All language subtitles for Frost Nixon (2008).en

NIXON ON TAPE:
They'd better not
push me on him,

or I'll just kick
them in the teeth on it.

NIXON AIDE:
Well, I think, if they...

NIXON: . . .InternaI Revenue
people that are kicking

Billy Graham around
is Rosenberg.

He is to be out.

I don't give a goddamn
what the story is.

He went on teIevision.

I have not.
I've already
ordered Connally,

we're going
after the Chandlers,

every one individually,
collectively,

their income taxes
are starting this week.

Every one of those
sons of bitches.

NlXON: Well, this is
something that we can
really hang Teddy or...

MAN: Yeah.

N IXON: ...or the
Kennedy clan with.

I'm gonna want to put that
in Colson's hands.

And we're gonna
want to run with it.

NEWS REPORTER 1 :
A controversial
day in politics.

A man arrested trying
to bug the offices

of the Democratic
National Committee
in Washington

turns out to be an employee

of President Richard Nixon's
re-election
campaign committee.

He is one of five
persons surprised
and arrested yesterday

inside the headquarters
of the Democratic
National Committee

in Washington.

And guess what else he is.

A consultant of
President Richard Nixon's

re-election
campaign committee.

NEWS REPORTER 2:
The trial started today
at the federal courthouse

for the five burglars
caught breaking into

the Democratic National
Party headquarters.

CAMERAMAN : Stand by
for camera.

MUDD: John Dean,
the ex-White House Counsel,
testified today

that President Nixon
knew about
the Watergate cover-up.

DEAN: At one point in
the conversation,

I recall the President
telling me

to keep a good list
of the press people
giving us trouble

because we will make
life difficult for them
after the election.

NEWS REPORTER 3:
Dean read through
a 245-page statement

characterizing a president
who was easily outraged

over war protesters
and political adversaries,

and outlining
a range of offenses,

including wiretapping
of newsmen,

a Charles Colson
plan to firebomb

and burglarize
the Brookings Institution,

and spying on
Senator Kennedy
and other Democrats.

LAWYER: The misuse
of power is the very
essence of tyranny.

And consider, if you will,

the frightening
implications of that
for a free society.

NEWS REPORTER 4: The President
today accepted the resignation
of three of his closest aides.

Out is H. R. Haldeman,
Chief of Staff.

Also quitting under fire
is John Ehrlichman.

Ehrlichman was
a key political advisor.

NEWS REPORTER 5: Good morning.
The Supreme Court

has just ruled on
the tapes controversy,

and here is Carl Stern,
who has that ruling.

It is a unanimous
decision, Doug, eight to zero.

Justice Rehnquist
took no part in the decision

ordering the President
of the United States
to turn over the tapes.

(CROWD CHEERlNG)

It's an eight-to-zero
unanimous opinion.

A White House aide
told NBC News today

that impeachment
of the President

by the full
House of Representatives
now is a virtual certainty.

These are,
with no serious doubt,

the last hours
of the 37th presidency
of the United States.

This is indeed
an historic day,

the only time
a president has ever
resigned from office

in our nearly 200
years of history.

You see the White House
there, and in the White House,

in just a few moments now,

President Nixon
will be appearing
before the people,

perhaps for the last
time as President
of the United States.

WH lTE HOUSE DlRECTOR:
1 5 seconds, Mr. President.

Okay, that's five,
four, three. . .

Good evening.
This is the 37th time

l have spoken to you
from this office

where so many decisions
have been made

that have shaped
the history of our nation.

l remember exactly
where l was.

My father called.
The phone rang, my father
called and he said,

"Turn on the TV right now.
Richard Nixon's going down."

l was at home with friends,
and we were watching
television at home.

We stayed up and,
like everyone else,
l'd been glued to

the Select and Judiciary
Committee hearings
night after night.

And then finally,
it had come to this.

Therefore, l shall resign
the presidency effective
at noon tomorrow.

But instead of
the satisfaction
l imagined l'd feel,

l just got angrier
and angrier,

because there was
no admission of guilt.

There was no apology.

Little did l know

that l would one day
be part of the team

that would try and
elicit that apology.

N lXON : To leave office
before my term is completed

is abhorrent to every
instinct in my body.

l have never been a quitter.

And that that team
would be led

by the most unlikely
of white knights,

a man with no
political convictions
whatsoever,

a man who, as far as l know,
had never even voted
once in his life.

But he was a man who had
one big advantage
over the rest of us.

He understood television.

(FROST OVER AUSTRALlA
THEME MUSlC PLAYlNG)

ANNOUNCER: And now,
the host of
Frost Over Australia,

Mr. David Frost!

(CH UCKLES)

Thank you, thank you.

Hello. Good evening.

And with the eyes of the world
focused on the White House,

here in Australia,
burglars have broken into

a meat factory in Brisbane

and stolen a ton
of pork sausages.

(AU DlENCE LAUGH lNG)

The Queensland police are
looking for men
in a long, thin getaway car.

Now, my first guest tonight. . .

Well, we in the Nixon camp

really didn't know that much
about David Frost,

other than he was
a British talk show host

with something of
a playboy reputation.

He'd had a talk show
here in the US that
had won some awards

but hadn't syndicated well
and had been dropped
by the network.

He ended up taking
it down to Australia,

which is, l believe,
where he was when
the President resigned.

FROST: Next week's guest
will be Evonne Goolagong.

We'll see you then.
God bless.

Great show, David.
Thanks, Noah.

NOAH : Come and look at this.

Nixon leaving
the White House.

NEWS REPORTER: A dark day
for Richard Nixon,
who has drawn crowds

to the vast Ellipse south
of the White House before.

What, this is live?
Yeah.

NEWS REPORTER:
But those were triumphs.
This is not.

What time is it
in Washington?

9:00 a. m.

Why didn't he wait?

lt's 6:00 in the morning
on the West Coast.

Half his audience
is still asleep.

All right,
you blokes, let's get
the set broken down.

NEWS REPORTER: ...are
witnesses to the saddest day
in the life of Richard Nixon,

his last moments
as President
of the United States,

a moment unlike
any other in the history
of this country.

Richard Nixon, who goes now

from the power
of the presidency

to a form of exile
in California.

Find out the numbers
for this, will you?
Worldwide.

BRENNAN: I remember his face.

Staring out the window.

Down below him,
a liberal America
cheered, gloated.

Hippies, draft dodgers,
dilettantes,

the same people
who'd spit on me when
l got back from Vietnam.

They'd gotten rid
of Richard Nixon,
their bogeyman.

So what's so important
that it couldn't wait,
that it had to be today?

l've had an idea, John,
rather a bold idea
for an interview.

Fish and chips, please.

And in a moment. . .

Well, it's too late now.
lt's done.

l've called his people. . .

You?

Beans, peas and lamb, please.

And made an offer.

Now, if the subject
were to say yes,

well, he's rather
a big fish that swims
in not-untricky waters.

So it goes without saying
that l'd want a dear friend

and the finest producer
l know by my side.

So who is it?

Richard Nixon.

(LAUGHS) Richard Nixon?

Well, come on,
don't look like that.

Well, how would you
expect me to look?

l spent yesterday
evening watching you
interview the Bee Gees.

Weren't they terrific?

Come on, John,
we've done political
interviews before.

So, okay, so what
kind of interview?

A full, extensive
look-back over his life,
his presidency.

And?

And what?
Come on, David.

Surely the only thing
that would interest anyone

about Richard Nixon
would be a confession.

A full,
no-holds-barred
confession.

Well, we'll get that, too.

From Richard Nixon?

Come on, John.

Just think of the
numbers it would get.

Do you know how
many people watched

his farewell speech
in the White House?

Four hundred million.

But in the end,
David heard nothing.

And soon after
arriving in California,

Nixon was rushed
to hospital with an acute
attack of phlebitis.

I think it was
around this time
that Gerald Ford,

who was the new President,

and who was desperate
to move the agenda
on from Watergate,

gave Nixon a full,
free and absolute pardon.

Now therefore, I,
Gerald R. Ford,

President of
the United States,

have granted,
and by these presents
do grant,

a full,
free and absolute pardon

unto Richard Nixon
for all offenses
against the United States.

lt meant that the man
who had committed
the greatest felony

in American political history
would never stand trial.

lt was like he slipped
out the back door.

A public opinion
poll indicates

a two-to-one disapproval
of the pardoning
of Richard Nixon.

CHANCELLOR: One telegram
from Virginia said,
"Roosevelt had his New Deal,

"Truman had his Fair Deal,
now Ford has
his crooked deal."

There was no deal, period.

I don't think the truth
will ever come out.

The American people
need to know the truth,

and I don't think
it will ever now
be fully known.

GAN NON : So how do we
want to address
the college protests?

Well, do we want
to lift some quotes

from the "stand up
and be counted" speech
in 1 970?

Sir?
GAN NON : You know, maybe
we're just better off

using the whole
Lincoln Memorial memo.

SAWYER: Just include
the whole thing.

Mr. President,
Swifty Lazar is here.

Okay. No, no, stick around.

You're gonna get
a kick out of this.

This is my literary agent
from Hollywood.

Hygiene obsessive.

Mr. President,
good to see you.

Nice to see you.

These are folks
helping me with my book.

Diane Sawyer,
Frank Gannon,
lrving Lazar.

Nice to meet you.
Miss Sawyer.

Pleasure.
Mr. Gannon.

Okay, that's it.
l'll see you after lunch.

SWlFTY: So how
you feeling, sir?

l'm better, thank you.
Though not yet
well enough to golf,

thank God.
l despise that game.

lmagine, six weeks
out of office

as President
of the United States,

and they'd have me putting
in my hospital room.

Never retire, Mr. Lazar.

To me, the unhappiest
people of the world
are retired.

