Е.Г. Гиматдинова

Москва 2019

Факультет журналистики Московского государственного университета

имени М. В. Ломоносова

FROST vs NIXON LEARN ENGLISH WATCHING FILMS

Практикум по английскому языку

Предлагаемая книга является практикумом по английскому языку для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы с художественным фильмом «Фрост против Никсона» режиссѐра Рона Ховарда. Фильм снят в 2008 году по одноимѐнной пьесе Питера Моргана и рассказывает о серии знаменитых телевизионных интервью.

Практикум предназначен для студентов факультета журналистики МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова, а также для широкого круга людей, изучающих английский язык и увлекающихся киноискусством. Материал издания ориентирован на учащихся, владеющих английским языком на уровне B2 - C1 в соответствии с общеевропейской классификацией.

Студентам предлагаются лексико-грамматические упражнения и задания, направленные на расширение словарного запаса, развитие и совершенствование навыков аудирования и разговорной речи. Кроме того, практикум содержит статьи, которые знакомят учащихся с героями фильма и историческими событиями, описанными в нем.

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От автора

Предлагаемая книга является практикумом по английскому языку для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы с художественным фильмом «Фрост против Никсона» режиссёра Рона Ховарда. Фильм снят в 2008 году по одноимённой пьесе Питера Моргана и рассказывает о серии знаменитых телевизионных интервью.

Практикум предназначен для студентов факультета журналистики МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова, а также для широкого круга людей, изучающих английский язык и увлекающихся киноискусством. Материал издания ориентирован на учащихся, владеющих английским языком на уровне B2 - C1 в соответствии с общеевропейской классификацией.

Использование художественных фильмов в процессе обучения открывает большие возможности для развития умений и навыков во всех видах речевой деятельности, фильмы придают учебному процессу максимальную коммуникативную направленность и позволяют работать с «живым» разговорным английским языком. Понимание «живого» английского языка является одной из основных целей его изучения.

Выбор фильма «Фрост против Никсона» для использования на факультете журналистики обусловлен его содержанием. В картине восстановлены не только телевизионные интервью, ставшие классикой, но и процесс подготовки и переговоров между сторонами. Фильм содержит большое количество профес-сиональной лексики и рассказывает о работе знаменитого журналиста Девида Фроста.

Практикум состоит из вводной части, которая знакомит учащихся с героями фильма и историческими событиями, описанными в нем, основной части (непосредственно работа с фильмом) и скрипта фильма, который можно использовать для проверки и самостоятельной работы.

Работу с фильмом можно условно разделить на 5 частей, соответствующих 5 смысловым частям фильма. Работа с каждой частью предусматривает 3 этапа:

1. подготовительный этап – предлагаются задания, снимающие возможные лексические трудности, вводится новая лексика;

2. непосредственно просмотр – предлагаются упражнения на развитие навыков аудирования;

3. послепросмотровый этап – предлагаются вопросы на проверку понимания просмотренной части, упражнения на закрепление нового лексического материала, задания направленные на совершенствование навыков разговорной речи.

ContentINTRODUCTION ..................................................................5MEET THE MAIN CHARACTERS .......................................6

David Frost .......................................................................7Richard Nixon ..................................................................8

LEARN ABOUT THE WATERGATE SCANDAL...............10A burglary turns into a constitutional crisis .................... 11

WATCH THE FILM ..............................................................14PART 1 (00:47–23:08) ....................................................15PART 2 (23:09–46:24) ....................................................25PART 3 (46:24–01:02:30) ..............................................36PART 4 (01:02:31–01:28:09) .........................................46PART 5 (01:28:10–01:56:39) .........................................57

USE THE FULL SCRIPT TO HELP YOU ...........................68PART 1 ...........................................................................69PART 2 ...........................................................................78PART 3 ...........................................................................86PART 4 ...........................................................................92PART 5 ...........................................................................99

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INTRODUCTION Film, as a motivator, makes the language learning process entertaining

and enjoyable. It provides a source of authentic and varied language, gives examples of English used in ‘real’ situations, the language of real-life conver-sation. Film exposes students to natural expressions and the natural flow of speech. Given the benefits of using film in education, it makes perfect sense to integrate it into the language-learning syllabus.

One of the criteria applied in the selection of the film was that it should be of interest to students of journalism.

Frost vs Nixon is a 2008 British-American historical drama film based on the 2006 play of the same name by Peter Morgan, who also adapted the screenplay. The film tells the story behind the Frost vs Nixon interviews of 1977. It was directed by Ron Howard and reunites its original two stars from the West End and Broadway productions of the play: Michael Sheen as Brit-ish television broadcaster David Frost and Frank Langella as former United States President Richard Nixon.

As the film focuses on the interviews, vocabulary related to journalism and broadcasting is presented, as well as cultural and historical background.

Frost vs Nixon. Learn English watching films is a book that is intended to help students to understand, analyse and enjoy Frost vs Nixon film. The book contains various exercises that develop all four communicative skills and extend students’ vocabulary. It is provided with biographical and his-torical texts to facilitate understanding and introduce the background. The whole film or any part of it can be used to practise listening and reading or as a model for speaking and writing. The film can also be used as a spring-board for follow-up tasks such as discussions, debates on social issues, role plays, reconstructing a dialogue or summarising.

The book is for learners of English at advanced level (B2-C1) according to the Common European Framework of Reference, perfect for the classroom, but also ideal for self-study, as it features the full script to consult if necessary.

Frost vs Nixon. Learn English watching films aims to teach and enter-tain by combining history and art, all in the English language.

So, settle back and enjoy the film!

MEET THE MAIN CHARACTERS

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“Over the last half century the television interview has given us some of TV’s most heart-stopping and memorable moments. On the surface it is a simple format - two people sitting across from one another having a conversation. But underneath it is often a power struggle - a battle for the psychological advantage.” – David Frost

Sir David Frost, in full Sir David Paradine Frost, (born April 7, 1939, Ten-terden, Kent, England—died August 31, 2013, at sea), English talk-show host, jour-nalist, and writer who was noted for his interviews of public figures, notably former U.S. president Richard Nixon, who, under Frost’s skillful questioning, apologized for the Watergate scandal.

Frost studied history at the University of Cambridge, where he became active in the Footlights Dramatic Club and showed a talent for satire. He first achieved recognition on BBC TV’s satiric sketch show That Was the Week That Was (TW3; 1962–64) and its successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life (1964–65). By 1966 he was the host of The Frost Report, the first of a series of eponymous TV series, culminating in Frost over the World, which debuted in 2007 on the Eng-lish version of Al Jazeera, a cable news network based in Qatar.

In 1977 Frost interviewed Nixon, who was unexpectedly candid about his in-volvement in the Watergate scandal and issued a dramatic apology. Frost financed and distributed the interviews himself through syndication deals when no TV net-work would broadcast them. The phenomenal public response to the interviews—which later served as the basis for a successful play (2006) and film (2008)—made Frost a celebrated interviewer, with access to newsmakers from the world of politics, sports, and entertainment. Frost also was a cofounder of London Weekend Televi-sion and in 1983 of Britain’s TV-am. In addition, he wrote several books. Frost was made OBE in 1970 and was knighted in 1993. In 2013 he died suddenly on board the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship en route from England to Portugal.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Frost

1. Comment on the quote. Paraphrase its meaning in one or two sentences.2. Explain the meaning of the underlined words and phrases.3. Speak about a journalist you admire using the underlined words.

David Frost

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Richard Nixon was elected the 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) after previously serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from California. After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign the office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.

Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Na-tion was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and im-proving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation.

His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Gov-ernor of California in 1962.

Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he mar-ried Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific.

On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate.

As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party’s nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.

His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stabil-ity. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev pro-duced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements be-tween Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

Richard Nixon

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In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George Mc-Govern by one of the widest margins on record.

Within a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called “Wa-tergate” scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape re-cordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation.

As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as Vice President.

Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.”

In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in pub-lic life and on foreign policy.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/richard-m-nixon/

1. Explain the meaning of the underlined words and phrases. Look them up in a dictionary if necessary.

2. Read the biography once again and answer the following questions.

a) What are the key dates and facts in Richard Nixon’s biography?b) What are Richard Nixon’s main accomplishments?c) What were the main difficulties Richard Nixon faced with?

3. What are your feelings about Richard Nixon? e.g. do you admire him, feel sorry for him, etc. Why do you feel this way?

4. Create a biographical timeline of Richard Nixon’s life and accomplishments. Include dates and tell about events, places, and people mentioned in the biography.

Richard Nixon

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LEARN ABOUT THE WATERGATE SCANDAL

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Initially dismissed by the White House as a “third-rate burglary,” the June 17, 1972, break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters mushroomed into a constitutional crisis that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

The scandal began during the run-up to that year’s presidential election, when Democratic Sen. George McGovern was running against Nixon. Five men were ar-rested at DNC’s headquarters at the Watergate office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington.

The men were at DNC headquarters to photograph key documents and replace eavesdropping equipment installed during a previous break-in. A Watergate secu-rity guard discovered them and called the police, who arrested the five men at gun-point in the DNC offices.

The burglars were found to be part of the “plumbers,” a White House unit set up to investigate leaks of sensitive information after the release of the Pentagon Pa-pers. One of the burglars, retired CIA employee James McCord, was employed by the Committee to Re-elect the President as a security consultant.

Ron Ziegler, the White House press secretary, downplayed the break-in as a “third-rate burglary.” The White House went to great lengths publicly to distance the president from the burglars and their two bosses, E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA operative and White House consultant, and G. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent who worked for the re-election committee.

Initially, the scandal had little effect. Nixon was re-elected that November in a landslide, winning 61 percent of the popular vote over McGovern.

But in the months after his second inauguration, FBI agents, journalists and con-gressional investigations began to piece together details of the scandal that pointed to White House involvement.

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two reporters for The Washington Post, pur-sued the story immediately after the break-in. The two reporters filed groundbreak-ing stories on Watergate and were aided by a source known as “Deep Throat” who has never been publicly identified. Their work eventually won the Post the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and ensured their place in journalism history.

“It was not about a break-in, a single break-in. It was about a pattern of illegal activities involving beating up members of the political opposition physically, steal-ing their memos, wiretapping political opponents, breaking into offices of psychia-trists, firebombing think tanks,” Bernstein told CNN in 2003.

In January 1973, the burglars, Liddy and Hunt went on trial. Four of the bur-glars and Hunt ended their trials by pleading guilty while Liddy and McCord were convicted of conspiracy and burglary charges.

A burglary turns into a constitutional crisis

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The trial was followed in February by a 77-0 vote in the Senate to create a spe-cial investigative committee to look into Watergate.

The scandal deepened when U.S. District Judge John Sirica, who presided over the trials of the burglars, released in March 1973 a letter written to him by McCord in which McCord claimed perjury was committed during the trial and that White House officials had pressured the defendants to plead guilty.

As the scandal progressed, many Nixon administration officials linked to the break-in and cover-up were convicted of charges relating to Watergate. The list in-cluded John Mitchell, Nixon’s onetime campaign chairman and former attorney gen-eral, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, John Dean, Nixon’s White House counsel, and John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s domestic policy adviser.

Then on July 13, 1973, a White House aide named Alexander Butterfield told the Senate committee’s staff members about the taping system that recorded Nix-on’s Oval Office conversations. Three days later, the revelation became public in a televised hearing.

That set off a battle between the White House and Congress and the adminis-tration’s own special prosecutor over the release of tapes made on crucial days fol-lowing the break-in and later.

Archibald Cox, who was appointed special Watergate prosecutor in May 1973, subpoenaed the tapes but Nixon refused. In what became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox in October 1973 at Nix-on’s order. Bork fired Cox only because Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus quit rather than obey the president.

The ensuing uproar only increased demands in Congress that Nixon be im-peached. Nixon replaced Cox with Texas attorney Leon Jaworski and agreed to re-lease some of the subpoenaed tapes. But one of the tapes included a mysterious 18 1/2 minute erased gap and the White House claimed two other tapes were missing.

On February 6, 1974, the House of Representatives authorized the Judiciary Committee to investigate grounds for impeachment.

