and the action at thebug 'Cuz I got a Cup leads the regulars TO:A3 INT. DRIVING RANGE - LATE DAYA3 tin cup holds CUPT akes about two ounces of brainsto figure it out. Anyone thinkthey got a brain with two ouncesof brains in it?The regulars silently look at each other, reluctant toreveal the heft of their CUPFor Chrissakes, boys!

4 A littleself-confidence from the players'gallery. We ain't talking (timidly)How much we gotta lose?TIN CUPYou want to liven things up, Earl?That's a hell of an idea. Sayeveryone puts in twenty bucks andthe pot goes to whoever solves going to get the riddle, TinCup? CUP(patiently)Dewey. I'm the one asking theriddle. I already know theanswer. I don't getta We could say if I getto five hundred bounces and no onegets the riddle, I get the I know what you're 's an impossible riddle. Well,It's not. It's an easy if somehow by the grace offluke luck I win, and you alldon't agree it was an easyriddle, hell, I'll refund , CLINT & ALLI'm We're Count CUPOkay, a man's driving down theroad with his son and they getin a crash. Two ambulances comeand take the man and his son todifferent hospitals.

5 Son goesinto the operating room, thedoctor looks at him and says, 'Ican't operate on this boy. He'smy son.' How's that possible?(beat)The clock's ticking Cup begins bouncing a ball on the face of his didn't sneak back in,right? He's still at the otherhospital?TIN CUPIt ain't 'Star Trek,' Earl. Noone beamed him eliminates the most plausible theory in their men think if the father married theson's daughter --TIN CUPIt's a family riddle, Earl. Thinkclean regulars puzzle some us a little ( )The doctor's a heads turn to take in the arrival of:3 MOLLY GRISWOLD3 Standing just inside the door -- she's a fresh-facedbeauty in her early thirties, and she's got all neweverything the sport of golf requires: new bag, newclubs, new shoes, new clothes, new she lookslike she stepped out of an ad in Golf Digest.

6 And allthe men are asking themselves the same question: what'sshe doing here? The silence invites Molly to supply theriddle's doctor is the son's pose the riddle toreveal how deeply our sexualstereotypes run.(directly to tin cup )I take it you're a feminist? tin cup misses the ball he's been bouncing, breaking thespell. The regulars wait for tin cup 's CUPMa'am, I've been called a lot ofthings -- but no one's eversaddled me with that might try being saddledsometime -- the smell of leather,the sting of a regulars snicker, enjoying her CUP(slightly taken aback)I'm just a humble golf 're Roy McAvoy the golf pro? Ipictured have a seven o'clock CUPI thought I had a Doctor hurry out to the range, tin cup oblivious to the regulars gather to look out the window --4 THEIR POV - THROUGH WINDOW4To the range, where Molly is stretching and tin cup isdiscreetly waving to the regulars to get TO:5 EXT.

7 DRIVING RANGE - NIGHT5 The lesson begins. tin cup can be slightly condescendingin these situations, though she's got him a little CUPThe first thing you gotta learnabout this game, Doc, is it ain'tabout hitting a little white ballinto some yonder hole. It's aboutinner demons and self-doubt andhuman frailty and overcoming allthat crap. what kindadoctor'd you say you were?MOLLYI'm a psychologist -- in layman'sterms call me a neo-Jungian, post-modern Freudian, begins unpacking one of her bags, pulling out everygolf gimmick on the market -- swing aid straps to pullyour elbows together, a ball pendulum that hangs fromyour hat, a metal contraption for your feet, demons and human frailty aremy life's work. I used topractice in El Paso but I've movedhere CUPWhat're those?

8 MOLLYI ordered these from the stares in disbelief as she tries to wriggle into someof this stuff. He's enchanted and CUPThat stuff's a waste of 'm sure there are excesses andrepetitions here, but I believe inthe gathering of knowledge and Ifigured, well, there must be sometruths about the golf swingillustrated by these devices --and that you'd help me sortthrough stands there with contraptions coming from have dozens of golf videotapes, And a golf CUP(irritated, impatient)Take it off. All of it. Now!You're a smart woman, forChrissakes -- don't you know thework of charlatans when you seeit?She deposits all the golf gimmick devices in a I can always tell whensomeone is lying to himself, butI'm quite susceptible andfrequently wrong when that personlies to me.

9 (pointing to the pile of devices)That stuff cost me over 200dollars --TIN CUPThen it's 200 dollars of tees a ball, hands Molly her driver and steps CUPGo ahead. Take a takes a pitty-pat swing and whiffs, and muttersunder her breath with the ease of a , CUPWell, you talk like a golfer --Molly unloads a mighty second swing. The club headbounces off the mat. The ball sits CUP' ' ' ' these arehighly technical golf terms andyou're using them on your firstlesson -- this is , wise ass, show Cup takes the club from Molly, motions for her tostep back, tees up a ball, and rockets a drive into CUPS omething like hands her back the club and tees up another just looks at Y'know, I tend toprocess things verbally. Can youbreak down into words how you didthat? tin cup takes a deep breath -- this is his CUP'What is the golf swing?

10 ' -- byRoy McAvoy.(beat)The golf swing is a CUP (CONT'D)Sometimes a love sonnet andsometimes a Homerian epic -- it isorganic and of a piece, yet itbreaks down into elegant stanzasand quatrains. The criticalopening phrase of this song is thegrip, in which the hands unite toform a single unit by the simpleoverlap of the smallest (displays grip).. held lightly, a conductor' (starts swing)Lowly and slowly the clubhead ispulled back, led into positionnot by the hands but the bodywhich turns away from the target,shifting to the right side withoutshifting balance. Tempo iseverything, perfection unobtainable,as the body coils, now to the topof the swing, in profound then a slight hesitation, a nodto the nod to the gods?TIN CUPTo the gods, that he isfallible. As the weight shiftsback to the left pulled now bypowers inside the earth -- it'salive, this swing, a livingsculpture -- and down throughcontact, always down, into terrafirma, striking the ball crisply-- with character -- a tuningfork goes off in your heart, yourballs -- such a pure feeling isthe well-struck golf shot -- Andthen the follow through to finish,always on line -- The reverse 'C'of the Golden Bear, the steelworker'spower and brawn of Carl Sandburg'sArnold Palmer, the da Vinci ofHogan, the unfinished symphony ofRoy What's unfinished?