No purpose.

What makes life mean
something is purpose.

A goal. A battle. A struggle.

Well, even if
you don't win it.

When my doctor
declared me unfit

to give testimony
in the Watergate trial,

everybody thought
l'd be relieved.

Well, they were wrong.

That was the lowest l got.

Well, if it's a challenge
you want, here's one
you might enjoy.

How to spend $2 million,
2.3 to be precise.

lt's what l got
for your memoirs.

Well, thank you.

Eh. . .

lt might be a little short
of what l wanted,

but let me assure you,
it's a whole lot more
than they wanted.

That book is important to me.

lt's probably the only
chance l'm gonna get
to put the record straight

and remind people
the Nixon years
weren't all bad.

You know, if you're trying
to put the record straight,

l'd at least talk to him.

N lXON : Who?

David Frost.
English talk show guy.

Why would l want to
talk to David Frost?

Well, a while back,
he wrote asking
for an interview.

No.

Well, we didn't
get back to him.

Frankly, we didn't
find him appropriate.

Well, l thought
that we were
doing one with CBS.

We are. l just figured
doing it with Frost

would be a whole lot
easier than doing it
with Mike Wallace.

lt would, but it would
have a lot less,
you know, credibility.

True, true. Could
probably get more money.

Really?
Look.

We'll always have
350 on the table
from CBS.

But if l could get
Frost to pay more
and secure better terms,

it might be a shame to pass.

lt'd be interesting to know
where he is right now.

We tied him to
railway tracks,
and he escaped.

We buried him alive,
and he walked free.

Today we're lowering
escape artist Derek Harrison
into the water

to see if he can
miraculously
cheat death once more.

Good evening,
and welcome to
Great Escapes.

My name is David Frost.

DlRECTOR:
Okay, that is a cut.

Thank you.

ln any deal, you need to
know your opponent's
breaking point.

To assess that,
you might call them

late at night
or at the weekend.

lf they take the call,
you know they're desperate.

And from that moment on,
you know you have
the upper hand.

(PHON E RlNGlNG)

Hello?

Mr. Frost? Irving Lazar.

Who?

Swifty Lazar.
l represent
President Nixon.

What time is it?

Bad time?

(STUTTERlNG) No! Not at all.

l'm calling with regard
to your request
for an interview

and to say,
having considered it,

my client is not
necessarily opposed
to the idea.

Really?
Well, that's
terrific news!

For God's sake.

SWlFTY: l got $500,000.

ls that good?

Mr. President,
it's a half a million dollars
for a news interview.

lt's unprecedented.

Yeah? Well, what's the catch?

With Frost? None.
It'll be a big wet kiss.

This guy'll be so grateful
to be getting it at all,

he'll pitch
puffballs all night

and pay a half
a million dollars
for the privilege.

Well, you think
you could get 550?

l got 6.

BlRT: David, how could
you have done that?
What?

$600,000. That's a fortune.

200 on signature?

Don't worry about the money.

My God.
Most Americans think
he belongs in jail.

You're making him
a rich man.

Plus, by outbidding them,
you've already made enemies

of the networks.
They're just jealous.

They're already sounding off
about checkbook journalism.

And if the networks
are against you,

syndication's always
going to be a struggle.

No syndication,
no advance sales.

No advance sales,
no commercials.

No commercials, no revenue.

And here's the bigger
question, why do it?
You don't need it.

Your career's
in great shape.

This will just spread you
across three continents,

jeopardize the other shows.

lsn't it true that
Channel Nine in Australia

want you to do
another season
of your talk show for them?

Yes.
And London, too?

Yes, but that would be
London and Australia.

This would be. . .
What?

You wouldn't
understand, John.

You were never
part of the show
in New York,

but it's indescribable.

Success in America
is unlike success
anywhere else.

And the emptiness
when it's gone.

And the sickening
thought that it may
never come back.

You know, there's
a restaurant in New York
called Sardi's.

Ordinary mortals
can't get a table.

John, the place
was my canteen !

You know, l'd be happier

if l heard
some kind of vision

that you had
for this interview.

MAN : Excuse me, Mr. Frost.

l'd heard you were
going to be here.

Would you mind?
Of course.

But l don't.
l just hear
a man doing it

because it would
create headlines

or give him a place
at the top table.

And that is what
makes me nervous.

And you do nervous
so beautifully, John.

"Hello, good evening
and welcome."

(FROST LAUGHS)

l don't actually say that.

Hello, Mr. Frost.

Champagne?

CAROLlN E: No, thank you.

FLlGHT ATTEN DANT:
Another glass, sir?

You don't like champagne?

Not on airplanes.

Yes, it dehydrates
one terribly.

The trick is to have
a glass of water
on the go, too.

Like the Viennese
serve coffee.

Well, l've never
been to Vienna.

Oh. Well, you'd like it.

lt's like Paris
without the French.

What's your name?

Caroline.

David.

Yes, l know. David Frost.

"Hello and good evening
and welcome."

You know, l heard
an interview with you
recently on the radio.

You were giving it
from the back
of your Rolls-Royce.

Bentley.

On the phone.

They said that
you were a person

who defined
the age we live in.

Really?
Mmm.

You and Vidal Sassoon.

But what made you
exceptional, they said,

was that you were a person
who had achieved great fame

without possessing
any discernible quality.

How kind.
Mmm-hmm.

And that you fly
around a great deal.

Well, that's true.

Why?

l like to keep busy.

Why?

l find it
more interesting
than keeping still.

You know,
you have very sad eyes.

Do l?
Mmm.

Has anyone told
you that before?

No.

Are you a sad person?

Let's talk about
you a little bit.

Of course, you feel more
comfortable asking questions.

How right you are!

This is your
captain speaking.

You may have
noticed we've begun

our final descent
into Los Angeles.

If you could please
return to your seats
and fasten your seat belts,

we'll be landing
very shortly. Thank you.

CAROLlN E: So how about you?
Where are you going?

To meet Richard Nixon.

Really?

You know, they say he has
the most enormous head,

but the sexiest voice.

Where is he now?

ln some dark underground cave
licking his wounds?

Actually, no.
ln his rather smart
beachside villa

in California.

Really? Richard Nixon
in a beachside villa?

How incongruous.

You can come if you'd like.

To meet Nixon?

Why not?

Are you sure?

You know, l would love that.

PlLOT: Cabin crew,
please prepare for arrival.

Well, l'll get
my office to call you
first thing in the morning

and send a car with a phone.

Oh.

He did, too. Money no object.

Everything glittered
and was golden.

Well, on the outside.

Of course, what l didn't know
was that in the meantime,

he'd gone to all
the major networks

to try and get
interest in the interviews.

l'm sorry, David,
but we have a policy

of not paying
for a news interview.

Look, we love your work
as an entertainer.

That Guinness show?

Love it. You're a funny guy.

But an interview like this?

You're asking us to pay
a British talk show host

to interview
an American president

with absolutely no
editorial controls
whatsoever in return?

Well, you can't say
it's not a fresh approach.

l know you're very busy.

l'm not gonna
keep you from it.

Thank you for coming in.

l'm gonna have to
get back to you.

Okay, thank you so
much for your time.

David, good luck.

He never let on
to anyone at the time,

not even me.
You know,
that would have meant. . .

Thanks.

...admitting failure,
and David doesn't do failure.

FROST: There you are.

See, you don't have
to do a thing yourself.

(lN DlSTlNCT)

Well.

You found it okay.

Yes, thank you.

Pleasure to meet you,
Mr. Frost.

And you, sir.

May l present
Caroline Cushing?

Miss Cushing.

Hello.
Your house is
very beautiful.

Really. Very romantic.

Well, thank you.

And my producer, John Birt.

Nice to meet you.
How do you do?

This is Mr. Lazar,
and this is Jack Brennan.

Now, Miss Cushing,
would you like
to take a tour,

you know,
maybe stretch your legs
after your long journey?

Yes, please.
l'd love that. Thank you.

Come on in.
This is my office.

Now, this is where Brezhnev
and l had our summit.

Yeah. Brezhnev was there,
and Gromyko there,
Dobrynin there.

We talked for
nine hours straight.

After the meeting,
as a souvenir of the visit,

l remember that we had
a Lincoln specially made.

Dark blue,
cherry wood, leather.

Well, we got inside
for the photographers,

when the next thing you know,
he steps on the gas.

Now, the first rule
of political life is

you never let a president
get behind the wheel
of a car, ever.

l mean, we're not
used to doing anything

for ourselves,
let alone drive.

And the Chairman, Jesus,
the way he put his foot down,

my guess is
the last thing he drove was

a tractor on some
Ukrainian potato farm.

He crashed into curbs.

He went over speed bumps.

He went twice
around my whole estate.

Finally, we ended up
at some remote point
on the coast,

out there
overlooking the sea.

He turns off the gas,
and he talks for two hours

about his favorite subject,
steel mills.

He said, "Mr. President,
most politicians

"have tragedy
in their early lives."

Well, l told him that
l lost two brothers
to tuberculosis.

And he watched his father
die from the cancer
he caught in the steelworks.

He was a sad man
and a noble adversary.

l wouldn't want to
be a Russian leader.

They never know when
they're being taped.

Okay, l guess that's
it then, huh?

Until March.
l look forward to it.

Well, thank you,
Mr. President. So do l.

You know,
it's a funny thing that

l've never been
challenged to a duel before.

l guess that's what this is.

FROST: Yeah, well, not really.

Of course it is.

And l like that.

No holds barred, eh?
No holds barred.

Mr. Frost, there's still
the small matter of the. . .

Of course.

l do beg your pardon.

Right. $200,000.

l do hope that isn't coming
out of your own pocket.

Well, believe me,
sir, l wish my pockets
were that deep.

