MOLLY’S GAME

Screenplay by

Aaron Sorkin

Based on the book by Molly Bloom

 1.

EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY

But we don’t know what we’re looking at yet. In front of us
is just a greyish-white flurry with nothing to orient us
and no sound except the whistle of a strong wind at a high
altitude. We won’t know where we are until--
--a rocket flies right in front of us--right to left—and
disappears from the frame as fast as it came into it. But
we probably saw it long enough to know it wasn’t a rocket,
it was a world-class skier and we were standing five feet
away as she scorched the last few seconds of her run.
MOLLY (V.O.)
A survey was taken a few years ago
that asked 300 professionals one
question:
EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (NEW ANGLE)
MOLLY (V.O.)
“What’s the worst thing that can
happen in sports?”
We’re at the bottom of the slope now where the skier we
just saw finished her run with a swoosh, and a hundred or
so spectators gave her a round. The skier snapped out of
her skis, picked them up, pushed up her goggles and looked
back up the slope toward the judges...
MOLLY (V.O.)
Some people answered losing a Game
7 and other people said getting
swept in 4. Some people said--
EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (NEW ANGLE)
MOLLY (V.O.)
--it was missing the World Cup and
some Brazilians said it was losing
to Argentina. Not just in the World
Cup--anytime, ever, in any contest.
We can see the whole slope now. It looks like a terrible
way to die. It’s a moguls course, meaning that skiers race
through a punishing series of 3-foot mounds of packed snow
and ice, lift-off and execute a mid-air trick, land and run
through another set of moguls, lift-off and execute a
second trick, land and race to the finish.
Spectators and race officials line the sides of the slope.
 2.

EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (BOTTOM OF THE SLOPE)

The skier we saw is looking back up the slope and now sees
her scores. Not bad, but not what she needed. She gets
another round from the crowd and a less-than-wholehearted
hug from her coach.
MOLLY (V.O.)
But one person answered that the
worst thing that can happen in
sports was 4th-place at the
Olympics.
EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (TOP OF THE SLOPE)
We’re at the top of the mountain where the next skiers are
waiting for their start. One of them has just jumped off
the mountain and into the course.
MOLLY (V.O.)
This is a true story but except for
my own I’ve changed all the names
and I’ve done my best to obscure
identities for reasons that’ll
become clear. I’m Molly Bloom and
right now I’m ranked 3rd in North
America in Women’s Moguls.
EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (NEW ANGLE)
The skier who just started has raced through the first set
of moguls, hits the ramp, which sends her up into mid-air
where she executes a trick and lands back on the course and
hits the second set of moguls.
MOLLY (V.O.)
I have a BA in Political Science
from the University of Colorado
where I graduated Summa Cum Laude
with a 3.9 GPA.
EXT. SKI SLOPE - DAY (NEW ANGLE)
The skier’s made her way through the second set of
backbreaking moguls and hits the second ramp, which sends
her into the air. We watch the judges examine her trick
with expert eyes and then tap the keys on their laptops.
MOLLY (V.O.)
I got a 173 on the L-SATs. The
median L-SAT score at Harvard Law
School is 169.