Network (Original screenplay)

New York: Simcha Productions, Inc, 1975. Vintage screenplay for the classic film of Watergate-era cynicism about the media and politics, with a famous exhortation by rattled newsman Howard Beale for viewers to open their windows and shout "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore!" Brad bound in Studio Duplicating Service leatherette wrappers with gilt lettering. Title handwritten in black on spine. [i], 1-112, 114-147 pp. printed on rectos only. Page 113 torn out, else Very Good overall, small horizontal tear to spine, light soiling to wraps. Actor Lance Henriksen's copy with his inscription "Eddie!' on title page; he played an uncredited (truncated) lawyer. He is best known for his role in the Alien film franchise as the android, Bishop. Uncommon. Changes between Paddy Chayefsky's acclaimed screenplay and the completed film are trims and revisions. A brief scene early on in the screenplay wherein Howard Beale's housekeeper finds him "curled in a position of fetal helplessness on the floor"did not make the film. News stories preceding Howard's first on-air appearance in the screenplay were changed, as was the ending. The screenplay ends with "A BANK OF FOUR COLOR TELEVISION MONITORS" sporting headshots of the most famous broadcasters of the era (Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor, Howard K. Smith, and Harry Reasoner), whereas only one of the monitors in the final cut of the film shows a broadcaster. The other three show Beale dead on the studio floor, an airline ad, and happy children in a commercial for Life cereal-- as if to say "That's life for you." In a decade now famous for its cynical, gritty films, this ending still stands out as a monumental downer. (Inventory #: 140946251)