Made out in the name of?

lrving Paul Lazar.

Richard M. Nixon.

Here you go.

MANOLO: Okay, smile.

There. Now you can
put that in your
apartment in New York,

and all your liberal friends
can use it as a dartboard.

Well, actually,
l'm living in Monte Carlo
at the moment.

Really?

Yes. Goodbye, Mr. President.

Hey. Take my advice.

You should marry that woman.

Yes. Lovely, isn't she?

More important than that,
she comes from Monaco.

They pay no taxes there.

Bye-bye.
Goodbye.

l bet you it did.

What?

Come out of his own pocket.

You know, he couldn't
look me in the eye.

Well, l hear
the networks
aren't biting.

Without the networks,
the ad agencies
don't want to know.

So if you ask me,
there's a good chance

this whole thing
may never happen.

Really?
So that meeting we just had
might have cost him $200,000?

Correct.

Had l known that,
l would have offered
him a cup of tea.

Say, did you
notice his shoes?

No.

ltalian. No laces.
What do you think?

My people tried to get me
to wear a pair like that.

l think a man's shoes
should have laces, sir.

You do?

Yeah. Personally,
l find those ltalian
shoes very effeminate.

Yes, quite right.

NBC EXECUTlVE: l\m sorry,
David, but it\s a no.

Try to look at it
from our point of view.

Why would an American network
hire a total outsider,

and someone who's already
had his own show canceled,
incidentally?

l see. Well, l'm sorry
you feel this way.

Obviously,
l think you're making
a terrible mistake.

N BC.

Well, that's
the networks out,
all of them.

Well, that's the
end of that, then.

l'm sorry, David.

Not so fast.

Where's your
adventurer's spirit?

The idea is
we pay for the program

and syndicate it
ourselves, completely
bypassing the networks.

Just imagine it,
we'd be our own
network for the night.

Hey, Bob.
FROST: How does that grab you?

Hey, come on in.
David's on the phone.

FROST: No, never been
done before.

Historic stuff.

Just think about it, okay?
And call me back.

Yeah?
Yeah.

David, l'd like you
to meet Jim Reston
and Bob Zelnick,

our two prospective
corner men.

Delighted to meet you.

Come on in.
Make yourselves at home.

Bob's been
Washington correspondent

for Public Radio
for the past 1 0 years.

Moving to ABC
in the new year.

The general feeling, David,

is that l have been
wasting my matinee idol
looks on radio.

Jim here teaches
at the University
of North Carolina

and is writing a book
about the criminal
dishonesty, corruption,

paranoia and abuses of
power of Richard Nixon.

Second on the subject.

Fourth.

Well, delighted to
have you both aboard.

Actually, before l sign on,
l would like to hear

what you were
hoping to achieve
with this interview.

What l want to achieve?

Yeah.

Jim, well,
l've secured 1 2 taping days.

That's close to 30 hours

with the most compelling
and controversial politician

of our times.

lsn't that enough?

Well, not for me.

Look, l'd be giving up
a year of my life.
l'm leaving my family

to work on
a subject matter
that means more

than you can
probably imagine,

and the idea
of doing all that

without achieving what
l want to, personally,

would be unthinkable to me.

(lNTERRU PTlNG)
FROST: No, all right.

Well, what is it that
you want to achieve?

l'd like to
give Richard Nixon
the trial he never had.

Of course,
we'll be asking
difficult questions.

Difficult questions.

The man lost 21 ,000 Americans

and a million lndo-Chinese
during his administration.

He only escaped jail
because of Ford's pardon.

Yes, but equally,
going after him
in some knee-jerk way,

you know, assuming
he's a terrible guy,

wouldn't that only create
more sympathy for him
than anything else?

(SlGHS) You know. . .

Right now,
l submit it's impossible

to feel anything
close to sympathy
for Richard Nixon.

He devalued the presidency,

and he left the country
that elected him in trauma.

The American people
need a conviction,
pure and simple.

The integrity of
our political system,

of democracy as an idea,
entirely depends on it.

And if in years to come,
people look back

and say it was
in this interview

that Richard Nixon
exonerated himself,

that would be
the worst crime of all.

Did you know that
Mike Wallace is doing
a piece on this?

And that in the bars around
Capitol Hill and Georgetown

this entire project is a joke?

ZELN lCK: Come on.
Jim, come on.

Thanks for that, Jim.

Could you give us
a couple of minutes?

You're unbelievable.
l'm sorry, Bob.

You know, Jim,
l went way out
on a limb for you.

l mean, some of us
actually want this job.

l want it, too,
if it's done right.

Well, how do you know
they're not
gonna do it right?

Little Lord Fauntleroy
in there?

Sympathy for Richard Nixon?

What the. . .
He's full of shit, man !

How do you know that?

ls Mike Wallace
doing a piece on this?

Apparently.

Why didn't you tell me?

lt isn't relevant.

What's the angle?
"British talk show host,

"good with actresses,
not so good with
stonewalling presidents."

That's the general idea, yeah.

Right.

lt's hard not to feel
a little insulted by that.

Well, Bob's obviously a pro.

What are we gonna
do about Reston?

Well, the man's an idiot.
He's overemotional.

Send him home.

Well, l think
he should stay.
Why?

l liked his passion.

He will drive us
all bloody mad.

Well, maybe, but sometimes
being out of your comfort zone

is a good thing, l'm told.

He stays.

I took my seat
next to Mrs. Mao
at the banquet table.

Now, one of the challenges
of life as a president

is the endless round
of cocktail parties,
social engagements, banquets.

And people who
know me would tell you

that small talk is not one of
my strong suits, either. No.

Particularly not in Mandarin.

So Mrs. Mao and l,
we just, well, you know,
stared at one another.

And then across the table,
Mrs. Nixon and
Chairman Mao himself, well,

they stared
at one another, too.

And then further down,
Dr. Kissinger

and their
foreign minister, well,

you're getting
the picture now.

l can't stand it, Jack!

Reducing the presidency
to a series
of banal anecdotes.

l feel like
a circus animal
doing tricks.

And l thought
l made it clear!

l didn't want to take
any questions
on Watergate, damn it!

Soon as it came
to question time,

all those sons of bitches
ever want to hear about
is Watergate!

lt's as if all
my other achievements
have ceased to exist.

Well, sir, you're
gonna get a chance

to talk about them
sooner than you think.

Yeah? How?

Frost got there.
He got the money.

What?

l understand
most of it's borrowed,

that his friends
have bailed him out.

But the point is,
we start taping
at the end of March.

Really? Now, that's terrific.

How much time is
devoted to Watergate?

25%. Just one of
four 90-minute shows.

What are the other
three divided into?

Domestic Affairs,
Foreign Policy,

and Nixon the Man.

"Nixon the Man"?

As opposed to what?
Nixon the horse?

Well, l imagine
it's some kind of
biographical piece.

l can see it now.
The father that neglected me,
the brothers that died.

Spare me.

Still, now, the fact
it's come together, now,
that's a good thing, no?

Mr. President, it's fantastic.

Frost is just not in
your intellectual class, sir.

You're gonna be
able to dictate terms,
rebuild your reputation.

lf this went well,
if enough people saw it,
revised their opinion,

you could move back East
way, way earlier
than we expected.

You think?
l'm certain.

lt would be so good
to go back to where
the action is.

You know?

The hunger in my belly
is still there, Jack.

l guess it all boils down
to Watergate, huh?

Well, that's nothing
to worry about, sir.

lt's not as if
there's gonna be
any revelations.

That stuff's been combed over
a million times.

No one has pinned
anything on you.

Yeah, still,
it's been a while

since l spoke about it
on the record.

l'm gonna start
doing my homework.

Hey, you know what would
be an interesting
thing to find out?

What his strategy is.

Now, where's he staying?

l believe The Beverly Hilton.

The Beverly Hilton, you say.

Well, l got
the numbers someplace

of some fellows
that we could send in.

Cubans with ClA training.

Jesus, Jack, it was a joke.

Yes, sir.

RESTON: A week later,
we said goodbye
to our families,

we hopped on a plane,
and we moved into
The Beverly Hilton.

And that\s where we
started to dig into
our research

and prepare
for the interviews.

Yeah, as it happens, we took

the whole question
of security very seriously.

BIRT: And from day one,
we kept all our files
in a locked safe.

Who was the guy
that Mike interviewed?
Was that Haldeman?

BlRT: Haldeman.
RESTON : Haldeman.
And Ehrlichman, too.

l always get
the Germans mixed up.

l'm a little
confused by that.

What is Haldeman's
official. . .
Hello, darling.

As for the work over
the months, we divided it
into three sections.

Birt took Vietnam,
Bob took Foreign
and Domestic Policy,

and l got Watergate
and the abuses of power.

And David,
we never really
saw much of David.

RESTON : All right, so what
about the Huston Plan?

You can see the seeds
of dirty tricks.

Essentially,
it's an attempt to
legalize dirty tricks.

That's why you gotta
get David to put it
in the question.

Wiretapping students.

N lXON ON TAPE: But they\ve
traced the money to him.

RESTON : Opening people's mail.

What about wiretapping?

How many people
has he wiretapped?

This guy wiretapped
1 7 people.

BlRT: Seventeen?

lncluding his own brother.

But you know what?
We can't ask him
about his brother,

'cause frankly,
if Donald Nixon
was my brother,

l'd wiretap him, too.

RESTON : But wait, okay,
so we have
breaking and entering.

We have wiretapping,
conspiracy to
foster prostitution.

And that's Liddy, right?

Delivery courtesy
of Nate 'n Al's

finest deli selection.

We're going to need napkins.
We'd better have some napkins.

How do we frame a question
about Cambodia,

about the illicit
bombing of Cambodia?

l think you should say,

"How far do you take
executive privilege

"before it becomes
an undemocratic event?"

l think you frame
the question to him
as a Quaker.