In April 1974, the White House released more than 1,200 pages of edited tran-scripts of the Oval Office tapes. But the administration still refused to turn over the actual tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, citing executive privilege.

But on July 24, 1974 -- 25 months after the break-in -- the Supreme Court unan-imously ruled the White House must turn over more audiotapes. Three days later, the House Judiciary Committee passed the first of three articles of impeachment.

Nixon then released the tapes six days later. On one tape was the so-called “smoking gun,” showing that six days after the break-in Nixon had tried to use the CIA to block the FBI investigation of the burglary.

The tape connected Nixon directly to the burglary, a fact he had long denied, including his famous quote, “I am not a crook.” The minimal support Nixon had in Congress disappeared.

A burglary turns into a constitutional crisis

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On August 8, he announced his resignation, effective at noon the next day, with-out admitting any guilt.

“Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win un-less you hate them, and then you destroy yourself,” he said in his farewell address to the White House staff on August 9.

Nixon left the White House and flew to California. Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in immediately after Nixon’s departure. He told the nation that “our long national nightmare is over.”

The effects of Watergate did not ease quickly or easily. A month later, Ford par-doned Nixon “for all offenses against the United States” he had committed “or may have committed” in office, stirring up further controversy.

“You know, one of the things about Watergate and one of the things about the Nixon presidency is that it just keeps going. It never ends,” Bernstein said last year.

“There are tapes from the grave, from the president of the United States, far worse than anything we ever heard, anti-Semitic remarks, more break-ins. It’s ab-solutely sui generis in our history, including these continuing revelations,” he said.

“It’s one of the reasons that the country is constantly as fascinated by Nixon and by Nixonia, of which Watergate is a huge part.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/06/11/watergate/

1. Read the text. Explain the meaning of the underlined words and phrases. Look them up in a dictionary if necessary.

2. Read the article once again and answer the following questions.a) Why is the Watergate Scandal considered to be the worst political scan-

dal in the history of the United States?b) How did American people feel about the Watergate scandal?

3. Think of three sensational headlines related to the Watergate scandal that will grab the readers’ attention. Write them down.

4. Use the headlines. Write three short news stories based on the information the article gives you. Focus on engaging the reader by making the stories exciting.

5. Create a timeline of the Watergate scandal. Include dates and tell about events, places, and people mentioned in the article.

A burglary turns into a constitutional crisis

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WATCH THE FILM

PART 1PART 2PART 3PART 4PART 5

15PART 1 (00:47 - 23:08)

BEFORE YOU WATCH ........................................................16WHILE WATCHING .............................................................19HAVING WATCHED PART 1 ..............................................22

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1. Here are some new idioms for you to learn. Study the examples and come up with your own sentences.

be glued to (informal) Be paying very close attention to (something, especially a television)I was glued to the telly when the Olympics were on.

no-holds-barred Used to convey that no rules or restrictions apply in a con-flict or dispute.The host assured us that this was to be a ‘frank, open exchange, with no holds barred.

put (set) the record straight Give the true version of events that have been reported incorrectly; correct a misapprehension.Indeed, they have done the job of true journalists: they have set the record straight.

have the upper hand Have or gain advantage or control over someone or something.

However, it would be wrong to think that the government has the upper hand in controlling public opinion.

2. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases related to journalism.

stand by for cameranewsmentalk show hostnetworkthis is liveextensive look-backpolitical interviewrequest for an interviewcreate headlineseditorial controls

Part 1 BEFORE YOU WATCH

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3. Match the following words to their definitions.

1. offense

2. felony

3. trial

4. discernible

5. cover-up

6. bogeyman

7. to bug

8. to despise

9. to testify

10. abhorrent

11. incongruous

12. to outbid

13. to syndicate

14. to jeopardize

15. credibility

A. Inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant.B. An imaginary evil spirit or being, used to

frighten children.C. An attempt to prevent people discovering

the truth about a serious mistake or crime.D. The quality of being convincing or believ-

able.E. Able to be discerned; perceptible.F. A crime regarded in the US and many other

judicial systems as more serious than a misdemeanour.

G. Not in harmony or keeping with the sur-roundings or other aspects of something.

H. A breach of a law or rule; an illegal act.I. Conceal a miniature microphone in (a room

or telephone) in order to eavesdrop on or record someone’s conversations secretly.

J. Feel contempt or a deep repugnance for.K. Put (someone or something) into a situ-

ation in which there is a danger of loss, harm, or failure.

L. Offer to pay a higher price for something than (another person).

M. Publish or broadcast (material) simultane-ously in a number of newspapers, televi-sion stations, etc.

N. Give evidence as a witness in a law court.O. A formal examination of evidence by a

judge, typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.

Part 1 BEFORE YOU WATCH

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4. Make a synopsis of what you think the film is about.

Part 1 BEFORE YOU WATCH

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David Frost

Richard Nixon

Jim Reston

John Birt

5. Who are they? Write a few words about the role of each character in the film.

Part 1WHILE WATCHING

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Swifty Lazar

Bob Zelnick

Jack Brennan

Caroline Cushing

Part 1WHILE WATCHING

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6. Fill in the gaps in the dialogue (00:12:53 – 00:15:03).

LAZAR: So how you feeling, sir?NIXON: l’m better, thank you. Though not yet well enough to golf, thank God.

l __________ 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 __________. What makes life mean something is purpose. A __________. A battle. A struggle. Well, even if you don’t win it. When my doctor declared me unfit ________________ in the Watergate __________, everybody thought l’d be relieved. Well, they were wrong. That was the lowest l got.

LAZAR: Well, if it’s a __________ 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 __________.

NIXON: Well, thank you.LAZAR: 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.NIXON: That book is important to me. lt’s probably the only chance l’m gon-

na get ____________________ and remind people the Nixon years weren’t all bad.LAZAR: You know, if you’re trying to put the record straight, l’d at least talk

to him.NIXON : Who?LAZAR: David Frost. English __________ guy.NIXON: Why would l want to talk to David Frost?LAZAR: Well, a while back, he wrote asking for an interview.NIXON: No.LAZAR: Well, we didn’t get back to him. Frankly, we didn’t find him __________.NIXON: Well, l thought that we were doing one with CBS.LAZAR: We are. l just figured doing it with Frost would be a whole lot easier

than doing it with Mike Wallace.NIXON: lt would, but it would have a lot less, you know, _____________.LAZAR: True, true. Could probably get more money.NIXON: Really?LAZAR: Look. We’ll always have 350 on the table from CBS. But if l could

get Frost to pay more and secure better __________, it might be a shame to pass. lt’d be interesting to know where he is right now.

Part 1WHILE WATCHING

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7. Write the name of the character beside his quote.A. Find out the numbers for this, will you? Worldwide. __________B. Come on, David. Surely the only thing that would interest anyone

about Richard Nixon would be a confession. A full, no-holds-barred confession. _________

C. 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. __________

D. We stayed up and, like everyone else, l’d been glued to the Select and Judiciary Committee hearings night after night. __________

E. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. l have never been a quitter. __________

F. 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. __________

G. They’d gotten rid of Richard Nixon, their bogeyman. ___________H. And from that moment on, you know you have the upper hand.

__________I. But what made you exceptional, they said, was that you were a per-

son who had achieved great fame without possessing any discernible quality. __________

J. He never let on to anyone at the time, not even me. You know, that would have meant. . .admitting failure, and David doesn’t do failure. __________

8. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3, put them into the correct form.

A. They knew the rooms _____________, so they’d come to the car and they’d take drives in the car and discuss their negotiating stances.

B. Also, at the end of the __________, the judge said to the jury that evidence was only to be taken notice of from the witness box.

C. It may be that we are faced with a serious __________ which goes to the highest levels.

D. The case is expected to go on for six to seven weeks and it is thought there will be more than 70 witnesses called upon __________.

E. Another 1995 law made the laundering of money from drug trafficking a serious criminal __________.

F. Their manifesto is totally racist and ___________ to anybody with a basic understanding of genetics, yet they are gaining strength.

G. United Media ______________ many of the most popular newspaper comic strips, and showcases all its assets for free at Comics.com.

H. Unlike vampires, killers in masks and other movieworld _____________, zombies have no real agenda of their own.

Part 1HAVING WATCHED PART 1

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I. If convicted on the __________ charge, he could lose his right to work in the United States.

J. She __________ the old order, but equally fears and loathes the new lack of order.

K. I bought it at an auction and __________ a man who looked like Santa Claus.

L. They have to ensure contracts for services are completed in time because failure could _____________ the award.

M. The balance of evidence suggests a _____________ human influence on global climate.

N. We just don’t think there is any _____________ to those claims.O. The duffel coat looked ____________ with the black dress she wore

underneath.

9. Match the parts of the phrases from the film.

1. breaking2. discernible3. misuse4. ordinary5. political6. to give7. unanimous8. virtual

10. Write your own examples with the phrases from ex. 9.

Part 1HAVING WATCHED PART 1

A. certaintyB. convictionsC. decisionD. mortalsE. of powerF. pointG. qualityH. testimony

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11. Imagine you are meeting Richard Nixon asking for an interview. How would you behave? Role-play the meeting and negotiate the terms of the deal.

Part 1HAVING WATCHED PART 1

25PART 2 (23:09–46:24)

BEFORE YOU WATCH ........................................................26WHILE WATCHING .............................................................29HAVING WATCHED PART 2 ..............................................33

26Part 2 (23:09 – 46:24)

BEFORE YOU WATCH

1. Here are some new idioms for you to learn. Study the examples and come up with your own sentences.

out on a limb – in or into a dangerous or uncompromising position, where one is not joined or supported by anyone else; vulnerable

I’ll go out on a limb and guess there was nearly no such coverage in the US press, despite ample reason for self-criticism on our part.

round/around the clock – all day and all nightDoctors and nurses worked round the clock to help those injured in the train crash.

not pull any/your punches – to speak in an honest way without trying to be kindHer image is that of an investigative reporter who doesn’t pull any punches.

pin sth on sb – to blame someone for something, especially for something they did not do

You can’t pin the blame on her - she wasn’t even there when the accident hap-pened.

2. Look at the phrases from the film. Study the informal meaning of the words in bold.

l hear the networks aren’t biting.to bite informal – Be persuaded to accept a deal or offer.Given this setup – and it’s typical in energy partnerships – why would any in-vestor bite?

l bet you it did.to bet informal – Used to express certainty.I bet this place is really spooky late at night. The general feeling, David, is that l have been wasting my matinee idol looks on radio.matinee idol informal – A handsome actor admired for his good looks.Instead of fans going after the matinee idol, the actor himself went around to meet a lucky few.

You know, if we’re gonna nail Nixon in these interviews, we’re gonna have to ambush him.to nail informal – Expose (someone) as deceitful or criminal; catch or arrest.The only people who can nail the perpetrators are the reporters who heard the leaks.

He screwed anything that moved, and everything.to screw (up) informal – Completely mismanage or mishandle a situation. I’m sorry, Susan, I screwed up.

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3. Match the following words to their definitions.

1. adversary

2. compelling

3. corner

4. effeminate

5. henchman

6. to insult

7. integrity

8. knee-jerk

9. prospective

10. revelation

11. smug

11. to bail out

12. to boil down to

13. to drone on

14. to exonerate

15. to sign on

16. to stipulate

A. (Of a man) having characteristics regarded as typical of a woman; unmanly.

B. A contestant's supporters or seconds.C. A faithful follower or political supporter,

especially one prepared to engage in crime or violence by way of service.

D. A surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed to others.

E. Amount to; be essentially a matter of.F. automatic and unthinkingG. Commit oneself to employment, member-

ship of a society, or some other undertaking.H. Demand or specify (a requirement), typi-

cally as part of a bargain or agreement.I. Evoking interest, attention, or admiration in

a powerfully irresistible way.

J. Expected or expecting to be the specified thing in the future.

K. Having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.

L. One's opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute.

M. Speak to or treat with disrespect or scorn-ful abuse.

N. The state of being whole and undivided.O. To help someone or something such as a

plan or company, esp. by giving or lending money.

P. To show or state that someone or something is not guilty of something.

Q. To talk for a long time in a boring way.

Part 2 BEFORE YOU WATCH

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4. What comes next? Try to predict what might happen in this part of the film. Write a few words using new vocabulary.

