Superman III

Next, please.

Come on, come on.

Next.

Name.

Gus Gorman.

Ah, yes. August Gorman.

Have you looked for work this week?

-Yes. -What kind?

-Kitchen technician. -Dishwasher. Any luck?

No, but--

Mr. Gorman, according to our records, you've been unemployed for 36 weeks.

No, it's 35.

Not counting this week.

You secured employment in June as a messenger and were discharged after...

-...one day for losing-- -No, they said I lost it.

I did not lose it! It was stolen by a pickpocket.

A television set?

It was a teeny-tiny, teeny-weensy Japanese television set.

The other employment you found was in a fast-food joint, which lasted...

...28 minutes?

That's some kind of record. Talk about fast.

Those people are crazy. They expect you to learn that stuff in one day.

"Hold the lettuce. Hold the ketchup. Can l have some sauce, please?"

-Mr. Gorman-- -"Two buns. No buns. Some cheese."

Mr. Gorman, the city of Metropolis is generous to a fault, but--

I'm not the fault!

Thirty-six weeks of chronic unemployment.

Thirty-six weeks of living off the taxes of hard-working citizens.

-Do you know what you are? -Don't call me a bum, I'm not a bum!

You are, I was about to say, no longer eligible.

-Well, look-- -Next.

Wait. What about this week? I need this week!

Next.

You mean, that's it?

"Finished," like "over"?

Next.

"Next" as in "bye."

Next!

Name.

Excuse me, brother, can l have a light?

-How you doing, Alex? Hi, Jimmy.

Huh? Ah.

Excuse me.

Say thank you.

Wow!

Way to go, Superman!

Your drink is on its way.

Sir.

Excuse me...

...but what if you wanna program two bilateral coordinates at the same time?

You can't do that. It's impossible.

But if you can't-- -Oh, no.

Computer technology is very advanced, young lady, but it can't do that.

But if you think we can't do it that way, what happens--?

Sir.

Good Lord.

How did you do that?

I don't know. l just did it.

Who's this? JlMMY: That's him, Ross Webster.

JlMMY: Just after he received the award for Humanitarian of the Year.

He is good-looking.

Because I gave him f.2 at a 50th.

One thing I don't understand...

...the point of the story Lois wrote is how Ross got this great honor...

...and you bring me one picture of him and 1 5 pictures of this other person.

Who is she? -Lorelei Ambrosia. She's Webster's--

She's just Webster's. Let's leave it at that.

Who's this other woman? JlMMY: His sister, Vera Webster.

Picture looks fuzzy. -What?

The picture's fine, chief. She looks like that in real life.

-She's VP of Webscoe lndustries. -l really don't understand you.

A boring banquet and you bring me 3000 boring pictures.

Yet Superman saves a man from drowning on Third Avenue...

...while you just stand there and you don't bring me one picture!

Chief, I didn't have my camera with me.

A photographer eats with his camera. A photographer sleeps with his camera.

-l'm glad I'm a writer. -Mr. White, please.

It's time for you to draw this month's winning JINGO number.

Prize is an all-expenses trip to South America.

-l don't know why the idiot in Circulation-- Good morning.

-Hi, Clark. -Hi, Lois. Morning, Jimmy.

You've got mustard on your lapel.

Excuse me, Mr. White, I hate to interrupt--

Sorry. l'm busy. I got a paper to get out here.

It'll never replace the printing press.

-What's the number, Mr. White? -Fifty-three.

-Mr. White-- Fifty-three!

Mr. White-- -You've got to pull three more numbers.

I promised l'd call them back today. What do you think?

-Well, l don't know, Kent-- -l think it'd make a terrific story.

What's a terrific story?

Kent's been invited to his high-school reunion.

-Say. Yeah.

Could we have the next number?

It's practically an American institution. lsn't it?

I don't know, Mr. Kent. Most of the people l know are still in high school.

Thirty-three.

What l thought this story would be about, Mr. White, is--

Thirty-three.

