NINA LITVAK
SCREENWRITER OF GUNS & MOSES, CO-FOUNDER OF ACCIDENTAL TALMUDIST
Nina Davidovich Litvak grew up in New York City and graduated from Columbia University. With her husband Salvador Litvak, Nina co-wrote the feature films When Do We Eat?, Saving Lincoln, and the upcoming crime thriller Man in the Long Black Coat. Six days a week, Nina creates content for Accidental Talmudist, a Jewish wisdom platform with a million followers around the world. The proud mother of two teenagers, Nina lives in Los Angeles with her family.
Emergency Button
NINA LITVAK
INT. HOTEL ELEVATOR - DAY
The doors open on the 47thfloor and two women enter with roll-aboard suitcases and convention lanyards.
RACHEL wears a flowy dress. LISA rocks a chic pantsuit.
RACHEL: May your trip home be boring and uneventful!
LISA: (wry chuckle) Thanks, but I’m worried about missing my connection. My layover’s only 50 minutes and if I get stuck in Houston...!
RACHEL: Everything will be fine!
LISA (unconvinced): I hope so.
Anxious, Lisa looks up at the floor numbers slowly going by.
RACHEL: See that button?
She motions to the EMERGENCY button.
RACHEL: Every elevator has an emergency button, and by law there must be someone at the other end to answer the call. Can’t rely on cell phone reception in an elevator. Honestly, if I didn’t know there was a functioning emergency line, I’d be afraid to get in the elevator. What if it gets stuck?
LISA: Could be hours.
RACHEL: But if I didn’t have a legal guarantee that there’s always someone available, and I lived on a high floor and had to take the elevator every day, I’d tell myself that there must be someone at the other end of the button. Even if I didn’t know for sure. Otherwise I’d never leave the apartment!
LISA: Good point.
RACHEL: It’s an analogy for life.
LISA: What do you mean?
RACHEL: This whole world is an elevator and the person at the other end of the emergency button is God.
Lisa stiffens slightly.
RACHEL: Even if you’re not sure there’s somebody who hears your call, you can act as though there is. And then you come to believe it, and you stop worrying and live your best life.
The elevator doors open and several more PASSENGERS pile in, also with suitcases and lanyards. The doors close, then open, then close again. The elevator doesn’t move.
MITCH: Weight capacity 800 pounds. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that extra donut….
Nervous laughter.
With a jerk, the elevator starts to move, then stops abruptly between floors.
The moment stretches. Passengers grumble.
JIM: At what point do we press the emergency button?
MITCH: Does that button even do anything?
RACHEL: Actually, yes. It’s a legal requirement.
LISA: So you don’t need to worry.
She glances at Rachel, who winks at her.
The elevator starts to move.