Part 2 BEFORE YOU WATCH

29

David Frost

Richard Nixon

Jim Reston

John Birt

5. What does each character want to get out of the interview? Write a few words.

Part 2WHILE WATCHING

30

Swifty Lazar

Bob Zelnick

Jack Brennan

Caroline Cushing

Part 2WHILE WATCHING

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6. Fill in the gaps in the dialogues.

a) (36:12 – 38:21)BRENNAN: Well, sir, you’re gonna get a chance to talk about them sooner

than you think.NIXON: Yeah? How?BRENNAN: Frost got there. He got the money.NIXON: What?BRENNAN: l understand most of it’s borrowed, that his friends

______________________. But the point is, we start taping at the end of March.NIXON: Really? Now, that’s terrific. How much time is __________ to Wa-

tergate?BRENNAN: 25%. Just one of four 90-minute shows.NIXON: What are the other three divided into?BRENNAN: Domestic Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Nixon the Man.NIXON: “Nixon the Man”? As __________ to what? Nixon the horse?BRENNAN: Well, l imagine it’s some kind of biographical piece.NIXON: l can see it now. The father that __________ me, the brothers that

died. __________ me.Still, now, the fact it’s come together, now, that’s a good thing, no?BRENNAN: Mr. President, it’s fantastic. Frost is just not in your intellectual

class, sir. You’re gonna be able to __________ terms, __________ 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.

NIXON: You think? BRENNAN: l’m certain.NIXON: 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 _____________ Watergate, huh?BRENNAN: Well, that’s nothing to worry about, sir. lt’s not as if there’s gonna

be any ______________. That stuff’s been combed over a million times. No one has ____________________ you.

NIXON: 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?

BRENNAN: l believe The Beverly Hilton.NIXON: 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.BRENNAN: Yes, sir.

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b) (42:44 – 44:30)FROST: Jack. BRENNAN: Watergate.FROST: Yes, Jack.BRENNAN: Our lawyers want us to agree on a definition of the word.FROST: Well, l believe it’s a large hotel and office complex in Washington, Jack.BRENNAN: You know what l’m talking about. For the interviews. We want

to propose that Watergate be an __________ __________ for everything negative. FROST: Hold on a minute. So all the other domestic __________ against him,

the Brookings lnstitute, the Plumbers Union, the Enemies List, you’re saying all that goes into Watergate?

BRENNAN: Correct.FROST: That is absurd and a clear __________ of the terms of our agreement.BRENNAN: Okay. How would you define Watergate?FROST: Well, that it covers just that. The Watergate break-in of June 17th and

the subsequent __________ and investigation.BRENNAN: Fine. ln which case, the deal is off.FROST: Fine. ln which case, you can expect a lawsuit for something in excess

of $20 million in damages and loss of earnings.BRENNAN: The terms of the contract clearly __________ that Watergate take

up no more than 25% of the time.FROST: Yes, but nowhere does it say that for the rest of the 75% he gets to

__________ and sound presidential.BRENNAN: “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.

FROST: Yes, but that still leaves 10% where he was doing the wrong thing and knew it.

BRENNAN: You goddamn media people. You are so __________. Well, l can guarantee you if you __________ us on the 60%, l will ruin you if it takes the rest of my life. Prick.

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7. Write the name of the character beside his quote.A. The general feeling, David, is that l have been wasting my matinee idol

looks on radio. __________B. You goddamn media people. You are so smug. __________C. How do we frame a question about Cambodia, about the illicit bombing of

Cambodia? __________D. He was a sad man and a noble adversary. l wouldn’t want to be a Russian

leader. __________E. Well, believe me, sir, l wish my pockets were that deep. __________F. Well, actually, l’m living in Monte Carlo at the moment. __________G. The idea is we pay for the program and syndicate it ourselves, completely

bypassing the networks. __________H. 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 Rich-ard Nixon. __________

I. 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. __________

J. And people who know me would tell you that small talk is not one of my strong suits. __________

K. And that’s where we started to dig into our research and prepare for the interviews. __________

8. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3, put them into the correct form.A. A contract actor generally __________ for three years and is a major part

of the core storylines.B. A question has emerged on the territorial __________ of the country.C. Congress passed a $15 billion Aid package to __________ the airlines.D. Davis beat his old _____________ in the quarter-finals.E. Everything _________________ cash in the end.F. He ____________ certain conditions before their marriage.G. He __________ me and repeatedly pushed my shoulder, hoping to goad me

into hitting him.H. He had extremely ____________ hands and gestures.I. He may have information which he believes ____________ his client.J. He was ____________ and on about his operation.K. He’s been unbearably __________ since he gave up smoking.L. His wife divorced him after the ____________ that he was having an affair. M. McCline got up at the count of nine as the bell sounded to end the round,

but his __________ would not allow him to continue.

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N. On February 14, 1929, Al Capone dispatched his ____________ to dispose of his crime syndicate’s rival, Moran and his North Side Gang.

O. Penn’s acting is powerful, ____________ and intense.P. She showed a ____________ buyer around the house.Q. Such ____________ negativity is both premature and counterproductive.

9. Match the parts of the phrases from the film.

10. Write your own examples with the phrases from ex. 9.

Part 2HAVING WATCHED PART 2

A. talkB. of your comfort zoneC. engagementsD. termsE. privilegeF. outsiderG. termH. the wheel

1. being out 2. dictate3. executive4. get behind5. small6. social7. total8. umbrella

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11. Good preparation is essential to a successful interview. How are the characters preparing for the interview? How would you prepare? In pairs make your own plan of the preparation, discuss all the points with your partner and share your ideas with the class.

Part 2HAVING WATCHED PART 2

36PART 3 (46:24 - 01:02:30)

BEFORE YOU WATCH ........................................................37WHILE WATCHING .............................................................40HAVING WATCHED PART 3 ..............................................43

37Part 3 BEFORE YOU WATCH

1. Here are some new idioms for you to learn. Study the examples and come up with your own sentences.

off the bat - immediatelyYou can’t expect to be accepted in a new town right off the bat.

in the flesh - in real life, and not on TV, in a film, in a picture, etc.I’ve seen her perform on television, but never in the flesh.

off the cuff - If you speak off the cuff, you say something without having pre-pared or thought about your words first.

I hadn’t prepared a speech so I just said a few words off the cuff.

walk down the aisle - get marriedPeople are waiting longer before walking down the aisle with the average

groom being almost 37 years old and his bride nearly 34.

2. Look at the phrases from the film. Study the informal meaning of the words in bold.

lt’s a cracker of a movie.cracker (informal) - a person or thing that is very good or has a special excit-

ing qualityShe’s written five books, and every one is a cracker.

l like it. lt’s ballsy.ballsy (informal) - brave and determinedShe’s one ballsy lady!

You were obviously born to be on the tube.the tube (informal, mainly US) - the televisionWhat’s on the tube this weekend? Gee, now, that’s a pity. You know, l was beginning to enjoy that.gee (exclamation, mainly US, informal) - an expression of surprise or enthusiasmGee, that looks like fun! That was Nixon at his lowest point, a total wreck.wreck (informal) - someone who is in bad physical or mental conditionThe stress she had been under at work reduced her to a nervous, quivering wreck.

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3. Match the following words to their definitions.

1. to stonewall

2. candor

3. insanely

4. ravaged

5. withering

6. to get round to sth

7. close-up

8. to reminisce

9.to get away with

10. predecessor

11. even-handed

12. to step down

13. heart-to-heart

A. the quality of being honest, sincere, and kind in dealing with other people

B. a photograph or film image taken at close range and showing the subject on a large scale

C. treating everyone fairly and equallyD. a serious conversation between two people,

usually close friends, in which they talk honestly about their feelings

E. extremely and unreasonablyF. someone who had a job or a position before

someone else, or something that comes be-fore another thing in time or in a series

G. disfigured by age or illness

H. to succeed in avoiding punishment for something

I. to do something that you have intended to do for a long time

J. to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure

K. to leave an important job or position, espe-cially to allow someone else to take your place

L. to stop a discussion from developing by refusing to answer questions or by talking in such a way that you prevent other people from giving their opinions

M. intended to make someone feel humiliated; scornful

Part 3 BEFORE YOU WATCH

39Part 3 BEFORE YOU WATCH

4. What comes next? Try to predict what might happen in this part of the film. Write a few words using new vocabulary.

40

David Frost

Richard Nixon

Jim Reston

John Birt

5. Describe each character’s personality. Write a few adjectives.

Part 3WHILE WATCHING

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Swifty Lazar

Bob Zelnick

Jack Brennan

Caroline Cushing

Part 3WHILE WATCHING

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6. Fill in the gaps in the dialogue (51:41 – 54:28).

FROST: Mr. President?NIXON: Yeah.FROST: Before we start, l just want to say how delighted we all are by Mrs.

Nixon’s __________.NIXON: Well, thank you. lt’s true. She’s much better now. She’s just ____________

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.

FROST: Thank you.NIXON: As l understand it, it’s been quite a __________.FROST: Well. . .NIXON: How much has it cost? You mind me asking? Hey, come on. Come

on, it’s just between us.FROST: Very well. Two million.NIXON: Two million? Jeez. l didn’t realize we were making Ben-Hur. But tell

me something. You raised it all now?FROST: Not quite. But we’re getting there. Everyone’s been kind and __________ fees.NIXON: Well, not quite everyone.ASSISTANT: David, l’m gonna go in with you on camera.NIXON: Excuse me. l want to put a handkerchief here, if l may. ls that ____________?ASSISTANT: That’s fine, Mr. President.NIXON: Contractually, l think that we made an agreement that after each ques-

tion l might dab my upper lip before answering it. Which you won’t show, you know, when you _________________. You’re probably aware of my history with perspiration.

FROST: lf you’re referring to your TV debate with Jack Kennedy in 1960.NIXON: They say that moisture on my upper lip cost me the presidency. Peo-

ple who heard it on the radio, well, they thought l’d won. But television and the __________, they create their own sets of meanings. So now they insist l bring a handkerchief and that l have my eyebrows trimmed.

DIRECTOR: Sixty seconds, everyone.NIXON: You trim yours? FROST: No.NIXON: No, of course not. Yeah, you’re light-skinned. Yeah. You got blue eyes.

You’ve got no troubles with perspiration, l imagine.FROST: No, not that l’m aware.NIXON: You were obviously born to be on __________.DAVIS: Stand by to roll tape in 30 seconds. Settling.NIXON: Those shoes. They’re ltalian, aren’t they?FROST: My shoes? l believe so.NIXON: Yeah, that’s interesting. You don’t find them too _____________?FROST: No.NIXON: Well, l guess somebody in your field can ____________ them, you know.NIXON: Manolo, just check my collar, will you?

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7. Write the name of the character beside his quote.

A. lt’s a cracker of a movie. __________B. After everything that prick’s done to this country? l’m not gonna shake his

hand. __________C. That was devastating, withering. l mean, l don’t think he’s ever gonna get

over that. __________D. You were obviously born to be on the tube. __________E. l want to put a handkerchief here, if l may. ls that out of shot? __________F. You sounded controlled, even-handed, statesmanlike. __________G. lt didn’t sound too arrogant or self-serving? __________H. But television and the close-up, they create their own sets of meanings.

__________I. But this session only lasts two hours. Nearly half of it’s gone, and we’re

wasting valuable material, okay? __________J. l guess we just got caught up, you know, reminiscing. __________

8. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3, put them into the correct form.

A. The interviewer accused the minister of ____________ on the issue of tax increases.

B. “We want to help but really don’t know how,” she said with surprising __________.

C. She gets __________ jealous if he so much as looks at another woman.D. Many widows in developing countries, in areas of conflict or in communities

__________by AIDS are young or middle-aged.E. Sometimes when we tried to speak Spanish we were met with ___________

sneers.F. I intended to tidy the flat at the weekend, but I didn’t ____________ it.G. The expressions on the faces of the players in __________ provoke emotion

in the audience.H. My grandfather used to ____________ about his years in the navy.I. If I thought I could ____________ it, I wouldn’t pay my taxes at all.J. The latest Ferrari is not only faster than its ____________ but also more

comfortable.K. Several broadcasters have been criticized for failing to give ____________

treatment to all the parties during the election campaign.L. We had a ____________ over a bottle of wine.M. He has decided to ____________ as captain of the team.