"How do you feel as
a Quaker about annihilating
an entire people?"

FROST: Come on.
Are they really
interested in buying time?

Are they going to
give us the money?

How serious are they?

You have to set up that
he has an anti-democratic
personality.

There's a reason they
call him Tricky Dick.

Because l had written about
and watched Nixon for years,

l got to play him
in our rehearsals.

You know,
the fellas would
throw me a question,

and I would try and anticipate
what his response might be.

BlRT: Okay,
the White House
taping system.

Ours is not
the first administration
to use taping systems.

Lyndon Johnson's
White House used them.
So did Kennedy's.

Huston Plan.
Wiretapping and alleged
abuses of power.

Let me tell you,
other administrations
were up to far worse.

And just for fun,
your close
friend Jack Kennedy.

That man, he screwed
anything that moved,

fixed elections
and took us into Vietnam.

And the American people,
they loved him for it!

Whereas l,
Richard Milhous Nixon,

worked around the clock
in their service,
and they hated me!

Look. Look. Now l'm sweating.

Damn it! Damn it!

And Kennedy's
so goddamn handsome
and blue-eyed !

And women all over him !

He screwed anything
that moved, and everything.

Had a go at Checkers once.

The poor little bitch
was never the same!

Gentlemen, finally a friend
in the American press.

CAROLlN E: Jack Anderson
in The Washington Post,

"When Richard Nixon faces
the television cameras

"for his first interview
since he abandoned
the White House,

"he'll be cross-examined
as if he were on
the witness stand.

"Frost has hired
three crack investigators

"to help him
with the research.

"Clearly
the famous TV interviewer
will pull no punches."

"Crack investigators"?

Can l be Crack One?

Can l be Deep Crack?

David, can l talk
to you for a sec?

After researching
my last book,

l was pretty
certain Colson. . .

You know, Charles Colson?
His darkest henchman?

Colson, right.
Colson had a
meeting with Nixon

(PHON E RlNGlNG)

sometime before June 23,

but l never knew
the exact date,

so l couldn't
find the transcript.

But if you gave me
a week back in the
Federal Courthouse library. . .

A week? Goodness, Jim,
we can't lose you
for that long.

l think this is
really good stuff, Dave.

Would there be something
l could help you with?

You know, if we're
gonna nail Nixon
in these interviews,

we're gonna
have to ambush him.

We're gonna have to
take him by surprise.

Don't worry, Jim.
We'll get him anyway.

Hang on a second.
David, Jack Brennan.

He sounds a little emotional.

l'll take it in here.

He'll be right
with you. Yeah.

Jack.
Watergate.

Yes, Jack.

Our lawyers want us to agree
on a definition of the word.

Well, l believe
it's a large hotel

and office complex
in Washington, Jack.

You know what
I'm talking about.

For the interviews.

We want to propose
that Watergate

be an umbrella term
for everything negative.

(STAMMERS)

Hold on a minute.

So all the other
domestic charges

against him,
the Brookings lnstitute,

the Plumbers Union,
the Enemies List,

you're saying all that
goes into Watergate?

Correct.

That is absurd
and a clear breach

of the terms
of our agreement.

Okay. How would
you define Watergate?

Well, that it covers
just that.

The Watergate
break-in of June 1 7th

and the subsequent
cover-up and investigation.

Fine. ln which case,
the deal is off.

Fine. ln which case,
you can expect a lawsuit

for something
in excess of $20 million

in damages and
loss of earnings.

The terms of the contract
clearly stipulate

that Watergate take up
no more than 25% of the time.

Yes, but nowhere does it say
that for the rest of the 75%

he gets to drone on
and sound presidential.

"Drone on"? Jesus Christ.
Where's your respect?

You remember
who you're
talking about here.

You know as well as l do
that 60% of what he did
in office was right,

and 30% may have been wrong,
but he thought it was right
at the time.

Yes, but that
still leaves 1 0%

where he was doing
the wrong thing and knew it.

You goddamn media people.
You are so smug.

Well, l can guarantee you
if you screw us on the 60%,

l will ruin you if it takes
the rest of my life.

Prick.

Look at you. Gorgeous.

Good night, sweet princes.

Cheerio.
Bye.

See you in the morning.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Why the monkey suit?

David has a film premiere
he needs to attend.

What? The night
before we start taping?

What's the movie?

It's The Slipper and the Rose.

The Cinderella movie?

Yeah. David's
the executive producer.

You don't think it might be
an idea for our interviewer

to be rested and focused
on the job in hand?

BlRT: Don't worry.

David is a performer
of the highest caliber.

He's been in these
pressure situations
many times before.

Come the hour,
he'll be fine. Okay?

What did he say?
Did he say "performer"?

Yeah.
That's the word he used?

Yeah, he said "performer."

Not "journalist"
or "interviewer"?

No. He said "performer."

Out of curiosity,
where are you at this
moment? Psychically?

l am imagining the dust,
the darkness,

the agony and the
unimaginable loneliness

of the wilderness
l am about to
be dispatched to

by my Washington
political colleagues.

(CH EERlNG)

So any opportunity you get,
go right to foreign policy,
go right to Mao,

go right to Khrushchev.

Just go right!

KHACH lGlAN :
You could do all day
on foreign policy, sir.

PRlCE: l disagree
that the Mao banquet
story is stale.

Excuse me, sir.
Something l think
you should see.

GAN NON : People love
that story.

SAWYER: Why don't we
save it for the book?

KHACH lGlAN :
Yeah, right, come on.

REPORTER 1 : David.
REPORTER 2: Mr. Frost.

REPORTER 1 : David,
some people in the media
have suggested

that you're not
the right man for the job,

that you'll be
too soft on the President.

What will you do
if he stonewalls you?

FROST: Well, l shall
say so again and again.

But I should say right now
that I'm not expecting

his approach
to be to stonewall.

I'm hoping that
it\ll be that of
a cascade of candor.

REPORTER 1 :
\\A cascade of candor\\?

From Richard Nixon?

You think that\s
what you'll get?

No, I just
thought it was a phrase
that might appeal to you.

REPORTER 1 : So what
about the money?

That's a strange fellow.

Started life as a comic,
you know.

N lXON : ls that so?
Mmm-hmm.

Almost married
Diahann Carroll.

Who?

GAN NON : The singer.

lsn't she black?

Yes, sir.

Right here
in the Frost file,
which we put together

as part of
our general preparations.

Okay. Let's get back to work.

FROST: That's fact,
this is fiction.

So now it\s about
The Slipper and the Rose.

It\s a cracker of a movie.

I hope you'll all
come and see it, and. . .

(ELEVATOR BELL DlNGS)

l shouldn't have
ordered that coffee.

Just don't drink any more.

(lNAU DlBLE)

Good luck.
Thank you.

l'll be thinking of you.

Dick. Wait.

FROST: For the record,
l'm gonna be starting
with John's idea.

"Why didn't you
burn the tapes?"

No.
Fuck.

Please, God, no! You can't.

David, you can't do that.
lt would be a disaster.

lt would get us
into Watergate way ahead
of the agreed time.

What is the point of
having contractually set

specific times to deal
with certain subjects

if you're just
going to ignore it
right off the bat?

'Cause it's war, isn't it?
Gloves off.

l like it. lt's ballsy.

Strategically,
it'll give us the upper hand.

lt's insanely risky.

He could walk
right off the set,

and there's nothing
we could do about it.

Worse, he could sue you !

We were sadly
unable to do the taping
at Casa Pacifica

because of the Coast Guard
radio interference,

so we ended up
at the rather more
modest Smith house,

which was owned
by a local Republican
businessman.

(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

PHOTOGRAPH ER: Right here!

Mr. Frost, look over here.

Over here, sir!

Here we go.
OFFlCER: Back up
behind the curb.

REPORTER 1 :
A few questions, please.

PHOTOGRAPH ER:
Right here, Mr. Frost.

REPORTER 2: David !
David ! David !

(ALL CLAMORlNG)

FROST: Well, hello there.

(SlREN BLARlNG)

Excuse me, fellas.

MAN : Nixon, there's
blood on your hands!

WOMAN : Liar!

MAN : Here comes the President!

REPORTER 1 : Mr. President!

REPORTER 2: Mr. President!

REPORTER 3: How are you
feeling, Mr. President?

(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

The Smith family requested
that the furniture
be put back in place.

They talked to you
about that, too?

They're bugging everybody.

RESTON : You know,
l've written
four books about him,

but this is the first
time l've actually seen
him in the flesh.

He's taller than l imagined,
and tanned.

The least he could
do is look ravaged.

You gonna shake his hand?

Am l gonna shake. . .

Are you kidding me?

After everything
that prick's done
to this country?

l'm not gonna shake his hand.

Gentlemen.

May l present Bob Zelnick,
my executive editor?

How do you do?

Pleasure, Mr. President.

FROST: And Jim Reston,
one of my researchers.

Pleasure to meet you,
Mr. Reston.

Mr. President.

Excuse me, sir?
Got a room for
you right here.

Wow. That was
devastating, withering.

l mean, l don't think he's
ever gonna get over that.

Yeah, fuck off.

(CH UCKLES)

l got you guys
set up back here.

Now this is your green room.

And the President will be
on the large monitor.

Craft services is that way.

Keep it about
that temperature, okay?

Mr. President?

Yeah.

Before we start,
l just want to say

how delighted we all are
by Mrs. Nixon's recovery.

Well, thank you.
lt's true.

She's much better now.

She's just getting
round to the business
of replying to all the cards.

And from our
point of view, well,

l'd just like to say
how pleased we are

that you got
this all together.

Thank you.

As l understand it,
it's been quite a struggle.

Well. . .

How much has it cost?