--is how much the typical small town has changed in the last 1 5 years.

Take me, for example:

Can l really go back to middle America now as a Metropolis sophisticate?

I'm really excited about this. In fact, l was looking around...

...in my closet last night...

...and l even found my old high-school sweater.

-Smallville. -Mr. White.

Can l go ahead and make my travel plan?

Same question about mine.

Tell your people the prodigal son and his photographer are coming home.

Oh, gee, thanks, Mr. White.

It isn't easy for me to lose one of my best reporters.

-That's okay. -You deserve the vacation, Lois.

Thank you.

Lois, are you going someplace?

Clark, you know some people get to go all the way to Smallville...

...and then there are others of us who have to go to Bermuda.

Golly.

Bye. JlMMY: Bye, Miss Lane.

-Have fun. -Mr. White, the next number, please.

Well, l guess I better be going too.

So l'll be going.

Bye.

Couldn't we get a computer to do this?

-Hey, what is this? -First paycheck.

This is the first rip-off, man! We're supposed to get 225 a week, right?

This says, "$143.80." How am l supposed to live on that?

State tax, federal tax, social security tax--

It's so you're still getting some money when you hit 65.

So l'm getting money when l--? 65?

I want mine now!

I want to enjoy it while I'm young. I wanna get up and get down. Boogie.

Actually, it's probably more like $143.80 and one half cent.

There are always fractions left over, but big corporations round it down.

What do I do with half a cent? Buy a thoroughbred mouse?

Everybody loses those fractions?

They don't lose them. You can't lose what you never got.

Then what happens? The company gets them?

They can't be bothered collecting that from your paycheck any more than you.

Then what happens to them?

Well, they're just floating around out there. The computers know where.

How many sugars?

One and a half.

It's quitting time, Gus. You coming?

Yeah. No, actually, l got some stuff to finish up, so....

Working overtime, huh? What are you doing, buddy? Looking for a raise?

Yeah, looking for a raise.

You bet.

JlMMY: But my Uncle Al on my father's side, he won't eat her stuffing.

He says it should be cooked on the outside. She cooks it on the inside.

My mother told my Aunt Helen. She's my father's half sister.

-l told you that, right? -Yeah.

-And anyway, the family-- -Hey, hey.

-Look at that. JlMMY: Wow.

Okay, your choice: You can turn back or pull over till it's over.

-How long will it take? -Can't tell with these fires.

I mean, that fire-- That's spreading like wildfire.

It's just a building burning.

It's not just a building. That's a chemical plant.

You know what l mean. It's like-- lt's like chemicals.

If any of that stuff goes up in smoke, we're in for a hairy time around here.

-Clark. -Yeah?

I want you to keep these people distracted.

What are you doing?

What am I doing? Remember what the chief said?

A photographer always goes after a story.

That could be dangerous, Jimmy.

Danger goes with the territory, Mr. Kent.

Help me!

-How can I help? -Get this man a helmet.

-lt's you. Forget the helmet. -How bad is it?

My God, it's a nightmare. Everything's either explosive or flammable or worse.

Get the ladder truck in here.

-lt won't reach. -My God, they're trapped!

What's he gonna do? Fly them down one at a time?

Let's go! Everybody, down there! Move it!

Come on! Hurry up!

There you go.

Right down there. Take it easy.

All right. Everybody down there!

Keep moving!

Sir, get out. l'll show you the quickest way.

Go on. Look after the others. I can't leave.

-Why not? -l gotta stay and look after those.

That's concentrated Beltric acid.

If that stuff heats up over 1 80 degrees, we've got a crisis...

...that'll make this fire look like a picnic.

What does it do?

CHEMlST: As long as it remains stable, it's just ordinary acid.

But if it begins to heat up, it'll turn volatile.

You'll get a great cloud of smoke that will eat through anything.

Steel, concrete, anything.

Who the hell is that?

Hey, you! Get off of there! -l'm just gonna get a couple more shots.

Ow! Ah!

Tell them to bring their hoses back here! Quickly!