Part 3HAVING WATCHED PART 3

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9. Match the parts of the phrases from the film.

1. green

2. deferred

3. major

4. introductory

5. scoring

6. pep

7. sets

10. Write your own examples with the phrases from ex. 9.

A. concernB. exchangesC. feesD. of meaningsE. talksF. roomG. points

Part 3HAVING WATCHED PART 3

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11. Building and maintaining rapport are essential in conducting any type of interview. What are the ways of building rapport during an interview? In pairs discuss your ideas.

Part 3HAVING WATCHED PART 3

46PART 4 (01:02:31 – 01:28:09)

BEFORE YOU WATCH ........................................................47WHILE WATCHING .............................................................50HAVING WATCHED PART 4 ..............................................54

47Part 4 BEFORE YOU WATCH

1. Here are some new idioms for you to learn. Study the examples and come up with your own sentences.

Bad penny - a penny which is debased or counterfeit. In later use chiefly in the proverb “a bad penny always returns (also turns up)”, and (now especially) in similative or figurative use in allusion to this, with reference to the predictable, and often unwanted, return of a disreputable or prodigal person after some absence, or (more generally) to the continual recurrence of someone or something.

Yes, back again, like the proverbial bad penny.

Make mincemeat of sb (informal) - to defeat someone very easily in an argu-ment, competition, or fight.

A decent lawyer would have made mincemeat of them in court.

Give sth your best shot - to do something as well as you can.Go out there and win or at least give it your best shot.

2. Look at the phrases from the film. Study the informal meaning of the words in bold.

Don’t worry, Bob. l’m on it. We can use some of the Kissinger stuff.Stuff (informal) - matter, material, articles, or activities of a specified or inde-

terminate kind that are being referred to, indicated, or implied.There was a lot of horrible stuff written about me and said about me that was

totally inaccurate.

Are you nuts?Nuts (informal) - a slang word for insane.You must be nuts to go climbing mountains in winter.

We’re gonna show those bums.Bum (informal) - a lazy or worthless person.Buck didn’t reply right away, he had always been called a loser, a misfit, or a bum.

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A. a company or investment is one that can be trusted and is not likely to fail

B. a person injured or killed in a serious ac-cident or war

C. to prevent a plan or process from succeedingD. large in amount, size, force, etc.E. an idea that is based on feeling and for

which there is no proofF. a sudden attack on or act of going into a

place, especially across a borderG. money or objects that someone gives you

when they dieH. a discussion of an event after it has hap-

pened, especially of what was wrong with it or why it failed

I. excessive criticism of oneselfJ. refrain from killing, injuring, or distressingK. to intentionally become involved in a dif-

ficult situation in order to improve it or pre-vent it from getting worse

L. to continue doing a job or activity until it is finished, especially when it is difficult

M. to make a physical attack onN. to reduce in amount or become lower in

levelO. details or information that are not important

Part 4 BEFORE YOU WATCH

3. Match the following words to their definitions.

1. to spare

2. post-mortem

3. blue-chip

4. to tail off

5. inheritance

6. to see sth through

7. casualty

8. incursion

9. to intervene

10. to assault

11. trivia

12. self-flagellation

13. to derail

14. hunch

15. hefty

49Part 4 BEFORE YOU WATCH

4. What comes next? Try to predict what might happen in this part of the film. Write a few words using new vocabulary.

50

David Frost

Richard Nixon

Jim Reston

John Birt

5. How are the characters behaving during the interview? Write a few words.

Part 4WHILE WATCHING

51

Swifty Lazar

Bob Zelnick

Jack Brennan

Caroline Cushing

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6. Fill in the gaps in the dialogue (01:20:01 – 01:26:15).

FROST: l’ll have a cheeseburger.NIXON: Mmm. That sounds good. l used to love cheeseburgers, but Dr. Lun-

dgren made me give them up. He switched me to cottage cheese and pineapple in-stead. He calls them my Hawaiian burgers, but they don’t taste like burgers at all. They taste Iike Styrofoam. l hope l’m not disturbing.

FROST: No.NIXON: lt’s a Friday night. You’ve probably got somebody there whom you’re

entertaining.FROST: No.NIXON: Well, then what are you doing? A handsome young fellow, an eligible

young __________ alone on a Friday night.FROST: lf you must know, l’m preparing for our final session.NIXON: The ______________ final session.FROST: Yes. NIXON: Watergate. ‘Cause I guess the way you handle Watergate’s gonna de-

termine whether these interviews are a success or a failure. Should l be nervous?FROST: Well, l’m gonna ______________.NIXON: Quite right. No _____________. No _____________. 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 _____________ 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?

FROST: Cambridge.NIXON: Did the snobs there look down on you, too? Of course they did. That’s

our tragedy, isn’t it, Mr. Frost? No matter how high we get, they still ___________ at us.

FROST: l really don’t know what you’re talking about.NIXON: 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 __________. 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 our-selves a _____________ 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 __________, back onto the winner’s podium. Because we could feel it _____________. 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

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__________. We’re gonna make them __________ our continued success, our con-tinued headlines, our continued awards and power and glory! We are gonna make those motherfuckers choke! Am l right?

FROST: You are. Except only one of us can win.NIXON: Yes. And l shall be your _____________________. 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 ______________, with nothing and no one for company but those voices ringing in our head. You can probably tell l’ve had a drink. lt’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.

FROST: Good night, Mr. President.

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7. Write the name of the character beside his quote.A. But l wonder, could we possibly spare the post-mortem for now? __________B. l gather that not all of the blue-chip accounts came through. __________C. He was toying with you yesterday. __________D. l could have pulled the troops out of Vietnam early, and very possibly, l would

have won some Scandinavian peace prize into the bargain. __________E. So if he beats him up like that on Vietnam, imagine what he’s gonna do with

his real achievements. __________F. When David tried to lay a finger on him, Nixon made mincemeat out of him.

__________G. Celebrate? Celebrate what, David? The fact that we’re all gonna be working

at Burger King? What are we celebrating? __________H. David, just putting it all together it’s the most extraordinary accomplishment.

No one else could have done that. __________I. 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? __________J. We’re gonna make them choke on our continued success, our continued head-

lines, our continued awards and power and glory! __________K. What have l done? What was l thinking? Why didn’t anyone stop me? They

should have physically stopped me! __________

8. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3, put them into the correct form.A. A woman and a man have been convicted of ______________ a police officer.B. After we lose a game, there’s usually a ____________ over a few beers.C. Four traditional __________ companies update their investors next week.D. Her salary will go up by a __________ 13 percent.E. His voice __________ as he drifted into sleep.F. I had a __________ that you’d be here.G. In case there is an ____________ into our territories, we have to repel such

attacks.H. Renewed fighting threatens to __________ the peace talks.I. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports __________.J. The Central Bank ____________ in the currency markets today to try to sta-

bilize the exchange rate.K. The degree would take me three years to complete, but I was determined to

_____________.L. The large ______________ from his aunt meant that he could buy his own boat.M. The train was derailed but there were no _____________, police said.N. They asked him to __________ the women and children.

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O. While such realizations have left me listless and leaning towards __________________ for the past couple of years, I have managed this week to revive my spirit.

9. Match the parts of the phrases from the film.

1. fully

2. calamitous

3. civilian

4. believe

5. stirring

6. rational

7. celebratory

8. extraordinary

10. Write your own examples with the phrases from ex. 9.

A. consequencesB. areasC. imagesD. responseE. dinnerF. accomplishmentG. in the causeH. financed

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11. Why did Nixon call Frost? What was the reason for the call (if any)? What are the possible consequences? In pairs discuss your ideas and share them with the class.

Part 4HAVING WATCHED PART 4

57PART 5 (01:28:10 – 01:56:39)

BEFORE YOU WATCH ........................................................58WHILE WATCHING ............................................................. 61HAVING WATCHED PART 5 ..............................................65

58Part 5 BEFORE YOU WATCH

1. Here are some new idioms for you to learn. Study the examples and come up with your own sentences.

Throw in the towel - abandon a struggle; admit defeat.She played well at the end and she never, ever throws in the towel.

Take pity (on sb) - to feel sorry for someone, and to do something that shows this.We took pity on a couple of people waiting in the rain for a bus and gave them a lift.

On your toes - someone or something that keeps you on your toes forces you to continue directing all your attention and energy to what you are doing.

I work with people who are half my age so that keeps me on my toes.

Hush money - money that is given to someone to make them keep something secret.

She claimed that the politician had offered her hush money to keep their child a secret.

2. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases related to journalism. partisan mediareductive power of the close-upreduced to a single snapshot the political press corpsCome up with your own examples using the words given.

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3. Match the following words to their definitions.

1. statute

2. snafu

3. rigorous

4. to hinge on

5. desperately

6. to facilitate

7. relish

8. sin

9. to grovel

10. to sketch sth out

11. to contain

12. to diminish

A. to keep something harmful within limits and not allow it to spread

B. extremely or very muchC. the enjoyment you get from doing some-

thingD. careful to look at or consider every part of

something to make certain it is correct or safe

E. the offence of breaking, or the breaking of, a religious or moral law

F. to give a short description of something, containing few details

G. a situation in which nothing has happened as planned

H. a law that has been formally approved and written down

I. to reduce or be reduced in size or impor-tance

J. make (an action or process) easy or easierK. to behave with too much respect towards

someone to show that you are very eager to please them

L. to depend entirely on

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4. What comes next? Try to predict what might happen in this part of the film. Write a few words using new vocabulary.

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David Frost

Richard Nixon

Jim Reston

John Birt

5. Did the characters succeed in achieving their aims? What were the benefits/losses? Write a few words.

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Swifty Lazar

Bob Zelnick

Jack Brennan

Caroline Cushing

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6. Fill in the gaps in the dialogues.

01:31:45 – 01:33:30FROST: Now, looking back on your final year in office, do you feel you ev-

er obstructed justice or were part of a conspiracy to __________ or __________ __________?

NIXON: No.And l’m interested that you used the term “obstruction of justice.” Now, you

perhaps have not read the __________ with regard to the obstruction of justice.FROST: As it happens, l have.NIXON: 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 _________________________.

FROST: Be that as it may, the direct consequences of your actions would have been that two of the ________________________ would have escaped __________

_____________. Now, how can that not be a cover-up or obstruction of justice?NIXON: Well, l think the record shows, Mr. Frost, that far from obstructing jus-

tice, l was actively _____________ 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.

FROST: Well, that may be, but for two weeks prior to July 6, we now know that you were _____________ trying to ____________ or block the investigation.

NIXON: No, no. Hang on a minute there. l wasn’t. . .FROST: 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.

01:51:16 – 01:55:02NIXON: Hey, Mr. Frost. lt’s nice to see you. Miss Cushing. Hello. Please ex-

cuse my golf __________. lt’s the official uniform of the retired. Are you on your way home?

FROST: Yes.NIXON: lnto a bright new dawn of fresh enterprises and challenges, eh?FROST: Well, let’s hope so.NIXON: 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.

FROST: Yes, l was sorry to see that.NIXON: There’s no _____________ 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 __________ animals.

MANOLO: Can l get something for somebody?NIXON: Yes. Would you like some tea or champagne? Hey, you know, we got

that caviar the Shah of lran sent me.

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FROST: No, thank you. NIXON: You sure? Come on. lt’ll be no trouble at all.FROST: No, really, we must be. . .NIXON: Okay, fine, fine. Thanks for coming by. You were a __________ op-

ponent.FROST: Goodbye, Mr. President.NIXON: Bye-bye.CAROLINE: Goodbye, Mr. President.NIXON: Goodbye.FROST: Oh, God ! l almost forgot. l. . .l brought you a present, those shoes you

__________. l brought you a pair.NIXON: 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?

FROST: Of course.NIXON: You got no idea how fortunate that makes you. You know? Liking

people, and being liked. Having that __________, that lightness, that charm. l don’t have it. l never did. lt kind of makes you wonder why l chose a life that __________ being liked. l’m better suited to a life of thought, debate, intellectual discipline. May-be we got it wrong. Maybe you should have been a politician and l the __________ interviewer.