You mind me asking?
Hey, come on.

Come on,
it's just between us.

Very well. Two million.

Two million? Jeez.
l didn't realize
we were making Ben-Hur.

(LAUGHS U NCOMFORTABLY)

But tell me something.

You raised it all now?

(H ESlTATES)

Not quite.
But we're getting there.

Everyone's been kind
and deferred fees.

Well, not quite everyone.

David, l'm gonna go in
with you on camera.

Excuse me.

l want to put
a handkerchief here,
if l may.

ls that out of shot?

That's fine, Mr. President.

Contractually,
l think that we made

an agreement that
after each question

l might dab my upper lip
before answering it.

Which you won't show,
you know,
when you cut it together.

You're probably aware
of my history
with perspiration.

lf you're
referring to your TV debate
with Jack Kennedy in 1 960.

They say that
moisture on my upper lip
cost me the presidency.

People who heard
it on the radio,
well, they thought l'd won.

But television
and the close-up,

they create their
own sets of meanings.

So now they insist
l bring a handkerchief

and that l have
my eyebrows trimmed.

Sixty seconds, everyone.

You trim yours?
No.

No, of course not.

Yeah, you're light-skinned.
Yeah.

You got blue eyes. You've got
no troubles with perspiration,
l imagine.

No, not that l'm aware.

You were obviously
born to be on the tube.

DAVlS: Stand by
to roll tape in 30 seconds.

Settling.

Those shoes.

They're ltalian, aren't they?

My shoes? l believe so.

Yeah, that's interesting.

(SN lFFLES)

You don't find
them too effeminate?

No.

Well, l guess
somebody in your field

can get away
with them, you know.

Manolo, just check
my collar, will you?

DlRECTOR: David,
starting with camera two,

in four, three, two.
Cue David. And. . .

Mr. President. Now,
we're going to be
covering a lot of subjects

in a great deal of detail
over the course
of these interviews,

but l'd like to
begin completely
out of context

by asking you
one question,

more than any other,
almost every American

and people all over
the world want me to ask.

Why didn't you
burn the tapes?

Son of a bitch !

Well, Mr. Frost,
l'm surprised
by your question

since we have an agreement,
a contractual agreement,
l believe,

that we would cover Watergate
in our last taping session.

But if your viewers
really do have
a major concern,

then perhaps l should
briefly respond to it now.

What probably very
few people realize

is that the taping system
in the White House

was set up
by my predecessor,
President Johnson,

partly to avoid
the necessity of having
a secretary in every meeting,

and partly
to ensure there was

a record kept of
every verbal agreement,

no matter how
off the cuff or casual.

Now, initially, on coming
into the White House,

l insisted on
dismantling the system.

l hadn't liked
the idea at all,
but the former President,

President Johnson,
had repeatedly said

how crazy it would be
to remove the system,

which he felt
was the best way. . .

BRENNAN: Well, in boxing,
you know, there's always
that first moment,

and you see it in
the challenger's face.

lt's that moment
that he feels

the impact from
the champ's first jab.

lt's kind of
a sickening moment,
when he realizes that

all those months
of pep talks and the hype,

the psyching yourself up,
had been delusional all along.

You could see it
in Frost's face.

lf he didn't know
the caliber of the man

that he was up against
before the interview started,

he certainly knew
it halfway through
the President's first answer.

N lXON : You see,
since the best advice is

almost always
of the confidential variety,

now the tapes have
been made public,

people are unlikely
ever to feel comfortable

speaking in confidence
at the White House.

They're less likely
to offer that advice.
So in the end,

it's the whole
political system and,

by implication, it's
the country that suffers.

So much for
our "ballsy" opening.

So when did you
actually decide. . .

At what moment did you know
you were going to resign?

That's good. That's good.

l remember exactly.
lt was July 23.

After it was clear
the Southern Democrats

that were still against
impeachment had

had the screws put on them
by the Speaker of the House.

That night l said to
Al Haig, "Well, that's it.
There goes the presidency."

And, of course,
you know, being Al,

he tried to
talk me out of it.

And Vice President Ford,
I mean, let's not forget

he had the most
to gain personally
from my stepping down,

he was still
absolutely convinced that

we were gonna win
the impeachment vote,

and comfortably.
John, we have to do something.

We have to move this along.

This is desperate, John.
Do something.

Twenty-three minutes
on one question?

Okay, let's take a break.

Let's change the tapes.
Come on, man.

Stop tape.

DlRECTOR:
l'm sorry, gentlemen.

We have to take a break.
Tape change.

Oh. Okay, how's that?
You getting what you need?

lt's fantastic.

Good. Good. Thank you.

Excuse me. One moment, sir.

N lXON : Yeah, sure.
Take your time.

What are you doing, David?
You've got to
stop him rambling.

lt's all right.
These are just
introductory exchanges.

But this session
only lasts two hours.

Nearly half of it's gone,
and we're wasting
valuable material, okay?

The moment that he made
the decision to resign,

we should be scoring
points with that stuff.

Want me to switch to Vietnam?

No. No.
We've got to
get something

out of that
resignation night.
All right?

That was Nixon at
his lowest point,
a total wreck. On his knees?

Praying with Kissinger?
Come on, you can nail
him with that stuff.

Listen, was that okay?

Perfect, sir.

lt didn't sound too
arrogant or self-serving?

Not at all.
You sounded controlled,
even-handed, statesmanlike.

Good.

Now continue
exactly the same way.

Long answers.
Control the space.

Don't let him in.

Okay, got you.

DAVlS: Set. And roll.

We're coming
back on camera three
in four, three, two and. . .

Reading the account
of those extraordinary
final days,

it seems your most
emotional moment came

in that
heart-to-heart you had
with Henry Kissinger.

Was that perhaps
the most emotional moment
of your career?

RESTON : Good, good.
N IXON: Yes.

l would say it was
about as emotional
a moment as l've ever had.

Except, well,
you know,
it's hard to say

what is the most
emotional moment,

because each is different.

I remember the day
Eisenhower died.

For God's sake.

And the day I walked
my eldest daughter
Tricia down the aisle.

And the day during
the impeachment hearings

when Julie,
that's my youngest,
she came into my office,

she threw her arms around me,
she kissed me.
She cried, you know?

And she so seldom cries.

She said, \\Daddy, you\re
the finest man I know.\\

"Daddy, you're
the finest man l know"?

"And whatever you do,
l will support you.

"You just gotta
go through the fire,
you know, a little longer."

This is beautiful.

So Kissinger and l were
in the Lincoln Sitting Room,

and together we began
to reminisce

about some of
the great decisions that
we'd participated in.

There was China,
the Soviet Union,

the peace settlement
in Vietnam.

Now, let me
tell you something that
I never told anybody.

Whenever l have had
a really tough
decision to make. . .

Now, we were in
the Lincoln Sitting Room
at that time.

l have come into this room
for the purpose of praying.

"Now, Henry,
l'm a Quaker.
You're a Jew.

"Neither of us is
particularly orthodox,

"but l'd like to think
that each of us
in our own way

"has a deep
religious sensitivity.

"So if you don't mind,
could we just have a moment
of silent prayer?"

So we knelt down.
Now, this was in front
of that table where

Lincoln signed
the Emancipation
Proclamation.

And then after a few moments,
we both got up again,
and Henry says. . .

ls there. . . l'm sorry.

ls there a problem?

That's time.

We're over two hours.

Really? So soon?

Well, Mr. President,
l gather our time is up.

Gee, now, that's a pity.

You know,
l was beginning
to enjoy that.

That was terrific,
both of you.

We're getting some
great material.

You know,
it's so funny, too,

because l was expecting
questions on Vietnam.

And we prepared for that,
hadn't we, Jack?

Yes, so did l.

l guess we
just got caught up,
you know, reminiscing.

lndeed.

So, day after tomorrow,
1 0:00, right?

Yes, indeed.

l look forward to it.
Bye-bye.

There's no need
to say anything.

REPORTER 1 : Mr. President!
REPORTER 2: Mr. President!

(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

REPORTER 3: Mr. President!

REPORTER 4:
Mr. President, please!

(WH lSPERlNG)
What are you
gonna tell him?

l'm gonna tell him
he's gotta get involved.

He's gotta be able
to shut him up.
Shh.

David, we have some
fundamental problems in
our approach that l think. . .

Don't worry, Bob.
l'm on it.

We can use some of
the Kissinger stuff.

Yeah, but we need
to discuss it sooner
rather than later. . .

Look,
l'm disappointed, too.

But l wonder,
could we possibly spare
the post-mortem for now?

l don't mean to minimize it.
lt's just l've got to
get back to LA

to meet some people
from Weed Eater.

Thanks, everyone!
Great work!

Marv, Lloyd, great day.
Bye, David.

l'll see you soon.
God bless!

What the hell
is Weed Eater?

lt's a horticultural
mechanism.

One of our sponsors.

What happened to Xerox?

What about
General Motors
or lBM?

l gather that not all of
the blue-chip accounts
came through.

We do have Alpo.

Dog food?

(STUTTERlNG) Wait, John.
We're already taping.

So we're close, right?
We're very close?

That's probably a question
you should ask David.

Are we close, John?

l believe we're at 30%.

To go? Or 30% sold?

Again, that's probably
a question you should. . .

Sold, 30%% sold.

Jesus. . .

l thought
we were practically
fully financed.

We were. But the financing
was always conditional
on advertising sales,

and no one predicted
that they'd fall apart
like this.

Well, why have
they fallen apart?
Based on what?

Credibility of the project.
What else are advertising
sales based on?

Listen,
l understand your concern.

But could l ask you
to go a little easier on David
over the next couple of days,

bearing in mind
the extraordinary pressure
that he's under?

'Cause at the moment,
he's effectively paying
for all this himself.

