INT. ERICA'S DINING ROOM - THAT NIGHT Marin serves plates of pasta with lobster. Zoe pours wine and
Erica tosses a salad. Harry is the only one sitting. MARIN
So, Mom, how's the new play? You gettin' happy with it?
Marin places a plate in front of Harry then runs her finger along "the nape of his neck. They smile at each other as she continues on. Erica notices, tries not to respond. ERICA
Well, the thing with me is that I'm about
90% hard word, 10% talent and so far the
talent part hasn't exactly kicked in yet. ZOE
Yeah, right... HARRY
What's your play about?
Marin and Zoe stop what they are doing and turn to Erica.
She's hesitant to reveal this. ERICA
About? Well, I'm not exactly sure which
is a bit of a problem, but so far it's
about a divorced woman, a writer, she's
this high strung, over-amped,
controlling, know it all neurotic. . .
(everyone stares at her)
Who's incredibly cute and lovable.
(more stares)
It's a comedy.
(takes a seat next to Zoe) ZOE
So, how did you two meet? MARIN
At a Wine Auction at Sotheby's. Harry was
the big buyer of the night. HARRY
I kept winking at Marin as she was
conducting the auction and apparently
every time I did that she misunderstood
and I ended up buying cases of
outrageously expensive wine.
Zoe and Marin laugh. ERICA
Ever been married, Harry? HARRY
No. No, I haven't. ERICA
Wow. Now why do you think that is? HARRY
Some people just don't fit the mold. And
so far... ERICA
Hey, if it ain't broke. HARRY
Exactly.
Harry leans back, places his arm around Marin's chair. Erica
takes note. ZOE
Wait a second, aren't you like a famous
bachelor? HARRY
I wouldn't say I'm famous. ZOE
No, I think I read a piece on you
in New York Magazine. HARRY
I guess people find it interesting
that I've escaped the noose for so
long. ZOE
Yeah, wasn't the name of the article,
"The Escape Artist"? ERICA
Wait. I read that article. That was you?
You were once engaged to somebody big.
Who was it? Not Joan Collins.. .Wait.
..Carly Simon? ZOE
Yeah, it was somebody cool like that.
(trying to remember)
Not Martha Stewart....
MARIN
You could just ..'ask him. HARRY
No, this is more fun. It's like I'm
not here. MARIN
Harry was once engaged to Diane
Sawyer. Okay? ZOE
Right. Diane Sawyer. I love her. ERICA
(stunned)
I'm impressed. HARRY
Yeah, women your age love that
about me.
Erica pauses on that one. HARRY
(trying to get thru this)
You know what I mean. ERICA
Yes I do. HARRY
It's not a bad thing to say 'women
your age'. ERICA
No...I'm sure it was a compliment. HARRY
It was. ..just the truth. ZOE
(stepping in)
So when was this engagement? HARRY
Long time ago. She was just this
adorable lanky girl from Kentucky
with the greatest pair of legs I'd
ever seen... Never understood her
ending up with a job where she
never showed them.
(munches on his lobster)
ERICA
You're not serious? She's Diane
Sawyer, she goes into caves in
Afghanistan with a shmahtah on her
head. Who cares about her legs? HARRY
Just anyone who's ever had the
pleasure of... You know what? I
hate to eat and run but... ZOE
No, wait. This is actually a very
fascinating dynamic - what's going
on at this table... MARIN
(warning him)
Zoe teaches Women's Studies at
Columbia. . . HARRY
Oh, so this is gonna hurt. ZOE
No, come on, listen, here's the rub
for women. Look at what we have
here with you and Erica. Harry,
you've been around the block a few
times, right? You're what? Around
60, never been married, which, we
all know, if you were a woman,
would be a curse, you'd be an old
maid, a spinster, blah, blah,
blah... Okay, so instead of pitying
you, they write articles about you,
celebrate your never marrying, it
makes you illusive and ungettable.
You're a real catch. Then, take my
gorgeous sister here... ERICA
Any chance of you stopping here? ZOE
Come on, this is interesting. I
mean, look at her, she's so
accomplished, the most successful
woman playwright since who? Lillian
Hellman? She's over fifty,
divorced and still sits in night
after night because the available
guys her age want
(to Marin)
--forgive me honey for saying this,
but they want girls that look like
Marin so the whole over fifty
dating scene is geared completely
towards men leaving older women out
and as a result that makes the
older women more and more
productive and more and more
interesting, which, in turn, makes
them even less desirable because as
we all know -- men, especially
older men, are threatened and
deathly afraid of interesting and
accomplished women. It's just so
clear. Single older women, as a
demographic, are as fucked a group
as can ever exist.
Erica and Harry's EYES CONNECT for a millisecond. HEAR THE
SOUND OF PLATES CRASHING. | 