FROST: Maybe.NIXON: David. Did l really call you that night?FROST: Yes.NIXON: Did we discuss anything important?FROST: Cheeseburgers.NIXON: Cheeseburgers?FROST: Goodbye, sir.

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7. Write the name of the character beside his quote.A. Well, if today’s session is anything like our phone call, it should be explo-

sive. __________B. 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! __________

C. l’m saying that when the President does it, that means it’s not illegal. __________D. You know, the first and greatest sin or deception of television is that it sim-

plifies, it diminishes, great, complex ideas, tranches of time. __________E. l gather the journalists that were so positive about you weren’t so kind to

me. __________F. 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. __________

G. Maybe you should have been a politician and l the rigorous interviewer. __________

H. The interviews? No, l didn’t watch them. l couldn’t. __________I. The Nixon/Frost interviews were wildly successful. l think they attracted the

largest audience for a news program in the history of American television. __________J. l let them down. l let down my friends. l let down the country. __________

8. Fill in the gaps with the words from ex. 3, put them into the correct form.A. A single __________ by an airline can leave a lasting impression on travelers.B. He was _____________ in love with her.C. I don’t want to __________ her achievements, but she did have a lot of help.D. I have no __________ for hunting and killing animals.E. I think it’s a __________ to waste food, when so many people in the world

are hungry.F. It was critical to be __________ and thorough in that process.G. More police were sent to help __________ the violence.H. Rules are written to reflect the __________ passed in legislation.L. She _____________ the plan in a few brief sentences.J. The material is organised in a reader-friendly manner ____________ easy

reference.K. The prosecution’s case ____________ the evidence of a witness who died

before the trial.L. They criticized leaders who __________ to foreign patrons.

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9. Match the parts of the phrases from the film.

1. obstruct

2. political

3. criminal

4. quoting

5. breach

6. emotional

7. crucially

8. partisan

10. Write your own examples with the phrases from ex. 9.

A. of contractB. prosecutionC. importantD. disclosureE. justiceF. mediaG. containmentH. out of context

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11. How did Frost managed to “win the battle”. What were the keys to his success? In pairs make a list of the key points and share your ideas with the class.

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PART 1 ...................................................................................69PART 2 ...................................................................................78PART 3 ...................................................................................86PART 4 ...................................................................................92PART 5 ...................................................................................99

USE THE FULL SCRIPT TO HELP YOU

69USE THE FULL SCRIPT TO HELP YOU

PART 1VOICES ON TAPE: They’d better not push me on him, or l’ll just kick them

in the teeth on it.Well, l think, if they...InternaI Revenue people that are kicking Billy Graham around is Rosenberg.

He is to be out. l don’t give a goddamn what the story is. He went on television. l have not. l’ve already ordered ConnaIIy, we’re going after the Chandlers, every one individually, collectively, their income taxes are starting this week. Every one of those sons of bitches.

Well, this is something that we can really hang Teddy or...Yeah....or the Kennedy clan with. l’m gonna want to put that in Colson’s hands. And

we’re gonna want to run with it.NEWS REPORTER: 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 con-sultant of President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign committee.

NEWS REPORTER: 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, l recall the President telling me to

keep a good list of the press people giving us trouble because we will make life dif-ficult for them after the election.

NEWS REPORTER: 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 lnstitution, 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: 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: Good morning. The Supreme Court has just ruled on the tapes controversy, and here is Carl Stern, who has that ruling. lt is a unanimous de-cision, Doug, eight to zero. Justice Rehnquist took no part in the decision ordering

70USE THE FULL SCRIPT TO HELP YOU

the President of the United States to turn over the tapes. lt’s an eight-to-zero unani-mous opinion.

NEWS REPORTER: A White House aide toId NBC News today that impeach-ment of the President by the full House of Representatives now is a virtual certainty.

NEWS REPORTER: These are, with no serious doubt, the last hours of the 37th presidency of the United States.

NEWS REPORTER: This is indeed a 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.

WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR: 15 seconds, Mr. President. Okay, that’s five, four, three. . .

NIXON: 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.

JAMES RESTON: 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 Nix-on’s going down.”

JOHN BIRT: 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 Ju-diciary Committee hearings night after night. And then finally, it had come to this.

NIXON: Therefore, l shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.JAMES RESTON: 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.BOB ZELNICK: Little did l know that l would one day be part of the team that

would try and elicit that apology.NIXON: To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every in-

stinct in my body. l have never been a quitter.BOB ZELNICK: 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.

ANNOUNCER: And now, the host of Frost Over Australia, Mr. David Frost!FROST: 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. The Queensland po-lice are looking for men in a long, thin getaway car. Now, my first guest tonight. . .

JACK BRENNAN: 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.

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FROST: Next week’s guest will be Evonne Goolagong. We’ll see you then. God bless.

NOAH: Great show, David. FROST: 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.FROST: What, this is live?NOAH: Yeah.NEWS REPORTER: But those were triumphs. This is not.FROST: What time is it in Washington?NOAH: 9:00 a. m.FROST: Why didn’t he wait? lt’s 6:00 in the morning on the West Coast. Half

his audience is still asleep.NOAH: 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.

FROST: Find out the numbers for this, will you? Worldwide.BRENNAN: l remember his face. Staring out the window. Down below him, a

liberal America cheered, gloated. Hippies, draft dodgers, dilettantes, the same peo-ple who’d spit on me when l got back from Vietnam. They’d gotten rid of Richard Nixon, their bogeyman.

JOHN BIRT: So what’s so important that it couldn’t wait, that it had to be today?FROST: l’ve had an idea, John, rather a bold idea for an interview.JOHN BIRT: Fish and chips, please.FROST: And in a moment. . .Well, it’s too late now. lt’s done. l’ve called his

people. . .JOHN BIRT: You?FROST: 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.

JOHN BIRT: So who is it?FROST: Richard Nixon.JOHN BIRT: Richard Nixon?FROST: Well, come on, don’t look like that.JOHN BIRT: Well, how would you expect me to look? l spent yesterday eve-

ning watching you interview the Bee Gees. FROST: Weren’t they terrific? Come on, John, we’ve done political interviews

before.

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JOHN BIRT: So, okay, so what kind of interview?FROST: A full, extensive look-back over his life, his presidency.JOHN BIRT: And?FROST: And what? JOHN BIRT: Come on, David. Surely the only thing that would interest any-

one about Richard Nixon would be a confession. A full, no-holds-barred confession.FROST: Well, we’ll get that, too.JOHN BIRT: From Richard Nixon?FROST: 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.

JOHN BIRT: But in the end, David heard nothing. And soon after arriving in California, Nixon was rushed to hospital with an acute attack of phlebitis. l 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 ab-solute pardon.

FORD: 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 Rich-ard Nixon for all offenses against the United States.

BOB ZELNICK: lt meant that the man who had committed the greatest felony in American political history would never stand trial.

JAMES RESTON: lt was like he slipped out the back door.NEWS REPORTER: A public opinion poll indicates a two-to-one disapproval

of the pardoning of Richard Nixon.CHANCELLOR: One teIegram from Virginia said, “Roosevelt had his New

Deal, “Truman had his Fair Deal, now Ford has his crooked deal.”POLITICIAN: There was no deal, period.POLITICIAN: l don’t think the truth will ever come out. The American people

need to know the truth, and l don’t think it will ever now be fully known. GANNON : So how do we want to address the college protests?SAWYER: Well, do we want to lift some quotes from the “stand up and be

counted” speech in 1970? Sir? GANNON: You know, maybe we’re just better off using the whole Lincoln

Memorial memo.SAWYER: Just include the whole thing.MANOLO: Mr. President, Swifty Lazar is here.NIXON: Okay. No, no, stick around. You’re gonna get a kick out of this. This

is my literary agent from Hollywood. Hygiene obsessive.LAZAR: Mr. President, good to see you.NIXON: Nice to see you. These are folks helping me with my book. Diane

Sawyer, Frank Gannon, lrving Lazar.SAWYER: Nice to meet you.

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LAZAR: Miss Sawyer.GANNON: Pleasure.LAZAR: Mr. Gannon.NIXON: Okay, that’s it. l’ll see you after lunch.LAZAR: So how you feeling, sir?NIXON: 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, ev-erybody thought l’d be relieved. Well, they were wrong. That was the lowest l got.

LAZAR: 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.

NIXON: Well, thank you.LAZAR: 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.NIXON: That book is important to me. lt’s probably the only chance l’m gon-

na get to put the record straight and remind people the Nixon years weren’t all bad.LAZAR: You know, if you’re trying to put the record straight, l’d at least talk

to him.NIXON : Who?LAZAR: David Frost. English talk show guy.NIXON: Why would l want to talk to David Frost?LAZAR: Well, a while back, he wrote asking for an interview.NIXON: No.LAZAR: Well, we didn’t get back to him. Frankly, we didn’t find him appropriate.NIXON: Well, l thought that we were doing one with CBS.LAZAR: We are. l just figured doing it with Frost would be a whole lot easier

than doing it with Mike Wallace.NIXON: lt would, but it would have a lot less, you know, credibility.LAZAR: True, true. Could probably get more money.NIXON: Really?LAZAR: 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.

FROST: 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.

DIRECTOR: Okay, that is a cut.FROST: Thank you.

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LAZAR: ln any deal, you need to know your opponent’s breaking point. To as-sess 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 up-per hand.

FROST: Hello?LAZAR: Mr. Frost? lrving Lazar.FROST: Who?LAZAR: Swifty Lazar. l represent President Nixon.GIRL: What time is it?LAZAR: Bad time?FROST: No! Not at all.LAZAR: 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.FROST: Really? Well, that’s terrific news!GIRL: For God’s sake.LAZAR: I got $500,000.NIXON: ls that good?LAZAR: Mr. President, it’s a half a million dollars for a news interview. lt’s

unprecedented.NIXON: Yeah? Well, what’s the catch?LAZAR: With Frost? None. lt’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.

NIXON: Well, you think you could get 550?LAZAR: l got 6.BIRT: David, how could you have done that? FROST: What?BIRT: $600,000. That’s a fortune. 200 on signature?FROST: Don’t worry about the money.BIRT: 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. FROST: They’re just jealous. BIRT: They’re already sounding off about checkbook journalism. And if the

networks are against you, syndication’s always going to be a struggle. No syndica-tion, no advance sales. No advance sales, no commercials. No commercials, no rev-enue. 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?

FROST: Yes. BIRT: And London, too?FROST: Yes, but that would be London and Australia. This would be. . .

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BIRT: What?FROST: 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 nev-er 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 !

BIRT: 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?

FROST: Of course.BIRT: 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.FROST: And you do nervous so beautifully, John.MAN: “Hello, good evening and welcome.”FROST: l don’t actually say that.WOMAN: Hello, Mr. Frost.FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Champagne?CAROLINE: No, thank you.FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Another glass, sir?FROST: You don’t like champagne?CAROLINE: Not on airplanes.FROST: Yes, it dehydrates one terribly. The trick is to have a glass of water on

the go, too. Like the Viennese serve coffee.CAROLINE: Well, l’ve never been to Vienna.FROST: Oh. Well, you’d like it. lt’s like Paris without the French.FROST: What’s your name?CAROLINE: Caroline.FROST: David.CAROLINE: 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.

FROST: Bentley.CAROLINE: On the phone. They said that you were a person who defined the

age we live in.FROST: Really?CAROLINE: 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.

FROST: How kind. CAROLINE: And that you fly around a great deal.FROST: Well, that’s true.

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CAROLINE: Why?FROST: l like to keep busy.CAROLINE: Why?FROST: l find it more interesting than keeping still.CAROLINE: You know, you have very sad eyes.FROST: Do l?CAROLINE: Has anyone told you that before?FROST: No.CAROLINE: Are you a sad person?FROST: Let’s talk about you a little bit.CAROLINE: Of course, you feel more comfortable asking questions.FROST: How right you are!PILOT: This is your captain speaking. You may have noticed we’ve begun our

final descent into Los Angeles. lf you could please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts, we’ll be landing very shortly. Thank you.