So he's in it
for a lot more than
just his reputation.

And we're not?

FROST: You seemed
very confident last time.

I don\t understand.
Why this sudden
change of heart?

All right,
this is just madness.
lt's Richard Nixon.

These interviews
will do mid-30s
audience share, minimum.

Jimmy! Yes.
Yes, back again, like
the proverbial bad penny.

Look, l hate to do
this to a friend,

and l know you're already in
for more than l asked for,

but l need you to dig
a little deeper.

l'm right up against it now.

So, l had
a chance to review
yesterday's tapes.

And?

Honestly?
Far too soft, David.

Go on. Beat me, John.
Beat me with a stick.

Look. No, l'm serious.

You have got to make it
more uncomfortable for him.

You can start by
sitting forward.
You've gotta attack more.

lf he starts
tailing off, bang,

jump in with
another question.

Don't trade
generalizations.

Be specific.

And above all, don't let
him give these self-serving,
23-minute homilies.

Right.
And keep your distance

before the tape
starts running.

He was toying
with you yesterday.

All that shit about Ben-Hur
and struggling to raise
the money.

Those are mind games.
Don't engage.

Never forget,
you are in there
with a major operator.

Got it.

(N lXON CLEARS TH ROAT)

Ah.

The Grand lnquisitor!

No, just your friendly
neighborhood confidant.

(GLASS SMASH lNG)

lt's okay.
We just blew a bulb.

N lXON : This is why l got
all these Secret Service
guys around.

There's nothing
to worry about.

As a president,
you get used to
this kind of stuff.

DAVlS: Ed, we gotta
get in here and change
out this 750, ASAP.

(WH lSPERlNG)
Focus, sir.
Yeah.

Okay, we are back.
Okay, take it
on my count.

Okay, stand by
to roll tape.
30 seconds.

DAVlS: Settling.

You have a pleasant
evening last night?

Yes, thank you.

Did you do
any fornicating?

David, we're starting
with camera two in four,

(CLEARS TH ROAT)

three, two and. . .

Mr. President,
you came to office
promising peace,

but no sooner
did you get into
the White House

than US involvement
in Vietnam deepened
and the war was prolonged

with calamitous
consequences.

Did you feel that you'd
betrayed the people
that had elected you?

Well, Vietnam
was not my war.

lt was my inheritance.

And it looked to me...
Jump in.

. . .as if the reason
for our being there

had perhaps not been
adequately understood
by the American people.

lt seemed to me
they hadn't realized

how important
a test this was
of American credibility.

The whole world
was watching to see

if we have the character
to see it through.

Now, look,
l could have bugged out.
l could have.

l could have blamed it
on my predecessors.

l could have
pulled the troops
out of Vietnam early,

and very possibly,
l would have won

some Scandinavian peace prize
into the bargain.

But l believed
in the cause.

And sometimes, you know,
what you believe in,
it's the harder path.

You might even say that
l was the last casualty
of the Vietnam War.

Yeah, tell that
to the paraplegics.

Come on, David,
Cambodia.

And Cambodia?
An invasion which everybody
advised you against.

All the ClA
and Pentagon intelligence
suggested it would fail.

So why did you do it?

Well, first of all,

as a result of
our incursion into Cambodia,
we picked up 22,000 rifles,

1 5 million rounds
of ammunition,
1 50,000 rockets, mortars.

That's all belonging
to the North Vietnamese,

which would only otherwise
have been directed

right onto
American soldiers.

But one of
the principal justifications
you gave for the incursion

was the supposed
existence of

the "headquarters of
the entire Communist military
operation in South Vietnam,"

a sort of "bamboo Pentagon"
which proved
not to exist at all.

No, no. Wait a minute
there. No, l was. . .
And by sending. . .

And by sending B-52s
to carpet bomb a country,

wiping out
whole civilian areas,

you end up radicalizing
a once moderate people,

uniting them in
anti-American sentiment

and creating a monster
in the Khmer Rouge

that would lead
to civil war...

All right!
...and genocide.

Yes, good, good, good.
There it is.

Okay, run VT.

Roll tape.

Well, sir,
l'm sure you'd agree,

some pretty
stirring images there.

Look, it was never US policy
to kill civilians.
That's the enemy's way.

Well, l'm not suggesting. . .

And if you're
asking the question

do l regret the casualties
on both sides in the war,
yeah, sure, of course l do.

Let me tell you something.
lt can just wear you down.

Well, all right, sir,
when you are faced
with someone who. . .

But whenever
l have had my doubts,

l remembered
the construction worker
in Philadelphia,

because he came up to me

and he said, "Sir,
l got only one criticism
of that Cambodia thing.

"lf you'd gone in earlier,

"you might have
captured the gun

"that killed my boy
three months ago."

So you're asking me,
do l regret
going into Cambodia?

No! l don't.
You know what?

l wish l'd gone in
sooner and harder.

SAWYER: Got him.
Safe!

lt was horrifying.
lt was horrifying.
And he was so confident.

(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

REPORTER:
What are you gonna say
about Watergate?

Sorry, boys,
just all talked out,
you know?

Better?

lt was.
Unquestionably better.

What's next?

Foreign policy.

Great. Russia, China,
the big power stuff.

Yeah, so?

So if he beats him up
like that on Vietnam,

imagine what he's gonna do
with his real achievements.

(RESTON LAUGHS)

lt ain't gonna be pretty.

The answer was
grow by six inches.

lt was agony to watch.

Now, that's when
Khrushchev called me,
begging me to intervene.

You see, he and Mao
didn't get along,

and Khrushchev
knew that the Chairman

would talk to me,
no one else.

You see, l was the only one
that Mao would trust
personally, man-to-man.

When David tried to
lay a finger on him,

Nixon made mincemeat
out of him.

ZELN lCK:
What "revolution," David?

You just let
Richard Nixon claim

the country was in
a state of revolution?

What, with protestors
"bombing" and "assaulting"
police officers?

That's not how
l remember it.

What l remember
is people protesting
peacefully and legitimately

against the Vietnam War!

That's what l remember.
Music off, please. Off.

By the end, wiretapping
students and breaking
into journalists' homes

was beginning to sound
like a rational response.

Well, l'm sorry
you feel this way,

but l simply cannot
share your view.

About what exactly?

About any of it, frankly!

l thought today was
a huge improvement.

Are you nuts?

Let me tell you how
bad things were today.

After the taping finished,
l overheard two members
of the crew say

they never voted for him
when they had the chance,

but if he ran
for office again today,
he'd get their support.

You're making him
look presidential,
for Christ's sake!

And forget about
the trivia, David.

Who cares whether Nixon
took the White House bed
to Europe

when he traveled?
l do!

Well, it's irrelevant!

And it's just
the sort of banal anecdote
that would distract a talk. . .

A what?

Go on. No, say it.

What, you were gonna
say "talk show host"?

Yeah. Yeah, l was.

All right, look,
it's useless me trying
to answer your points.

Frankly, l don't share
any of your sense of
pessimism or alarm.

And this ridiculous
self-flagellation,

in my view,
is just depressing.

No!

And threatening to derail
the whole enterprise.

Look. lf there is
anyone here who thinks
we're gonna fail,

they better leave now,

or it'll infect
everyone else.

No one?

Right.

Good.

Now, l suggest instead of
festering around the hotel
for the next five days,

we all go
our separate ways
over Easter.

But before we go,
Caroline and l
would like you

to join us for a little
celebratory dinner

at Patrick Terrail's
new place.

Celebrate?
Celebrate what, David?

The fact that we're
all gonna be working
at Burger King?

What are we celebrating?
lt's my birthday, Bob!

l'd like to
celebrate my birthday
with a few friends.

(PlANO PLAYlNG U PBEAT TU N E)

Look, is that
Neil Diamond?

(SlNGlNG) Frost and Nixon,
Frost and Nixon

And is that Sammy Cahn?

Go together like
Prancer and Vixen

David,
did you hear that?

Soaring through the airwaves

Jesus, that's Hugh Hefner.

Oh, my God.

Hoping for several
hefty paydays

Yeah, l think it is.
With Michael York.

That's gotta be Bunnies.

Those are Bunnies?
Those are real Bunnies?

Frost and Nixon,
Frost and Nixon

Go together
like Mason and Dixon

David, just putting it
all together it's the most
extraordinary accomplishment.

Frost lines up with Dicky...

No one else
could have done that.

And these interviews
are always gonna be around
for future generations

of academics and
political historians.

That bad?

He saved it

He wrote a book
Now here\s the hook

David !

Patrick.

He\s not a crook
He's paid by David

(GU ESTS APPLAU DlNG)

(PLAYlNG CLASSlCAL MUSlC)

My, what
a festive atmosphere.
Please, don't get up.

l take it from this
that the interviews
have gone well?

Better than that, ma'am.
lt's a shutout.

The President's sitting
on an 1 1 -0 lead.

Really? Well.
Yeah.

Well, that is
most gratifying.

l'm so glad it's all
gone according to plan.

(SlGHS) l see.

ls there nothing
we can do?

Really?

(SlGH lNG) Right. Well, thanks
for letting me know.

lt's true.
They've dropped
the Australian show.

Oh, no, David.

They felt that l needed
to reevaluate my priorities.

Now my producer's worried
that the London show
will follow.

l'm in this
for everything l've got,

and there's still
no guarantee it'll ever
see the light of day.

What have l done?
What was l thinking?
Why didn't anyone stop me?

They should have
physically stopped me!

No, no, no. Shh.

Look, we don't have
to go out tonight.
Why don't we stay in?

Hmm?

l'll go down to Trader Vic's
and bring something back.

Steak or fish?

David?

Don't worry. l'll call
from the restaurant.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(TELEPHON E RlNGlNG)

l'll have a cheeseburger.

N lXON: Mmm. That sounds good.
I used to love cheeseburgers,

but Dr. Lundgren
made me give them up.

He switched me
to cottage cheese
and pineapple instead.

He calls them
my Hawaiian burgers,

but they don't taste
like burgers at all.

They taste like Styrofoam.

l hope l'm not disturbing.

No.

It's a Friday night.

You've probably
got somebody there
whom you're entertaining.

No.

Well, then
what are you doing?

A handsome
young fellow,

an eligible young bachelor
alone on a Friday night.

lf you must know,
l'm preparing
for our final session.

The all-important
final session.

Yes.
Watergate.

\Cause l guess
the way you handle
Watergate's gonna determine

whether these interviews
are a success or a failure.

Should l be nervous?

Well, l'm gonna
give it my best shot.

Quite right.
No holds barred.
No holds barred.

You know, it's strange.

Now, we have sat in chairs
opposite one another,

talking for hours,
it seems, days on end,

and yet l've hardly
gotten to know you.

One of my people,
as part of the preparation

for this interview,
she did a profile on you.

And l'm sorry to say
that l just got around
to reading it tonight.

There's some
interesting stuff
in there.

Your Methodist background,
the modest circumstances,

and then you're off
to a grand university
full of richer, posher types.

What was it? Oxford?

Cambridge.

Did the snobs there
look down on you, too?

(CH UCKLES)

Of course they did.
That's our tragedy,
isn't it, Mr. Frost?

No matter how high we get,
they still look down at us.

l really don't know
what you're talking about.

Yes, you do.

Now, come on.
No matter how many awards

or column inches
are written about you

or how high
the elected office is for me,
it's still not enough.

We still feel
like the little man,

the loser they told us
we were a hundred times.

The smart-asses at college,
the high-ups, the well-born,

the people whose
respect we really wanted,
really craved.

And isn't that
why we work so hard now,
why we fight for every inch,

scrambling our way up
in undignified fashion?

lf we're honest for a minute,
if we reflect privately
just for a moment,

if we allow ourselves
a glimpse into that shadowy
place we call our soul,

isn't that why
we're here now?
The two of us?

Looking for a way
back into the sun,

into the limelight,
back onto the winner's podium.

Because we could feel
it slipping away.

We were headed,
both of us, for the dirt!

A place the snobs
always told us
that we'd end up.

Face in the dust.

Humiliated all the more
for having tried
so pitifully hard.

Well, to hell with that!

We're not gonna
let that happen,
either of us.

We're gonna
show those bums.

We're gonna make them choke
on our continued success,

our continued headlines,
our continued awards
and power and glory!

We are gonna make
those motherfuckers choke!

Am l right?

You are.
Except only one of us can win.

Yes.

And l shall be
your fiercest adversary.

l shall come at you
with everything l got,

because the limelight
can only shine on one of us.

And for the other,
it'll be the wilderness,

with nothing and no one
for company

but those voices
ringing in our head.

You can probably tell
l've had a drink.

It's not too many.
Just one or two.

But you believe me,

when the time comes,
l'm gonna be focused
and ready for battle.

Good night, Mr. Frost.

Good night,

Mr. President.

So with or without cheese?
l brought burgers.

David?

l've got to work.

NlXON ON TAPE: Well,
who was the asshole that did?

Jesus, is that Liddy?

He must be a little nuts.

HALDEMAN: Yeah, he is.

N lXON: l mean, he just isn\t
well screwed on, is he?

Isn't that the problem?

Yeah, screw the Cabinet
and the rest of those.

But no more sucking around.
From now on, they come to me.

There is one thing
that I want done,

and I don\t want
any argument about it.

I want you to direct
the most trusted
person you have

in the lmmigration Service

that they are to look over
all the activities
at the Los Angeles Times.

All, underlined.
And they are to send
their teams in to see

whether they are violating
the wetback thing.

Is that clear?
MlTCHELL: Yes, sir.

(TAPE REWlN DlNG)

N lXON: You open that scab,
there\s a hell of
a lot of things that

we just feel that
it would be very detrimental

to have this thing
go any further.

(TELEPHON E RlNGlNG)

Hello?

Jim, it\s David.

Hey. What time is it?

How much longer
are you gonna be
in D.C. for?

Tuesday. Till Tuesday.

Great. Well,
you remember
you mentioned

going to the Federal
Courthouse library?

(BABY CRYlNG)
Honey, can you
check on him, please?

Yes, for the Colson stuff?

Well, l've been doing
a little light reading
this end,

and you remember
that hunch you had
about the meeting

between Nixon and Colson?

Uh-huh. What are you thinking?

(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR)

(KNOCKlNG CONTlN U ES)

Hey.
Hey.

Good morning.

And?

(TRl UMPHANT lNSTRUMENTAL
MUSlC PLAYlNG)

Excuse me, sir.

lt's 8:30.
Bob, have you
seen David?

No. No Frost, no Reston.

(ELEVATOR BELL DlNGS)

Morning.
Good morning.
Come on, let's go.

What's that about?

BlRT: First time he's late.

REPORTER: Mr. President!

(CROWD CLAMORlNG)

Morning.

(DOOR OPENS)

(lN DlSTlNCT)

Mr. President.

Mr. Frost.

DAVlS: Thirty seconds
to tape roll !

Thirty seconds.
Settling. Settle.

Well, if today's session is
anything like our phone call,
it should be explosive.

What phone call?

The phone call
to my hotel room.

DAVlS: David,
starting on camera three
in four, three, two and. . .

Now, looking back
on your final year
in office,

do you feel you ever
obstructed justice

or were part of
a conspiracy to cover up
or obstruct justice?

No.

And l'm interested
that you used the term
"obstruction of justice."

Now, you perhaps have not
read the statute

with regard to
the obstruction
of justice.

As it happens, l have.

You have, you say?
Well, then, you'll know it
doesn't just require an act.

lt requires a specific
corrupt motive.

And in this case,
l didn't have
a corrupt motive.

What l was doing
was in the interests
of political containment.

Be that as it may,
the direct consequences

of your actions
would have been

that two of
the convicted burglars

would have escaped
criminal prosecution.

Now, how can that
not be a cover-up or
obstruction of justice?

Well, l think
the record shows,
Mr. Frost,

that far from
obstructing justice,

l was actively
facilitating it.

When Pat Gray of the FBl
telephoned me,
this was July 6,

l said,
"Pat, you go right ahead
with your investigation."

That's hardly
what you'd call
obstructing justice.

Well, that may be,
but for two weeks
prior to July 6,

we now know that
you were desperately

trying to contain or block
the investigation.

No, no. Hang on
a minute there.
l wasn't. . .

No, no.
Obstruction of justice
is obstruction of justice,

whether it's for
a minute or five minutes,

and it's no defense
to say that your plan failed.

l mean, if l try to
rob a bank and fail,
that's no defense.

l still tried
to rob the bank.

Will you just wait
one minute there,
Mr. Frost?

There is no evidence
of any kind that l was. . .

Well, the reason
there is no evidence

is because
1 8 and a half minutes

of the conversation
with Bob Haldeman
from this June period

have mysteriously
been erased.

That was
an unfortunate
oversight.

And Bob Haldeman
is a rigorous

and a conscientious
note taker.

His notes are there
for all to see.

Well, we found
something rather better
than his notes,

a conversation
with Charles Colson,

which l don't think
has ever been published.

Okay, here we go.

lt hasn't been
published, you say?

No, but one
of my researchers
found it in Washington

where it's available
to anyone who consults
the records.

Well, l just wondered,
you know, if we'd seen it.

More than seen it,
Mr. President.

You spoke the actual words.

Now, you've always claimed
you first learned of
the break-in on June 23.

Yeah.

But this transcript of a tape
made three days earlier

clearly shows that
to be a falsehood.

Now, in it you say
to Colson, "This whole
investigation rests

"unless one of the seven
begins to talk.

"That's the problem."

Well, what do we
mean when we say

"one of the seven
beginning to talk"?

Then moving on to
a conversation you had
with John Dean

on March 21 ,
the following year.

ln one transcript alone,
there in black and white,

l picked out,
and these are your words,

one,
"You could get $1 million,
and you could get it in cash.

"l know where it
could be gotten."

Two, "Your major guy
to keep under control
is Hunt."

Three,
"Don't we have to handle
the Hunt situation?"

Four, "Get the million bucks.

"lt would seem to me
that would be worthwhile."

Five, "Don't you agree
that you'd better get
the Hunt thing going?"

Six, "First you've got
the Hunt problem.

"That ought to be handled."
Seven, "The money
can be provided.

"Ehrlichman could provide
the way to deliver it."

Eight,
"We've no choice with Hunt

"but the $1 20,000 or
whatever it is, right?"

Nine, "Christ,
turn over any cash
we've got."

And l could go on.
Now, it seems to me

that someone
running a cover-up

couldn't have expressed it
more clearly than that,
could they?

Look, let me
just stop you now
right there,

because you're doing
something here

which l am not doing,
and l will not do

throughout these
entire broadcasts.

You're quoting me
out of context,

out of order.
And l might add,

l have participated
in all these interviews

without a single note
in front of me.

Well, it is your life,
Mr. President.

Now, you've always maintained

that you knew nothing
about any of this
until March 21 .

But in February,
your personal lawyer
came to Washington

to start the raising
of $21 9,000

of hush money to be
paid to the burglars.

Now, do you seriously
expect us to believe

that you had
no knowledge of that?

None. l believed
the money was for
humanitarian purposes.

To help
disadvantaged people
with their defenses.

Well, it was being delivered
on the tops of phone booths
with aliases,

and at airports
by people with gloves on.

That's not normally
the way lawyers' fees
are delivered, is it?

Look,
l have made statements
to this effect before.