CAROLINE: So how about you? Where are you going?FROST: To meet Richard Nixon.CAROLINE: 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?FROST: Actually, no. ln his rather smart beachside villa in California.CAROLINE: Really? Richard Nixon in a beachside villa? How incongruous.FROST: You can come if you’d like.CAROLINE: To meet Nixon?FROST: Why not?CAROLINE: Are you sure? You know, l would love that.PILOT: Cabin crew, please prepare for arrival.FROST: Well, l’ll get my office to call you first thing in the morning and send

a car with a phone.CAROLINE: He did, too. Money no object. Everything glittered and was golden.

Well, on the outside. Of course, what I didn’t know was that in the meantime, he’d gone to all the major networks to try and get interest in the interviews.

NETWORK EXECUTIVE: l’m sorry, David, but we have a policy of not pay-ing for a news interview.

NETWORK EXECUTIVE: Look, we love your work as an entertainer. That Guinness show? Love it. You’re a funny guy. But an interview like this?

NETWORK EXECUTIVE: You’re asking us to pay a British talk show host to interview an American president with absolutely no editorial controls whatso-ever in return?

FROST: Well, you can’t say it’s not a fresh approach.NETWORK EXECUTIVE: l know you’re very busy. l’m not gonna keep you

from it.

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NETWORK EXECUTIVE: Thank you for coming in. l’m gonna have to get back to you.

FROST: Okay, thank you so much for your time.NETWORK EXECUTIVE: David, good luck.CAROLINE: He never let on to anyone at the time, not even me. You know,

that would have meant. . .admitting failure, and David doesn’t do failure.

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PART 2NIXON: Well. You found it okay.FROST: Yes, thank you.NIXON: Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Frost.FROST: And you, sir. May l present Caroline Cushing?NIXON: Miss Cushing.CAROLINE: Hello. Your house is very beautiful. Really. Very romantic.NIXON: Well, thank you.FROST: And my producer, John Birt.BIRT: Nice to meet you. NIXON: 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 af-ter your long journey?

CAROLINE: Yes, please. l’d love that. Thank you.NIXON: 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 remem-ber 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.

FROST: Well, thank you, Mr. President. So do l.NIXON: 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.NIXON: Of course it is. And l like that. No holds barred, eh? No holds barred.LAZAR: Mr. Frost, there’s still the small matter of the. . .FROST: Of course. l do beg your pardon. Right. $200,000.NIXON: l do hope that isn’t coming out of your own pocket.FROST: Well, believe me, sir, l wish my pockets were that deep. Made out in

the name of?

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LAZAR: lrving Paul Lazar.NIXON: Richard M. Nixon.MANOLO: Okay, smile.NIXON: There. Now you can put that in your apartment in New York, and all

your liberal friends can use it as a dartboard.CAROLINE: Well, actually, l’m living in Monte Carlo at the moment.NIXON: Really?CAROLINE: Yes. Goodbye, Mr. President.NIXON: Hey. Take my advice. You should marry that woman.FROST: Yes. Lovely, isn’t she?NIXON: More important than that, she comes from Monaco. They pay no tax-

es there. Bye-bye. FROST: Goodbye.NIXON: l bet you it did.BRENNAN: What?NIXON: Come out of his own pocket. You know, he couldn’t look me in the eye.BRENNAN: 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.

NIXON: Really? So that meeting we just had might have cost him $200,000?BRENNAN: Correct.NIXON: Had l known that, l would have offered him a cup of tea. Say, did you

notice his shoes?BRENNAN: No.NIXON: ltalian. No laces. What do you think? My people tried to get me to

wear a pair like that.BRENNAN: l think a man’s shoes should have laces, sir.NIXON: You do?BRENNAN: Yeah. Personally, l find those ltalian shoes very effeminate.NIXON: Yes, quite right.NBC EXECUTIVE: I’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?

FROST: l see. Well, l’m sorry you feel this way. Obviously, l think you’re mak-ing a terrible mistake. NBC. Well, that’s the networks out, all of them.

BIRT: Well, that’s the end of that, then. l’m sorry, David.FROST: Not so fast. Where’s your adventurer’s spirit? The idea is we pay for the program and syndicate it ourselves, completely by-

passing the networks. Just imagine it, we’d be our own network for the night.RESTON: Hey, Bob. FROST: How does that grab you?BIRT: Hey, come on in. David’s on the phone.

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FROST: No, never been done before. Historic stuff. Just think about it, okay? And call me back. Yeah? Yeah.

BIRT: David, l’d like you to meet Jim Reston and Bob Zelnick, our two pro-spective corner men.

FROST: Delighted to meet you. Come on in. Make yourselves at home.BIRT: Bob’s been Washington correspondent for Public Radio for the past 10

years. Moving to ABC in the new year.BOB ZELNIK: The general feeling, David, is that l have been wasting my mat-

inee idol looks on radio.BIRT: 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.

RESTON: Fourth.FROST: Well, delighted to have you both aboard.RESTON: Actually, before l sign on, l would like to hear what you were hop-

ing to achieve with this interview.FROST: What l want to achieve?RESTON: Yeah.FROST: Jim, well, l’ve secured 12 taping days. That’s close to 30 hours with

the most compelling and controversial politician of our times. lsn’t that enough?RESTON: Well, not for me. Look, l’d be giving up a year of my life. l’m leav-

ing 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.

FROST: No, all right. Well, what is it that you want to achieve?RESTON: l’d like to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had.FROST: Of course, we’ll be asking difficult questions.RESTON: Difficult questions. The man lost 21,000 Americans and a million ln-

do-Chinese during his administration. He only escaped jail because of Ford’s pardon.FROST: 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?

RESTON: 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 in-terview 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?

ZELNICK: Come on. Jim, come on.FROST: Thanks for that, Jim.

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FROST: Could you give us a couple of minutes?ZELNICK: You’re unbelievable.RESTON: l’m sorry, Bob.ZELNICK: You know, Jim, l went way out on a limb for you. l mean, some of

us actually want this job.RESTON: l want it, too, if it’s done right.ZELNICK: Well, how do you know they’re not gonna do it right?RESTON: Little Lord Fauntleroy in there? Sympathy for Richard Nixon? What

the. . . He’s full of shit, man!ZELNICK: How do you know that?FROST: ls Mike Wallace doing a piece on this?BIRT: Apparently.FROST: Why didn’t you tell me?BIRT: lt isn’t relevant.FROST: What’s the angle? “British talk show host, “good with actresses, not

so good with stonewalling presidents.”BIRT: That’s the general idea, yeah.FROST: Right. lt’s hard not to feel a little insulted by that. Well, Bob’s obvi-

ously a pro. What are we gonna do about Reston?BIRT: Well, the man’s an idiot. He’s overemotional. Send him home.FROST: Well, l think he should stay. BIRT: Why?FROST: l liked his passion.BIRT: He will drive us all bloody mad.FROST: Well, maybe, but sometimes being out of your comfort zone is a good

thing, l’m told. He stays.NIXON: l 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 en-gagements, 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 I, 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.

BRENNAN: Well, sir, you’re gonna get a chance to talk about them sooner than you think.

NIXON: Yeah? How?BRENNAN: Frost got there. He got the money.

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NIXON: What?BRENNAN: 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.NIXON: Really? Now, that’s terrific. How much time is devoted to Watergate?BRENNAN: 25%. Just one of four 90-minute shows.NIXON: What are the other three divided into?BRENNAN: Domestic Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Nixon the Man.NIXON: “Nixon the Man”? As opposed to what? Nixon the horse?BRENNAN: Well, l imagine it’s some kind of biographical piece.NIXON: 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?BRENNAN: 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.

NIXON: You think? BRENNAN: l’m certain.NIXON: 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?BRENNAN: Well, that’s nothing to worry about, sir. lt’s not as if there’s gon-

na be any revelations. That stuff’s been combed over a million times. No one has pinned anything on you.

NIXON: 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?

BRENNAN: l believe The Beverly Hilton.NIXON: 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.BRENNAN: 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.

BIRT: Yeah, as it happens, we took the whole question of security very seri-ously. And from day one, we kept all our files in a locked safe.

FROST: Who was the guy that Mike interviewed? Was that Haldeman?BIRT: Haldeman. RESTON: Haldeman. And Ehrlichman, too.FROST: l always get the Germans mixed up. l’m a little confused by that. What

is Haldeman’s official. . . Hello, darling.

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RESTON: 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?ZELNICK: You can see the seeds of dirty tricks. Essentially, it’s an attempt to

legalize dirty tricks.RESTON: That’s why you gotta get David to put it in the question. Wiretap-

ping students.NIXON ON TAPE: But they’ve traced the money to him.RESTON: Opening people’s mail. What about wiretapping?BIRT: How many people has he wiretapped?RESTON: This guy wiretapped 17 people.BIRT: Seventeen?ZELNICK: 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 wiretap-

ping, conspiracy to foster prostitution. And that’s Liddy, right?CAROLINE: Delivery courtesy of Nate ‘n Al’s finest deli selection. We’re go-

ing to need napkins. We’d better have some napkins.BIRT: How do we frame a question about Cambodia, about the illicit bomb-

ing of Cambodia?RESTON: l think you should say, “How far do you take executive privilege

“before it becomes an undemocratic event?”ZELNICK: l think you frame the question to him as a Quaker.RESTON: “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?RESTON: You have to set up that he has an anti-democratic personality. There’s

a reason they call him Tricky Dick.ZELNICK: 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 l would try and anticipate what his response might be.

BIRT: Okay, the White House taping system.ZELNICK: Ours is not the first administration to use taping systems. Lyndon

Johnson’s White House used them. So did Kennedy’s.RESTON: Huston Plan. Wiretapping and alleged abuses of power.ZELNICK: Let me tell you, other administrations were up to far worse.BIRT: And just for fun, your close friend Jack Kennedy.ZELNICK: 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 hand-

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some 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!

FROST: Gentlemen, finally a friend in the American press.CAROLINE: 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 in-terviewer will pull no punches.”

BIRT: “Crack investigators”?RESTON: Can l be Crack One?ZELNICK: Can l be Deep Crack?RESTON: 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?FROST: Colson, right. RESTON: Colson had a meeting with Nixon 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. . .

FROST: A week? Goodness, Jim, we can’t lose you for that long.RESTON: l think this is really good stuff, Dave.BIRT: Would there be something l could help you with?RESTON: You know, if we’re gonna nail Nixon in these interviews, we’re gon-

na have to ambush him. We’re gonna have to take him by surprise.FROST: Don’t worry, Jim. We’ll get him anyway.BIRT: Hang on a second. David, Jack Brennan. He sounds a little emotional.FROST: l’ll take it in here.BIRT: He’ll be right with you. Yeah.FROST: Jack. BRENNAN: Watergate.FROST: Yes, Jack.BRENNAN: Our lawyers want us to agree on a definition of the word.FROST: Well, l believe it’s a large hotel and office complex in Washington, Jack.BRENNAN: You know what l’m talking about. For the interviews. We want to

propose that Watergate be an umbrella term for everything negative.FROST: 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?

BRENNAN: Correct.FROST: That is absurd and a clear breach of the terms of our agreement.BRENNAN: Okay. How would you define Watergate?FROST: Well, that it covers just that. The Watergate break-in of June 17th and

the subsequent cover-up and investigation.BRENNAN: Fine. ln which case, the deal is off.

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FROST: Fine. ln which case, you can expect a lawsuit for something in excess of $20 million in damages and loss of earnings.

BRENNAN: The terms of the contract clearly stipulate that Watergate take up no more than 25% of the time.

FROST: Yes, but nowhere does it say that for the rest of the 75% he gets to drone on and sound presidential.

BRENNAN: “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.

FROST: Yes, but that still leaves 10% where he was doing the wrong thing and knew it.

BRENNAN: 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.

FROST: Look at you. Gorgeous. Good night, sweet princes.BIRT: Cheerio.CAROLINE: Bye.FROST: See you in the morning.RESTON: Why the monkey suit?BIRT: David has a film premiere he needs to attend.RESTON: What? The night before we start taping? What’s the movie?BIRT: It’s The SIipper and the Rose.ZELNICK: The Cinderella movie?BIRT: Yeah. David’s the executive producer.ZELNICK: You don’t think it might be an idea for our interviewer to be rested

and focused on the job in hand?BIRT: 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?RESTON: What did he say? Did he say “performer”?ZELNICK: Yeah. RESTON: That’s the word he used?ZELNICK: Yeah, he said “performer.”RESTON: Not “journalist” or “interviewer”?ZELNICK: No. He said “performer.”RESTON: Out of curiosity, where are you at this moment? Psychically?ZELNICK: l am imagining the dust, the darkness, the agony and the unimagi-

nable loneliness of the wilderness l am about to be dispatched to by my Washing-ton political colleagues.