All that was Haldeman
and Ehrlichman's business.

l knew nothing.
Okay, fine. Fine!

You made a conclusion there.

l stated my view,
now let's move on.

Let's get on to
the rest of it.

No, hold on.
No, hold on.

No, l don't
want to talk. . .

lf Haldeman and Ehrlichman
were the ones
really responsible,

when you subsequently
found out about it,

why didn't you
call the police
and have them arrested?

lsn't that just
a cover-up of another kind?

Yeah, maybe l should
have done that.
Maybe l should have.

Just called the feds
into my office

and said, "Hey,
there's the two men.

"Haul them
down to the dock,

"fingerprint them
and then throw them
in the can."

l'm not made that way.

These men,
Haldeman, Ehrlichman,
l knew their families.

l knew them since
they were just kids.

Yeah, but you know,
politically,

the pressure on me
to let them go,
that became overwhelming !

So l did it.
l cut off one arm,

then l cut off the other,
and l'm not a good butcher!

And l have always maintained
what they were doing,

what we were all doing,
was not criminal.

Look,
when you're in office,

you gotta do
a lot of things sometimes
that are not always,

in the strictest sense
of the law, legal,
but you do them

because they're in
the greater interests
of the nation !

Right. Wait, just so
l understand correctly,

are you really saying
that in certain situations,

the President can decide
whether it's in the best
interests of the nation

and then do something illegal?

l'm saying that when
the President does it,
that means it's not illegal.

l'm sorry?

That's what l believe.

Oh, my God.

But l realize
no one else
shares that view.

So, in that case,
will you accept, then,

to clear the air
once and for all,

that you were part
of a cover-up

and that you did
break the law?

Oh, my God, we got him.
N IXON: I...

Shit!

(DOOR OPENS)

Okay, let's take
a break there.

What the fuck
is going on?

Cut it. Cut it.

Excuse me?
Shut it down.

Shut it down now.

DAVlS: That's not my call.
You're gonna have to
talk to the director.

He's in that
truck out there.
BREN NAN : Get him in here.

DAVlS: Listen, we have
an issue in here.

Jack, what are you doing?
A break?

Change the tapes.

David, can l talk to you
for a minute, please?

What the hell is
going on, Jack?

He was about to blow
and you know it.

Fellas, this is
a critical moment
in his life.

You realize we could
sue you for this?

You have
deliberately sabotaged
the interview, Jack.

BREN NAN :
Look, we're all
in this together.

l'm sure we can
find a solution.

ZELN lCK: A solution?
What the hell are you talking
about? lt's an interview!

KHACH lGlAN :
Bob, may l remind you. . .

BlRT: This is
a breach of contract.
We could sue.

(ALL ARGU lNG)

For heaven's sake, Jim.
Why don't you
give him a week off?

Give him a year off!

Give him a fucking massage!

GAN NON : Watch
your language,
for crying out loud.

(ALL ARGU lNG)

(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR)

What'd you do?
Throw in the towel,
Jack?

Did you take pity on me?

Sir, l just felt that

if you were going
to make some kind of
emotional disclosure,

that we should
just take a moment

to think it through,
sketch it out.

l just want to
impress upon you

how crucially important
this moment is

and how many potentially
devastating consequences

unplanned emotional
disclosures could have.

l know.

But to go on and carry on
denying it all. . .

l appreciate the gesture.

We ought to call it a snafu.

(WH lSPERlNG)

Jack, are we on?

We're on.
Okay, he's had plenty
of time to cook up

some sort of
slippery new bullshit,
so stay on your toes.

Listen, it's gonna be fine.
Pick up where you left off.

Thirty seconds, everyone.

DAVlS: Ten seconds.

David? Four, three,
two, and. . .

Mr. President,
we were talking about

the period
March 21 to April 30,

and the mistakes
you made, and so on,
and l was wondering

would you go
further than "mistakes"?

The word that
seems not enough
for people to understand.

Well, what word
would you express?

(EXCLAlMS lN DlSBELlEF)

My goodness.

All right.

Since you've asked me,
l think there
are three things

that people would
like to hear you say.

One, that there was
probably more than mistakes.

There was wrongdoing.

And, yes, it might
have been a crime, too.

Secondly, that "l did
abuse the power
l had as President."

And thirdly,
"l put the American people

"through two years
of needless agony,

"and l apologize for that."
And l know
how difficult it is

for anyone, especially you,

but l think the people
need to hear it.

And l think that
unless you say it,

you're going to be haunted
for the rest of your life.

Well, it's true.
l made mistakes,
horrendous ones,

ones that were not
worthy of a president,

ones that did not
meet the standards
of excellence

that l always dreamed of
as a young boy.

But, if you remember,
it was a difficult time.

l was caught up
in a five-front war

against a partisan media,
a partisan House of Congress,

a partisan Ervin Committee.

But, yes, l will admit
there were times

l did not fully meet
that responsibility

and l was involved
in a cover-up,
as you call it.

And for all those mistakes
l have a very deep regret.

No one can know
what it's like to resign
the presidency.

Now,

if you want me to get down
on the floor and grovel. . .

No! Never!

l still insist they were
mistakes of the heart.

They were not
mistakes of the head.

But they were my mistakes.
l don't blame anybody.

l brought myself down.

l gave them a sword,
and they stuck it in,

and they twisted it
with relish.

And l guess if l'd
been in their place,
l'd have done the same thing.

And the American people?

l let them down.

l let down my friends.

l let down the country.

And worst of all,

l let down
our system of government.

And the dreams of
all those young people

that ought to get
into government,

but now they think,
"lt's all too corrupt,"
and the rest.

Yeah.

(SlGHS)

l let the American
people down,

and l'm gonna have to
carry that burden with me

for the rest of my life.

My political life is over.

You know, the first
and greatest sin
or deception of television

is that it simplifies,
it diminishes,

great, complex ideas,
tranches of time.

Whole careers become reduced
to a single snapshot.

At first, l couldn't
understand why

Bob Zelnick was
quite as euphoric

as he was after
the interviews,

or why John Birt felt
moved to strip naked

and rush into
the ocean to celebrate.

But that was before
l really understood

the reductive power
of the close-up.

Because David had
succeeded on that final day

in getting,
for a fleeting moment,

what no investigative
journalist,

no state prosecutor,
no judiciary committee

or political enemy
had managed to get.

Richard Nixon\s face,

swollen and ravaged
by loneliness,
self-loathing and defeat.

The rest of the project
and its failings would
not only be forgotten,

they would totally
cease to exist.

(CAMERAS CLlCKlNG)

(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

REPORTER: Who came out
on top, Mr. President?

ls this what you
call a dachshund?

Mmm-hmm.

Very sweet.

(ENGlN E STARTlNG)

The Nixon/Frost interviews
were wildly successful.

l think they attracted
the largest audience
for a news program

in the history of
American television.

David was on
the cover of Time magazine
and Newsweek magazine.

And even the political
press corps,

the hard-bitten
political press corps,

called David up with
messages of contrition
and congratulation.

David, l want to
say congratulations.

The interviews?

No, l didn't watch them.
l couldn't.

(DlSCO MUSlC PLAYlNG)

Hey.

Hello.

l believe David saw
the former President
just one more time.

Before he left California
for London again,

he drove down
to San Clemente
to say goodbye.

Hey, Mr. Frost.
lt's nice to see you.

Miss Cushing.
Hello.

Please excuse
my golf outfit.

lt's the official
uniform of the retired.

Are you on your way home?

Yes.

lnto a bright new dawn
of fresh enterprises
and challenges, eh?

Well, let's hope so.

Good for you.

l didn't catch
the interviews
as they went out,

but they tell me
that they were
a great success.

l gather the journalists
that were so positive

about you weren't
so kind to me.

Yes, l was sorry to see that.

There's no
condolences necessary.

l've grown to
expect nothing else
from those sons of whores.

Yeah.

Jeez, please forgive me,
Miss Cushing.

You know,
l would've said
"sons of bitches,"

but Manolo here
is a lover of dogs,

and he hates me
to defame animals.

Can l get something
for somebody?

Yes. Would you like
some tea or champagne?

Hey, you know,
we got that caviar
the Shah of lran sent me.

No, thank you.
You sure?

Come on. lt'll be
no trouble at all.

No, really, we must be. . .

Okay, fine, fine.
Thanks for coming by.

You were a worthy opponent.

Goodbye, Mr. President.

Bye-bye.

Goodbye, Mr. President.

Goodbye.

Oh, God !
l almost forgot. l. . .

l brought you a present,
those shoes you admired.

l brought you a pair.

Well, jeez. Thank you.

l'm touched. Safe trip, now.

Oh ! Say, David, you think
l could speak to you,
privately, just for a minute?

Do you know those
parties of yours?

The ones that l read about
in all the papers?

Do you actually enjoy those?

Of course.

You got no idea how
fortunate that makes you.

You know?
Liking people,
and being liked.

Having that facility,
that lightness, that charm.

l don't have it.
l never did.

lt kind of makes you wonder
why l chose a life

that hinged on being liked.

l'm better suited
to a life of thought,

debate,
intellectual discipline.

Maybe we got it wrong.

Maybe you should have
been a politician

and l the rigorous
interviewer.

Maybe.

David.

Did l really
call you that night?

Yes.

Did we discuss
anything important?

Cheeseburgers.

Cheeseburgers?

Goodbye, sir.

RESTON: Well, New York,
London and Sydney

welcomed David
back with open arms,

as did his friends
and investors,

who\ve made a fortune
from these interviews.

He got back all of his shows.

He even got back
his table at Sardi\s.

As for Richard Nixon,

well, he certainly
never achieved

the rehabilitation
he so desperately craved.

His most lasting legacy

is that today
any political wrongdoing