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PART 3PRICE: So any opportunity you get, go right to foreign policy, go right to Mao,

go right to Khrushchev.GANNON: Just go right!KHACHIGIAN: You could do all day on foreign policy, sir.PRICE: l disagree that the Mao banquet story is stale.BRENNAN: Excuse me, sir. Something l think you should see.GANNON: People love that story.SAWYER: Why don’t we save it for the book?KHACHIGIAN: Yeah, right, come on.REPORTER 1: David. REPORTER 2: Mr. Frost.REPORTER 1: David, some people in the media have suggested hat 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, I shall say so again and again. But l should say right now that l’m not expecting his approach to be to stonewall. l’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?

FROST: No, l just thought it was a phrase that might appeal to you.REPORTER 1: So what about the money?NIXON: That’s a strange fellow.GANNON: Started life as a comic, you know.NIXON: ls that so? Mmm-hmm.SAWYER: Almost married Diahann Carroll.FROST: Who?GANNON: The singer.NIXON: lsn’t she black?GANNON: Yes, sir. Right here in the Frost file, which we put together as part

of our general preparations.NIXON: Okay. Let’s get back to work.FROST: That’s fact, this is fiction. So now it’s about The Slipper and the Rose.

lt’s a cracker of a movie. l hope you’ll all come and see it, and. . .FROST: l shouldn’t have ordered that coffee.CAROLINE: Just don’t drink any more.CAROLINE: Good luck. FROST: Thank you.CAROLINE: l’ll be thinking of you.Mrs. NIXON: Dick. Wait.

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FROST: For the record, l’m gonna be starting with John’s idea. “Why didn’t you burn the tapes?”

ZELNICK: 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 sub-jects if you’re just going to ignore it right off the bat?

BIRT: ‘Cause it’s war, isn’t it? Gloves off.FROST: l like it. lt’s ballsy.BIRT: Strategically, it’ll give us the upper hand.ZELNICK: lt’s insanely risky. He could walk right off the set, and there’s noth-

ing we could do about it. Worse, he could sue you !BIRT: 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.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Right here! Mr. Frost, look over here. Over here, sir!FROST: Here we go.OFFICER: Back up behind the curb.REPORTER 1: A few questions, please.PHOTOGRAPH ER: Right here, Mr. Frost.REPORTER 2: David ! David ! David !FROST: Well, hello there. 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?GANNON: The Smith family requested that the furniture be put back in place.PRICE: They talked to you about that, too?GANNON: 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.

ZELNICK: You gonna shake his hand?RESTON: Am l gonna shake. . .Are you kidding me?RESTON: After everything that prick’s done to this country? l’m not gonna

shake his hand.FROST: Gentlemen. May l present Bob Zelnick, my executive editor?NIXON: How do you do?ZELNICK: Pleasure, Mr. President.FROST: And Jim Reston, one of my researchers.NIXON: Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Reston.

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RESTON: Mr. President.BRENNAN: Excuse me, sir? Got a room for you right here.ZELNICK: Wow. That was devastating, withering. l mean, l don’t think he’s

ever gonna get over that.RESTON: Yeah, fuck off.ASSISTANT: l got you guys set up back here.ASSISTANT: Now this is your green room. And the President will be on the

large monitor. Craft services is that way.NIXON: Keep it about that temperature, okay?FROST: Mr. President?NIXON: Yeah.FROST: Before we start, l just want to say how delighted we all are by Mrs.

Nixon’s recovery.NIXON: 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.

FROST: Thank you.NIXON: As l understand it, it’s been quite a struggle.FROST: Well. . .NIXON: How much has it cost? You mind me asking? Hey, come on. Come

on, it’s just between us.FROST: Very well. Two million.NIXON: Two million? Jeez. l didn’t realize we were making Ben-Hur. But tell

me something. You raised it all now?FROST: Not quite. But we’re getting there. Everyone’s been kind and deferred

fees.NIXON: Well, not quite everyone.ASSISTANT: David, l’m gonna go in with you on camera.NIXON: Excuse me. l want to put a handkerchief here, if l may. ls that out of shot?ASSISTANT: That’s fine, Mr. President.NIXON: Contractually, l think that we made an agreement that after each ques-

tion 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.

FROST: lf you’re referring to your TV debate with Jack Kennedy in 1960.NIXON: 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.

DIRECTOR: Sixty seconds, everyone.NIXON: You trim yours? FROST: No.

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NIXON: No, of course not. Yeah, you’re light-skinned. Yeah. You got blue eyes. You’ve got no troubles with perspiration, l imagine.

FROST: No, not that l’m aware.NIXON: You were obviously born to be on the tube.DAVIS: Stand by to roll tape in 30 seconds. Settling.NIXON: Those shoes. They’re ltalian, aren’t they?FROST: My shoes? l believe so.NIXON: Yeah, that’s interesting. You don’t find them too effeminate?FROST: No.NIXON: Well, l guess somebody in your field can get away with them, you know.NIXON: Manolo, just check my collar, will you?DIRECTOR: David, starting with camera two, in four, three, two. Cue David.

And. . .FROST: 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 Amer-ican and people all over the world want me to ask. Why didn’t you burn the tapes?

BRENNAN: Son of a bitch !NIXON: Well, Mr. Frost, l’m surprised by your question since we have an agree-

ment, 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 John-son, 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 disman-tling 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.

NIXON: You see, since the best advice is almost always of the confidential va-riety, now the tapes have been made public, people are unlikely ever to feel com-fortable 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.

ZELNICK: So much for our “ballsy” opening.

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FROST: So when did you actually decide. . . At what moment did you know you were going to resign?

BIRT: That’s good. That’s good.NIXON: 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, l 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.

RESTON: John, we have to do something. We have to move this along. This is desperate, John. Do something. Twenty-three minutes on one question?

BIRT: Okay, let’s take a break. Let’s change the tapes. Come on, man.DIRECTOR: Stop tape. l’m sorry, gentlemen. We have to take a break. Tape

change.NIXON: Oh. Okay, how’s that? You getting what you need?FROST: lt’s fantastic.NIXON: Good. Good. Thank you.BIRT: Excuse me. One moment, sir.NIXON: Yeah, sure. Take your time.BIRT: What are you doing, David? You’ve got to stop him rambling.FROST: lt’s all right. These are just introductory exchanges.BIRT: 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.

FROST: Want me to switch to Vietnam?BIRT: 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.

NIXON: Listen, was that okay?BRENNAN: Perfect, sir.NIXON: lt didn’t sound too arrogant or self-serving?BRENNAN: Not at all. You sounded controlled, even-handed, statesmanlike.NIXON: Good.BRENNAN: Now continue exactly the same way. Long answers. Control the

space. Don’t let him in.NIXON: Okay, got you.DAVIS: Set. And roll.DIRECTOR: We’re coming back on camera three in four, three, two and. . .FROST: 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?

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RESTON: Good, good.NIXON: 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, be-cause each is different. l remember the day Eisenhower died.

ZELNICK: For God’s sake.NIXON: And the day l 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 l know.”

RESTON: “Daddy, you’re the finest man l know”?NIXON: “And whatever you do, l will support you. You just gotta go through

the fire, you know, a little longer.”BRENNAN: This is beautiful.NIXON: 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. here was China, the Soviet Union, the peace settlement in Vietnam. Now, let me tell you something that l 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. . .

DIRECTOR: l’m sorry.NIXON: ls there a problem?DIRECTOR: That’s time. We’re over two hours.NIXON: Really? So soon?FROST: Well, Mr. President, l gather our time is up.NIXON: Gee, now, that’s a pity. You know, l was beginning to enjoy that.BRENNAN: That was terrific, both of you. We’re getting some great material.NIXON: You know, it’s so funny, too, because l was expecting questions on

Vietnam. And we prepared for that, hadn’t we, Jack?FROST: Yes, so did l.NIXON: l guess we just got caught up, you know, reminiscing.FROST: lndeed.NIXON: So, day after tomorrow, 10:00, right?FROST: Yes, indeed.NIXON: l look forward to it. Bye-bye.

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PART 4FROST: There’s no need to say anything.REPORTER 1: Mr. President! REPORTER 2: Mr. President!REPORTER 3: Mr. President!REPORTER 4: Mr. President, please!RESTON: What are you gonna tell him? ZELNICK: l’m gonna tell him he’s gotta get involved. He’s gotta be able to

shut him up. ZELNICK: David, we have some fundamental problems in our approach that

l think. . .FROST: Don’t worry, Bob. l’m on it. We can use some of the Kissinger stuff.ZELNICK: Yeah, but we need to discuss it sooner rather than later. . .FROST: 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.

DIRECTOR: Bye, David.FROST: l’ll see you soon. God bless!ZELNICK: What the hell is Weed Eater?BIRT: lt’s a horticultural mechanism. One of our sponsors.RESTON: What happened to Xerox? What about General Motors or lBM?BIRT: l gather that not all of the blue-chip accounts came through. We do have

Alpo.RESTON: Dog food?ZELNICK: Wait, John. We’re already taping. So we’re close, right? We’re very

close?BIRT: That’s probably a question you should ask David.RESTON: Are we close, John?BIRT: l believe we’re at 30%.RESTON: To go? Or 30% sold?BIRT: Again, that’s probably a question you should. . .Sold, 30% sold.RESTON: Jesus. . .ZELNICK: l thought we were practically fully financed.BIRT: We were. But the financing was always conditional on advertising sales,

and no one predicted that they’d fall apart like this.ZELNICK: Well, why have they fallen apart? Based on what?RESTON: Credibility of the project. What else are advertising sales based on?BIRT: 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

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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.

ZELNICK: And we’re not?FROST: You seemed very confident last time. l 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.

BIRT: So, l had a chance to review yesterday’s tapes.FROST: And?BIRT: Honestly? Far too soft, David.FROST: Go on. Beat me, John. Beat me with a stick.BIRT: 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.

FROST: Right. BIRT: 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.

FROST: Got it.NIXON: Ah. The Grand lnquisitor!FROST: No, just your friendly neighborhood confidant.DIRECTOR: lt’s okay. We just blew a bulb.NIXON : This is why l got all these Secret Service guys around. There’s noth-

ing to worry about. As a president, you get used to this kind of stuff.DAVIS: Ed, we gotta get in here and change out this 750, ASAP.BRENNAN: Focus, sir. NIXON: Yeah.DIRECTOR: Okay, we are back. Okay, take it on my count.DIRECTOR: Okay, stand by to roll tape. 30 seconds.DAVIS: Settling.NIXON: You have a pleasant evening last night?FROST: Yes, thank you.NIXON: Did you do any fornicating?DIRECTOR: David, we’re starting with camera two in four,three, two and. . .FROST: 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?

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NIXON: Well, Vietnam was not my war. lt was my inheritance. And it looked to me...

RESTON: Jump in.NIXON:. . .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 im-portant 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 Scandina-vian 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.

RESTON: Yeah, tell that to the paraplegics.BIRT: Come on, David, Cambodia.FROST: 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?NIXON: Well, first of all, as a result of our incursion into Cambodia, we picked

up 22,000 rifles, 15 million rounds of ammunition, 150,000 rockets, mortars. That’s all belonging to the North Vietnamese, which would only otherwise have been di-rected right onto American soldiers.

FROST: But one of the principal justifications you gave for the incursion was the supposed existence of the “headquarters of the entire Communist military opera-tion in South Vietnam,” a sort of “bamboo Pentagon” which proved not to exist at all.

NIXON: No, no. Wait a minute there. No, l was. . . FROST: 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...nd genocide.

BIRT: All right! Yes, good, good, good. There it is. Okay, run VT.DIRECTOR: Roll tape.FROST: Well, sir, l’m sure you’d agree, some pretty stirring images there.NIXON: Look, it was never US policy to kill civilians. That’s the enemy’s way.FROST: Well, l’m not suggesting. . .NIXON: 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.

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

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SAWYER: Got him. Safe!RESTON: lt was horrifying. lt was horrifying. And he was so confident.REPORTER: What are you gonna say about Watergate?NIXON: Sorry, boys, just all talked out, you know?FROST: Better?BIRT: lt was. Unquestionably better.FROST: What’s next?BIRT: Foreign policy.ZELNICK: Great. Russia, China, the big power stuff.BIRT: Yeah, so?ZELNICK: So if he beats him up like that on Vietnam, imagine what he’s gon-

na do with his real achievements. lt ain’t gonna be pretty.RESTON: The answer was growing by six inches. lt was agony to watch.NIXON: 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 person-ally, man-to-man.

RESTON: When David tried to lay a finger on him, Nixon made mincemeat out of him.

ZELNICK: What “revolution,” David? You just let Richard Nixon claim the country was in a state of revolution? What, with protestors “bombing” and “assault-ing” police officers? That’s not how l remember it. What l remember is people pro-testing peacefully and legitimately against the Vietnam War! That’s what l remember.

BIRT: Music off, please. Off.RESTON: By the end, wiretapping students and breaking into journalists’ homes

was beginning to sound like a rational response.FROST: Well, l’m sorry you feel this way, but l simply cannot share your view.ZELNICK: About what exactly?FROST: About any of it, frankly! l thought today was a huge improvement.RESTON: 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 sup-port. 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?

FROST: l do!RESTON: Well, it’s irrelevant! And it’s just the sort of banal anecdote that

would distract a talk. . .FROST: A what? Go on. No, say it. What, you were gonna say “talk show host”?RESTON: Yeah. Yeah, l was.

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FROST: 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-flag-ellation, in my view, is just depressing.

BIRT: No!FROST: And threatening to derail the whole enterprise. Look. lf there is any-

one here who thinks we’re gonna fail, they better leave now, or it’ll infect every-one else. No one? Right. Good. Now, l suggest instead of festering around the ho-tel 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.

ZELNICK: Celebrate? Celebrate what, David? The fact that we’re all gonna be working at Burger King? What are we celebrating?

FROST: lt’s my birthday, Bob! l’d like to celebrate my birthday with a few friends.RESTON: Look, is that Neil Diamond?RESTON: And is that Sammy Cahn?CAROLINE: David, did you hear that?ZELNICK: Jesus, that’s Hugh Hefner.RESTON: Oh, my God.ZELNICK: Hoping for several hefty paydays Yeah, l think it is. With Michael

York. That’s gotta be Bunnies.RESTON: Those are Bunnies? Those are real Bunnies?CAROLINE: David, just putting it all together it’s the most extraordinary ac-

complishment. No one else could have done that.BIRT: And these interviews are always gonna be around for future generations

of academics and political historians.FROST: That bad?PATRICK: David!FROST: Patrick.Mrs. NIXON: My, what a festive atmosphere. Please, don’t get up. l take it from

this that the interviews have gone well?BRENNAN: Better than that, ma’am. lt’s a shutout. The President’s sitting on

an 11 - 0 lead.Mrs. NIXON: Really? Well. Yeah. Well, that is most gratifying. l’m so glad it’s

all gone according to plan.FROST: l see. ls there nothing we can do? Really? Right. Well, thanks for let-

ting me know. lt’s true. They’ve dropped the Australian show.CAROLINE: Oh, no, David.FROST: 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!

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CAROLINE: 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.

FROST: l’ll have a cheeseburger.NIXON: Mmm. That sounds good. l used to love cheeseburgers, but Dr. Lun-

dgren made me give them up. He switched me to cottage cheese and pineapple in-stead. He calls them my Hawaiian burgers, but they don’t taste like burgers at all. They taste Iike Styrofoam. l hope l’m not disturbing.

FROST: No.NIXON: lt’s a Friday night. You’ve probably got somebody there whom you’re

entertaining.FROST: No.NIXON: Well, then what are you doing? A handsome young fellow, an eligible

young bachelor alone on a Friday night.FROST: lf you must know, l’m preparing for our final session.NIXON: The all-important final session.FROST: Yes. NIXON: Watergate. ‘Cause I guess the way you handle Watergate’s gonna de-

termine whether these interviews are a success or a failure. Should l be nervous?FROST: Well, l’m gonna give it my best shot.NIXON: 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?

FROST: Cambridge.NIXON: Did the snobs there look down on you, too? 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.FROST: l really don’t know what you’re talking about.NIXON: 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

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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 motherfuck-ers choke! Am l right?

FROST: You are. Except only one of us can win.NIXON: Yes. And l shall be your fiercest adversary. l shall come at you with ev-

erything 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 ring-ing in our head. You can probably tell l’ve had a drink. lt’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.

FROST: Good night, Mr. President.CAROLINE: So with or without cheese? l brought burgers. David?FROST: l’ve got to work.VOICES ON TAPE: Well, who was the asshole that did? Jesus, is that Liddy? He must be a little nuts.Yeah, he is.I mean, he just isn’t well screwed on, is he?lsn’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 l don’t want any argument about it. l

want you to direct the most trusted person you have in the Immigration 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. ls that clear?

Yes, sir.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.RESTON: Hello?FROST: Jim, it’s David.RESTON: Hey. What time is it?FROST: How much longer are you gonna be in D.C. for?RESTON: Tuesday. Till Tuesday.FROST: Great. Well, you remember you mentioned going to the Federal Court-

house library?RESTON: Honey, can you check on him, please? Yes, for the Colson stuff?FROST: 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?RESTON: Uh-huh. What are you thinking?

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PART 5FROST: Hey. Hey.RESTON: Good morning.FROST: And?MANOLO: Excuse me, sir.BIRT: lt’s 8:30. Bob, have you seen David?ZELNICK: No. No Frost, no Reston.BIRT: Morning.FROST: Good morning. Come on, let’s go.BIRT: What’s that about?BIRT: First time he’s late.REPORTER: Mr. President!FROST: Mr. President.NIXON: Mr. Frost.DAVIS: Thirty seconds to tape roll! Thirty seconds. Settling. Settle.FROST: Well, if today’s session is anything like our phone call, it should be

explosive.NIXON: What phone call?FROST: The phone call to my hotel room.DAVIS: David, starting on camera three in four, three, two and. . .FROST: 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?NIXON: 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.FROST: As it happens, l have.NIXON: 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.

FROST: 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?

NIXON: 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.

FROST: 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.

NIXON: No, no. Hang on a minute there. l wasn’t. . .

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FROST: 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.

NIXON: Will you just wait one minute there, Mr. Frost? There is no evidence of any kind that l was. .

FROST: Well, the reason there is no evidence is because 18 and a half minutes of the conversation with Bob Haldeman from this June period have mysteriously been erased.

NIXON: That was an unfortunate oversight. And Bob Haldeman is a rigorous and a conscientious note taker. His notes are there for all to see.

FROST: Well, we found something rather better than his notes, a conversation with Charles Colson, which l don’t think has ever been published.

RESTON: Okay, here we go.NIXON: lt hasn’t been published, you say?FROST: No, but one of my researchers found it in Washington where it’s avail-

able to anyone who consults the records.NIXON: Well, l just wondered, you know, if we’d seen it.FROST: 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.NIXON: Yeah.FROST: 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 “un-less one of the seven begins to talk. “That’s the problem.”

NIXON: Well, what do we mean when we say “one of the seven beginning to talk”?

FROST: 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 de-

liver it.”Eight, “We’ve no choice with Hunt but the $120,000 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?

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NIXON: Look, let me just stop you now right there, because you’re doing some-thing 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.

FROST: 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 per-sonal lawyer came to Washington to start the raising of $219,000 of hush money to be paid to the burglars. Now, do you seriously expect us to believe that you had no knowledge of that?

NIXON: None. l believed the money was for humanitarian purposes. To help disadvantaged people with their defenses.

FROST: 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?

NIXON: Look, l have made statements to this effect before. All that was Hal-deman and Ehrlichman’s business. l knew nothing. Okay, fine. Fine! You made a conclusion there. l stated my view, now let’s move on.

FROST: Let’s get on to the rest of it. No, hold on. No, hold on.NIXON: No, l don’t want to talk. . .FROST: 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?

NIXON: 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 !

FROST: 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?

NIXON: l’m saying that when the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.FROST: l’m sorry?NIXON: That’s what l believe.NIXON: But l realize no one else shares that view.FROST: 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?RESTON: Oh, my God, we got him.

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NIXON: l...BRENNAN: Shit! Okay, let’s take a break there.RESTON: What the fuck is going on?BRENNAN: Cut it. Cut it. DAVIS: Excuse me? BRENNAN: shut it down. Shut it down now.DAVIS: That’s not my call. You’re gonna have to talk to the director. He’s in

that truck out there. BRENNAN: Get him in here.DAVIS: Listen, we have an issue in here.BIRT: Jack, what are you doing? A break?FROST: Change the tapes.ZELNICK: What the hell is going on, Jack? He was about to blow and you know it.BRENNAN: Fellas, this is a critical moment in his life.ZELNICK: You realize we could sue you for this? You have deliberately sabo-

taged the interview, Jack.BRENNAN: Look, we’re all in this together. l’m sure we can find a solution.ZELNICK: A solution? What the hell are you talking about? lt’s an interview!KHACHIGIAN: Bob, may l remind you. . .BIRT: This is a breach of contract. We could sue.RESTON: For heaven’s sake, Jim. Why don’t you give him a week off? Give

him a year off! Give him a fucking massage!GANNON: Watch your language, for crying out loud.NIXON: What’d you do? Throw in the towel, Jack? Did you take pity on me?BRENNAN: 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.

NIXON: l know. But to go on and carry on denying it all. . . l appreciate the gesture.

GANNON: We ought to call it a snafu.BIRT: Jack, are we on?ZELNICK: We’re on. Okay, he’s had plenty of time to cook up some sort of

slippery new bullshit, so stay on your toes.BIRT: Listen, it’s gonna be fine. Pick up where you left off.DAVIS: Thirty seconds, everyone. Ten seconds. David? Four, three, two, and. . .FROST: 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.

NIXON: Well, what word would you express?FROST: 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

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mistakes. There was wrongdoing. And, yes, it might have been a crime, too. Second-ly, 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.

NIXON: 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 al-ways 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.

FROST: And the American people?NIXON: 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. 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.

RESTON: You know, the first and greatest sin or deception of television is that it simplifies, it diminishes, great, complex ideas, tranches of time. Whole ca-reers 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 re-ally 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 to-tally cease to exist.

NIXON: ls this what you call a dachshund? Mmm-hmm. Very sweet.BIRT: 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 politi-cal press corps, the hard-bitten political press corps, called David up with messages of contrition and congratulation.

BRENNAN: The interviews? No, l didn’t watch them. l couldn’t.

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BIRT: 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.

NIXON: 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?

FROST: Yes.NIXON: lnto a bright new dawn of fresh enterprises and challenges, eh?FROST: Well, let’s hope so.NIXON: 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.

FROST: Yes, l was sorry to see that.NIXON: 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.

MANOLO: Can l get something for somebody?NIXON: Yes. Would you like some tea or champagne? Hey, you know, we got

that caviar the Shah of lran sent me.FROST: No, thank you. NIXON: You sure? Come on. lt’ll be no trouble at all.FROST: No, really, we must be. . .NIXON: Okay, fine, fine. Thanks for coming by. You were a worthy opponent.FROST: Goodbye, Mr. President.NIXON: Bye-bye.CAROLINE: Goodbye, Mr. President.NIXON: Goodbye.FROST: Oh, God ! l almost forgot. l. . .l brought you a present, those shoes you

admired. l brought you a pair.NIXON: 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?

FROST: Of course.NIXON: 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.

FROST: Maybe.NIXON: David. Did l really call you that night?FROST: Yes.NIXON: Did we discuss anything important?FROST: Cheeseburgers.

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NIXON: Cheeseburgers?FROST: 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 in-terviews. 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 desper-ately craved. His most lasting legacy is that today any political wrongdoing is im-mediately given the suffix “gate.”

THE END